¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king^(A) opposes Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat^(B) at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic^(C) is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation^(D) of the Passover; it was about noon.^(E)

“Here is your king,”^(F) Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.^(G)

The Crucifixion of Jesus^(H)

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar^(A) was starting, he took water and washed his hands^(B) in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”^(C) he said. “It is your responsibility!”^(D)