Luke 23

International Standard Version

Jesus is Taken to Pilate^(A)

23 Then the whole crowd got up and took him to Pilate. ² They began to accuse him, “We found this man corrupting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah,^[a] a king.”

³ Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

He answered, “You say so.”

⁴ Then Pilate told the high priests and crowds, “I do not find anything chargeable in this man.”

⁵ But they kept insisting, “He is stirring up the people with what he teaches all over Judea, from where he started in Galilee to this place.”

Jesus is Sent to Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned with certainty that Jesus^[b] came from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now Herod was very glad to see Jesus, because he had been wanting to see him for a long time on account of what he had heard about him. He was also hoping to see some sign done by him. ⁹ So he continued to question him for a long time, but Jesus^[c] gave him no answer at all. ¹⁰ Meanwhile, the high priests and the scribes stood nearby and continued to accuse him vehemently. ¹¹ Even^[d] Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt and made fun of him. He put a magnificent robe on Jesus^[e] and sent him back to Pilate. ¹² So Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day. Before this they had been enemies.

Jesus is Sentenced to Death^(B)

¹³ Then Pilate called the high priests, the other^[f] leaders, and the people together ¹⁴ and told them, “You brought this man to me as one who turns the people against the government. And here in your presence I have examined him and have found him ‘Not Guilty’ of the charges you make against him. ¹⁵ Neither does Herod, because he sent him back to us! Indeed, this man^[g] has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ So I will punish him and let him go.”

¹⁷ Now he was obligated to release someone for them at the festival.^{[h] 18} But they all shouted out together, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas for us!” ¹⁹ (This man had been put in prison for murder and for a revolt that had taken place in the city.) ²⁰ But Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, so he appealed to them again, ²¹ but they continued to shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² Then he spoke to them a third time: “What has he done wrong? I have found nothing in him worthy of death. So I will punish him and let him go.” ²³ But they kept pressing him with loud shouts, demanding that Jesus^[i] be crucified, and their shouts began to prevail.

²⁴ Then Pilate pronounced his sentence that their demand should be carried out. ²⁵ So he released the man who had been put in prison for revolt and murder—the man whose release^[j] they continued to demand—but he let them have their way with Jesus.^[k]

Jesus is Crucified^(C)

²⁶ As they led Jesus^[l] away, they grabbed Simon, a man from Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large crowd of people followed him, including some women who kept mourning and wailing for him.

²⁸ But Jesus turned to them and said, “Women^[m] of Jerusalem, stop crying for me. Instead, cry for yourselves and for your children, ²⁹ because the time is surely coming when people^[n] will say, ‘How blessed are the women who couldn’t bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then people^[o] will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’, and to the hills, ‘Cover us up!’^{[p] 31} And if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus.^{[q] 33} When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ Jesus kept saying, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.”^[r] Then they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.

³⁵ Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. The leaders were mocking him by saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Messiah^[s] of God, the chosen one!”

³⁶ The soldiers also made fun of Jesus^[t] by coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷ saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:^[u] “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹ Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting^[v] him, “You are the Messiah,^[w] aren’t you? Save yourself…and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him, “Aren’t you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty? ⁴¹ We have been condemned justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he went on to plead, “Jesus, remember me when you come into^[x] your kingdom!”

⁴³ Jesus^[y] told him, “I tell you^[z] with certainty, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(D)

⁴⁴ It was already about noon,^[aa] and the whole land^[ab] became dark until three in the afternoon^{[ac] 45} because the sun had stopped shining, and the curtain^[ad] in the sanctuary was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.”^[ae] After he said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷ When the centurion^[af] saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “This man certainly was righteous!” ⁴⁸ When all the crowds who had come together for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they beat their chests and left. ⁴⁹ But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, were standing at a distance watching these things.

Jesus is Buried^(E)

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council,^[ag] a good and righteous man— ⁵¹ he had not voted for their plan and action—from the Jewish town of Arimathea; and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut in the rock, in which no one had yet been laid.

⁵⁴ It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was just beginning. ⁵⁵ So the women who had come with Jesus^[ah] from Galilee, following close behind, saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.