The Crucifixion^(A)

²⁰ After the soldiers finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. ²¹ A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was coming ⌞into Jerusalem⌟ from his home in the country. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. As he was about to pass by, the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.

²² They took Jesus to Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ They tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but he wouldn’t take it. ²⁴ Next they crucified him. Then they divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get. ²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ There was a written notice of the accusation against him. It read, “The king of the Jews.”

²⁷ They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and the other on his left.^[a]

²⁹ Those who passed by insulted him. They shook their heads and said, “What a joke! You were going to tear down God’s temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰ Come down from the cross, and save yourself!” ³¹ The chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings made fun of him among themselves in the same way. They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. ³² Let the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him were insulting him.

The Crucifixion^(A)

³³ When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him. The criminals were also crucified, one on his right and the other on his left.

³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” ^[a]

Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.

³⁵ The people stood there watching. But the rulers were making sarcastic remarks. They said, “He saved others. If he’s the Messiah that God has chosen, let him save himself!” ³⁶ The soldiers also made fun of him. They would go up to him, offer him some vinegar, ³⁷ and say, “If you’re the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

³⁸ A written notice was placed above him. It said, “This is the king of the Jews.”

¹⁶ Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion^(A)

So the soldiers took Jesus. ¹⁷ He carried his own cross and went out ⌞of the city⌟ to a location called The Skull. (In Hebrew this place is called Golgotha.) ¹⁸ The soldiers crucified Jesus and two other men there. Jesus was in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate wrote a notice and put it on the cross. The notice read, “Jesus from Nazareth, the king of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

²¹ The chief priests of the Jewish people told Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews!’ Instead, write, ‘He said that he is the king of the Jews.’ ”

²² Pilate replied, “I have written what I’ve written.”

²³ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them four ways so that each soldier could have a share. His robe was left over. It didn’t have a seam because it had been woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴ The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. Let’s throw dice to see who will get it.” In this way the Scripture came true: “They divided my clothes among themselves. They threw dice for my clothing.” So that’s what the soldiers did.