Jesus Is Sentenced to Death^(A)

¹⁵ At every Passover Festival the Roman governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the crowd asked for. ¹⁶ At that time there was a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free for you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ He knew very well that the Jewish authorities had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting in the judgment hall, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night I suffered much on account of him.”

²⁰ The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barabbas free and have Jesus put to death. ²¹ But Pilate asked the crowd, “Which one of these two do you want me to set free for you?”

“Barabbas!” they answered.

²² “What, then, shall I do with Jesus called the Messiah?” Pilate asked them.

“Crucify him!” they all answered.

²³ But Pilate asked, “What crime has he committed?”

Then they started shouting at the top of their voices: “Crucify him!”

^24 (B)When Pilate saw that it was no use to go on, but that a riot might break out, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am not responsible for the death of this man! This is your doing!”

²⁵ The whole crowd answered, “Let the responsibility for his death fall on us and on our children!”

²⁶ Then Pilate set Barabbas free for them; and after he had Jesus whipped, he handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus^(C)

²⁷ Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into the governor's palace, and the whole company gathered around him. ²⁸ They stripped off his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him. ²⁹ Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand; then they knelt before him and made fun of him. “Long live the King of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spat on him, and took the stick and hit him over the head. ³¹ When they had finished making fun of him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Jesus Is Sentenced to Death^(A)

⁶ At every Passover Festival Pilate was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the people asked for. ⁷ At that time a man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder in the riot. ⁸ When the crowd gathered and began to ask Pilate for the usual favor, ⁹ he asked them, “Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ He knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, that Pilate set Barabbas free for them. ¹² Pilate spoke again to the crowd, “What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴ “But what crime has he committed?” Pilate asked.

They shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus^(B)

¹⁶ The soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown out of thorny branches, and put it on his head. ¹⁸ Then they began to salute him: “Long live the King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They beat him over the head with a stick, spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed down to him. ²⁰ When they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Jesus Is Sentenced to Death^(A)

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought this man to me and said that he was misleading the people. Now, I have examined him here in your presence, and I have not found him guilty of any of the crimes you accuse him of. ¹⁵ Nor did Herod find him guilty, for he sent him back to us. There is nothing this man has done to deserve death. ¹⁶ So I will have him whipped and let him go.” ^17 [a]

¹⁸ The whole crowd cried out, “Kill him! Set Barabbas free for us!” (¹⁹ Barabbas had been put in prison for a riot that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰ Pilate wanted to set Jesus free, so he appealed to the crowd again. ²¹ But they shouted back, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² Pilate said to them the third time, “But what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death! I will have him whipped and set him free.”

²³ But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally their shouting succeeded. ²⁴ So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus that they were asking for. ²⁵ He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished.