The Crucifixion^(A)

³¹ After the soldiers finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³² On the way they found a man named Simon. He was from the city of Cyrene. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.

³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ They gave him a drink of wine mixed with a drug called gall. When he tasted it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ After they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. ³⁶ Then they sat there and kept watch over him. ³⁷ They placed a written accusation above his head. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”

³⁸ At that time they crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and the other on his left.

³⁹ Those who passed by insulted him. They shook their heads ⁴⁰ and said, “You were going to tear down God’s temple and build it again in three days. Save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ The chief priests together with the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the leaders made fun of him in the same way. They said, ⁴² “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. So he’s Israel’s king! Let him come down from the cross now, and we’ll believe him. ⁴³ He trusted God. Let God rescue him now if he wants. After all, this man said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ Even the criminals crucified with him were insulting him the same way.

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.

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.