Jesus Before Pilate
Very early in the morning, the chief priests met together with the elders, the religious teachers, and the entire ruling council to make their plan. They tied up Jesus, took Him away, and brought Him to Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate questioned Jesus directly: "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so." Then the chief priests started throwing many accusations at Jesus. Pilate questioned Him again: "Aren't You going to answer? Listen to all these serious charges they're making against You!" But Jesus gave no more replies, which completely amazed Pilate. Every year during the Passover festival, Pilate had a tradition of releasing one prisoner that the people chose. At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison. He had been locked up with some rebels who had committed murder during an uprising against Rome. The crowd came up to Pilate and started asking him to follow his usual custom of releasing a prisoner. Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?" He asked this because he realized that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of Him. But the chief priests worked up the crowd and convinced them to ask for Barabbas to be released instead. Pilate asked them again, "Then what do you want me to do with this man you call the King of the Jews?" They all shouted back, "Crucify Him!" Pilate asked, "Why? What crime has He committed?" But they shouted even louder, "Crucify Him!" Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. Then he ordered Jesus to be whipped and handed Him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
The soldiers took Jesus inside the palace, which was called the Praetorium, and gathered their entire unit together. They put a purple robe on him and made a crown by weaving thorns together, then placed it on his head. They started greeting him mockingly, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" They repeatedly hit his head with a stick and spit on him. They also knelt down and pretended to worship him as if he were royalty. When they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to nail him to a cross.
The Crucifixion
A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was walking into Jerusalem from the countryside. Simon was the father of two sons, Alexander and Rufus. The Roman soldiers grabbed him and forced him to carry Jesus's cross. The soldiers brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means "The Place of the Skull." When they arrived, they offered Jesus wine that had been mixed with a bitter spice called myrrh, but Jesus refused to drink it. Then they nailed Him to the cross. The soldiers divided up His clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see who would get each piece. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified Jesus. Above His head, they posted a sign stating the charge against Him. It read: "THE KING OF THE JEWS." They crucified two criminals alongside Jesus, placing one on His right side and one on His left. People walking by on the road shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads mockingly and yelled, "Ha! You said You could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! If that's true, then come down from that cross and save Yourself!" The chief priests and religious teachers also made fun of Jesus, talking among themselves and saying, "He claimed He could save other people, but He can't even save Himself! Let this so-called Christ, this King of Israel, come down from the cross right now. Then we'll see it with our own eyes and believe in Him!" Even the two criminals hanging beside Jesus joined in, hurling insults at Him.
The Death of Jesus
From noon until three o'clock in the afternoon, darkness spread across the entire land. At three o'clock, Jesus cried out loudly, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" These words mean, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" Some of the people standing nearby heard Him and said, "Listen, He's calling for Elijah." One person quickly ran and soaked a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and lifted it up to Jesus' mouth so He could drink. The man said, "Wait, let's see if Elijah will come to rescue Him." Then Jesus let out a loud cry and died. At that very moment, the heavy curtain hanging in the temple was ripped in half from top to bottom. The Roman officer who was standing guard directly in front of Jesus watched how He died, and he said, "This man really was God's Son!" Several women were also there, watching everything from far away. Mary Magdalene was among them, along with Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joses, and also Salome. These women had been Jesus' followers and had taken care of His needs when He was teaching in Galilee. Many other women who had traveled with Him to Jerusalem were there watching as well.
The Burial of Jesus
When evening came, it was Preparation Day—the day before the Sabbath. Joseph from the town of Arimathea, an important member of the Jewish ruling council who was also looking forward to God's kingdom, gathered his courage and went to Pilate. He asked if he could have Jesus' body. Pilate was shocked to learn that Jesus had already died. He called for the Roman centurion who had been in charge and asked him to confirm whether Jesus was truly dead. After the centurion assured Pilate that Jesus had indeed died, Pilate gave Joseph permission to take the body. Joseph went and bought a linen cloth. He carefully took Jesus' body down from the cross and wrapped it in the cloth. Then he laid the body in a tomb that had been carved out of solid rock. When he was finished, he rolled a large stone across the entrance to seal the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph watched and saw exactly where Jesus' body had been placed.