Jesus Handed Over to Pilate
When dawn broke, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came together and made their final plan to have Jesus killed. They tied Him up with ropes, marched Him out of the building, and delivered Him to Pilate, the Roman governor who ruled over their region.
The Death of Judas
When Judas, the one who had betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was overwhelmed with deep regret. He took the thirty silver coins back to the chief priests and elders who had paid him. "I have sinned," Judas told them. "I betrayed an innocent man." But the religious leaders responded coldly, "What does that matter to us? That's your problem to deal with." Judas threw the silver coins down on the temple floor and walked away. Then he went out and killed himself by hanging. The chief priests gathered up the silver pieces. "We can't put this money back into the temple treasury," they said to each other. "This is blood money—payment for someone's death." After discussing what to do, they decided to use the coins to purchase a field that belonged to a potter. They would use this field as a cemetery where foreigners could be buried. Because of this, that place became known as the Field of Blood, and it is still called by that name today. This fulfilled what the prophet Jeremiah had spoken long before: "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price that the people of Israel had set on him, and they used them to buy the potter's field, just as the Lord had directed me."
Jesus Before Pilate
Jesus stood before the Roman governor, who questioned him directly: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "You have said so." When the chief priests and elders brought accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. He gave no response to their charges. Pilate then asked him, "Don't you hear all these accusations they're making against you?" But Jesus offered no defense whatsoever—not even to a single charge. This complete silence left the governor utterly amazed.
Jesus or Barabbas
Every year during the Passover festival, the Roman governor had a tradition of releasing one prisoner that the people could choose. At that time, the authorities were holding a well-known criminal named Barabbas. When the crowd had gathered together, Pilate stood before them and asked, "Which prisoner do you want me to set free: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?" Pilate knew that the religious leaders had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous of him. While Pilate was sitting on his judgment seat, his wife sent him an urgent message that said, "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man. I had terrible nightmares about him last night." But the chief priests and the elders worked through the crowd, convincing the people to ask for Barabbas to be released and to demand that Jesus be executed. The governor asked them again, "Which of these two men do you want me to release?" The crowd shouted back, "Barabbas!" Pilate then asked, "Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?" Every voice in the crowd cried out, "Crucify him!" Pilate pressed them further: "Why? What crime has he committed?" But the people only shouted louder and more fiercely, "Crucify him!" When Pilate realized he was getting nowhere and that the situation was turning into a dangerous riot, he called for a bowl of water. In front of the entire crowd, he washed his hands and declared, "I am not responsible for the death of this innocent man. That responsibility falls on you." All the people responded, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" So Pilate gave them what they wanted and released Barabbas. But he ordered that Jesus be brutally whipped, and then he handed him over to his soldiers to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
The Roman soldiers who served the governor took Jesus inside the headquarters building and called together their entire unit to gather around him. They tore off his clothes and dressed him in a bright red military cloak. Then they wove sharp thorns into a circle to make a mock crown and pressed it down on his head. They placed a wooden rod in his right hand like a royal scepter and dropped to their knees in front of him in fake worship, shouting, "Long live the King of the Jews!" But then they spat on him and grabbed the rod from his hand, using it to beat him over and over on the head. When they had finished making fun of him, they pulled off the red cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Finally, they led him out to nail him to a cross.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
As they made their way to the execution site, the soldiers came across a man from Cyrene named Simon. They forced him to carry Jesus' cross. When they reached a place called Golgotha, which means "The Place of the Skull," the soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter substance called gall. He tasted it but refused to drink it. After they nailed Jesus to the cross, the soldiers divided up his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see who would get what. Then they sat down nearby to guard him. Above Jesus' head, they hung a sign stating the charge against him: "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Two criminals were also crucified that day, one on each side of Jesus. People walking by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads in mockery. They called out, "You said you would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you really are the Son of God, come down from that cross!" The chief priests, religious teachers, and community elders also mocked him in the same cruel way. They said, "He saved other people, but he can't save himself. He claims to be the King of Israel! Let him come down from the cross right now, and then we'll believe in him. He says he trusts in God—let God rescue him now if God really wants him. After all, he claimed to be the Son of God." Even the two criminals hanging beside him joined in taunting and insulting Jesus.
The Death of Jesus
From noon until three o'clock in the afternoon, darkness spread across the entire land. Around three o'clock, Jesus cried out loudly, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" — which means "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" Some of the people standing nearby heard this and said, "He's calling for Elijah." One of them immediately ran and got a sponge, soaked it with sour wine, stuck it on a stick, and lifted it up to Jesus' lips so He could drink. But the others said, "Wait — leave Him alone. Let's see if Elijah actually comes to rescue Him." Then Jesus cried out loudly once more and died. At that very moment, the thick curtain hanging in the temple was ripped in half from the very top all the way down to the bottom. The ground shook violently and rocks split apart. Tombs burst open, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. After Jesus rose from the dead, these people came out of their tombs, went into Jerusalem, and many people saw them. The Roman officer and the soldiers who were guarding Jesus witnessed the earthquake and everything else that happened. They were filled with terror and said, "This man truly was the Son of God!" Many women were also there, watching from far away. These were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had taken care of His needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary who was the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
The Burial of Jesus
When evening came, a wealthy man from the town of Arimathea arrived. His name was Joseph, and he was one of Jesus' followers. He went to Pilate and asked for permission to take Jesus' body. Pilate gave the order for the body to be released to him. Joseph took Jesus' body and carefully wrapped it in a clean linen sheet. He then carried it to his own brand-new tomb, which he had carved out of solid rock. After placing Jesus inside, he rolled a large stone in front of the tomb's entrance and left. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained there, sitting across from the tomb, watching.
The Guard at the Tomb
The day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees went together to see Pilate. They said to him, "Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive, he claimed that after three days he would rise from the dead. We ask you to command that his tomb be made secure until the third day passes. If you don't, his followers might come and steal his body away, then tell everyone that he has risen from the dead. This final lie would be even worse than all the others he told." Pilate answered them, "You have soldiers available to you. Go and make the tomb as secure as you possibly can." So they went to the tomb and made it secure by putting an official seal on the stone and placing guards there to watch over it.