HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1262
MAT T H EW 2 7
23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has
he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify
him!”
24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere
and that a riot was developing. So he sent for
a bowl of water and washed his hands before
the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s
blood. The responsibility is yours!”
25 And all the people yelled back, “We will
take responsibility for his death—we and our
children!”*
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He
ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip,
then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to
be crucified.
— promises —
from God
“I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”
M AT T H EW 2 8:2 0
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into
their headquarters* and called out the entire
regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet
robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a
crown and put it on his head, and they placed
a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then
they knelt before him in mockery and taunted,
“Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him
and grabbed the stick and struck him on the
head with it. 31 When they were finally tired of
mocking him, they took off the robe and put his
own clothes on him again. Then they led him
away to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
32 Along the way, they came across a man named
Simon, who was from Cyrene,* and the soldiers
forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 And they went
out to a place called Golgotha (which means
“Place of the Skull”). 34 The soldiers gave Jesus
wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had
tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 After they had nailed him to the cross, the
soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing
dice.* 36 Then they sat around and kept guard
as he hung there. 37 A sign was fastened above
Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against
him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews.” 38 Two revolutionaries* were crucified
with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39 The people passing by shouted abuse,
shaking their heads in mockery. 40 “Look at you
now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were
going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in
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three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God,
save yourself and come down from the cross!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.
42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t
save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he?
Let him come down from the cross right now,
and we will believe in him! 43 He trusted God, so
let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he
said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed
him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus
45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land
until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock,
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,*
lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my
God, why have you abandoned me?”*
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and
thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.
48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour
wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he
could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see
whether Elijah comes to save him.”*
50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain
in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two,
from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks
split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies
of many godly men and women who had died
were raised from the dead. 53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the
holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many
people.
54 The Roman officer* and the other soldiers
at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said,
“This man truly was the Son of God!”
55 And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching
from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph),
and the mother of James and John, the sons of
Zebedee.
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man
from Arimathea who had become a follower
of Jesus, 58 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’
body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to
him. 59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a
long sheet of clean linen cloth. 60 He placed it in
his own new tomb, which had been carved out
27:25 Greek “His blood be on us and on our children.”
27:27 Or into the Praetorium. 27:32 Cyrene was a city in
northern Africa. 27:35 Greek by casting lots. A few late
manuscripts add This fulfilled the word of the prophet: “They
divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for
my robe.” See Ps 22:18. 27:38 Or criminals; also in 27:44.
27:46a Some manuscripts read Eloi, Eloi. 27:46b Ps 22:1.
27:49 Some manuscripts add And another took a spear and
pierced his side, and out flowed water and blood. Compare
John 19:34. 27:54 Greek The centurion.