Chapter 15

¹Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. ²Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

He answered, “So you say.”

³The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!”

⁵But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

⁶Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him. ⁷There was one called Barabbas, bound with those who had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. ⁸The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them. ⁹Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead. ¹²Pilate again asked them, “What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³They cried out again, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”

But they cried out exceedingly, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified. ¹⁶The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort. ¹⁷They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ¹⁸They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him. ²⁰When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him. ²¹They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross. ²²They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.” ²³They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.

²⁴Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take. ²⁵It was the third hour,¹⁵⁵¹⁵⁵9:00 A. M. and they crucified him. ²⁶The superscription of his accusation was written over him, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁷With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left. ²⁸The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “He was numbered with transgressors.”

²⁹Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, ³⁰save yourself, and come down from the cross!”

³¹Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself. ³²Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.¹⁵⁶¹⁵⁶TR omits “him”” Those who were crucified with him insulted him.

³³When the sixth hour¹⁵⁷¹⁵⁷or, noon had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.¹⁵⁸¹⁵⁸3:00 PM ³⁴At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

³⁵Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”

³⁶One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. ³⁸The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. ³⁹When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; ⁴¹who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁴⁴Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long. ⁴⁵When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.