John 19
Pilate Tries to Release Jesus
19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely.1 19:2 The soldiers2 braided3 a crown of thorns4 and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe.5 19:3 They6 came up to him again and again7 and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!”8 And they struck him repeatedly9 in the face.
19:4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders,10 “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation11 against him.” 19:5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.12 Pilate13 said to them, “Look, here is the man!”14 19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify15 him! Crucify him!”16 Pilate said,17 “You take him and crucify him!18 Certainly19 I find no reason for an accusation20 against him!” 19:7 The Jewish leaders21 replied,22 “We have a law,23 and according to our law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God!”24
19:8 When Pilate heard what they said,25 he was more afraid than ever,26 19:9 and he went back into the governor’s residence27 and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 19:10 So Pilate said,28 “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know I have the authority29 to release you, and to crucify you?”30 19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority31 over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you32 is guilty of greater sin.”33
19:12 From this point on, Pilate tried34 to release him. But the Jewish leaders35 shouted out,36 “If you release this man,37 you are no friend of Caesar!38 Everyone who claims to be a king39 opposes Caesar!” 19:13 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat40 in the place called “The Stone Pavement”41 (Gabbatha in42 Aramaic).43 19:14 (Now it was the day of preparation44 for the Passover, about noon.45)46 Pilate47 said to the Jewish leaders,48 “Look, here is your king!”
19:15 Then they49 shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him!50 Crucify51 him!” Pilate asked,52 “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” 19:16 Then Pilate53 handed him over54 to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus, 19:17 and carrying his own cross55 he went out to the place called “The Place of the Skull”56 (called in Aramaic57 Golgotha).58 19:18 There they59 crucified60 him along with two others,61 one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. 19:19 Pilate also had a notice62 written and fastened to the cross,63 which read:64 “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” 19:20 Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem65 read this notice,66 because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic,67 Latin, and Greek. 19:21 Then the chief priests of the Jews68 said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am king of the Jews.’” 19:22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
19:23 Now when the soldiers crucified69 Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier,70 and the tunic71 remained. (Now the tunic72 was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)73 19:24 So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice74 to see who will get it.”75 This took place76 to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.”77 So the soldiers did these things.
19:25 Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.78 19:26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman,79 look, here is your son!” 19:27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time80 the disciple took her into his own home.
Jesus’ Death
19:28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time81 everything was completed,82 said (in order to fulfill the scripture),83 “I am thirsty!”84 19:29 A jar full of sour wine85 was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop86 and lifted it87 to his mouth. 19:30 When88 he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!”89 Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.90
19:31 Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath91 (for that Sabbath was an especially important one),92 the Jewish leaders93 asked Pilate to have the victims’ legs94 broken95 and the bodies taken down.96 19:32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who had been crucified97 with Jesus,98 first the one and then the other.99 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced100 his side with a spear, and blood and water101 flowed out immediately. 19:35 And the person who saw it102 has testified (and his testimony is true, and he103 knows that he is telling the truth),104 so that you also may believe. 19:36 For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.”105 19:37 And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”106
Jesus’ Burial
19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders107),108 asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate109 gave him permission, so he went and took the body away.110 19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus111 at night,112 accompanied Joseph,113 carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes114 weighing about seventy-five pounds.115 19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices,116 in strips of linen cloth117 according to Jewish burial customs.118 19:41 Now at the place where Jesus119 was crucified120 there was a garden,121 and in the garden122 was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried.123 19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation124 and the tomb was nearby,125 they placed Jesus’ body there.