CHAPTER 19
The
soldiers
twisted together
a crown
of
thorns,
put it on
His
head,
and
dressed
Him
in a purple
robe.
And
they went up
to
Him again and again,
saying,
“Hail,
King
of the
Jews!”
and
slapping Him in the face.
Once
again
Pilate
came
out
and
said
to the Jews,
“Look,
I am bringing
Him
out
to you
to
let you know
that
I find
no
basis for a charge
against
Him."
When
Jesus
came
out
wearing
the
crown
of thorns
and
the
purple
robe,
Pilate said
to them,
“Here is
the
man!”
As soon as
the
chief priests
and
officers
saw
Him,
they shouted,
“Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!”
“You take
Him
and
crucify Him,”
Pilate
replied,
“for
I
find
no
basis for a charge
against
Him.”
“We
have
a law,”
answered
the
Jews,
“and
according to
that
law
He must
die,
because
He declared
Himself to be
the Son
of God.”
So
Pilate
said
to Him,
“Do You refuse to speak
to me?
Do You not know
that
I have
authority
to release
You
and
authority
to crucify
You?”
Jesus
answered,
“You would have
no
authority
over
Me
if
it were
not
given
to you
from above.
Therefore
the one who
handed Me over
to you
is guilty of
greater
sin.”
From then on,
Pilate
tried
to release
Him,
but
the
Jews
kept shouting,
“If
you release
this man,
you are
no
friend
of Caesar.
Anyone
who
declares
himself
a king
is defying
Caesar."
When
Pilate
heard
these
words,
he brought
Jesus
out
and
sat
on
the judgment seat
at
a place
called
the Stone Pavement,
which
in Aramaic is
Gabbatha.
It was
the day of Preparation
for the
Passover,
about
the sixth
hour.
And
Pilate said
to the
Jews,
“Here is
your
King!”
At this,
they shouted,
“Away
with Him!
Away with Him!
Crucify
Him!”
“Shall I crucify
your
King?”
Pilate
asked.
“We have
no
king
but
Caesar,”
replied
the
chief priests.
Carrying
His own
cross,
He went out
to
The Place
of the Skull,
which
in Aramaic
is called
Golgotha.
Many
of the
Jews
read
this
sign,
because
the
place
where
Jesus
was crucified
was
near
the
city,
and
it was
written
in Aramaic,
Latin,
and Greek.
So
the
chief priests
of the
Jews
said
to Pilate,
“Do not
write,
‘The
King
of the
Jews,’
but only
that
He
said,
‘I am
the King
of the
Jews.’"
When
the
soldiers
had crucified
Jesus,
they divided
His
garments
into four
parts,
one
for each
soldier,
with
the
tunic remaining.
It
was
seamless,
woven
in one piece
from
top to bottom.
So
they said
to
one another,
“Let us not tear it.
Instead,
let us cast lots
to see
who
will get
it.”
This was to
fulfill
the
Scripture:
“They divided
My
garments
among them,
and
cast
lots
for
My
clothing.”
So
that is what
the
soldiers
did.
Near
the
cross
of Jesus
stood
His
mother
and
her
sister,
as well as Mary
the wife
of Clopas
and
Mary
Magdalene.
When
Jesus
saw
His
mother
and
the
disciple
whom
He loved
standing nearby,
He said
to
His mother,
“Woman,
here is
your
son.”
Then
He said
to the
disciple,
“Here is
your
mother.”
So
from
that
hour,
this
disciple
took
her
into
his
home.
After
this,
knowing
that
everything
had now been accomplished,
and to
fulfill
the
Scripture,
Jesus
said,
“I am thirsty.”
A jar
of
sour wine
was sitting there.
So
they soaked
a sponge
in the wine,
put it on
a stalk of hyssop,
and lifted
it
to His
mouth.
When
Jesus
had received
the
sour wine,
He said,
“It is finished.”
And
bowing
His
head,
He yielded up
His
spirit.
It was
the day of Preparation,
and
the next
day
was
a High
Sabbath.
In order that
the
bodies
would not remain
on
the
cross
during
the
Sabbath,
the
Jews
asked
Pilate
to have
the
legs
broken
and
the bodies
removed.
So
the
soldiers
came
and
broke
the
legs
of the
first man
who
had been crucified with
Jesus,
and
those of the
other.
Instead,
one
of the
soldiers
pierced
His
side
with a spear,
and
immediately
blood
and
water
flowed out.
The one who
saw it
has testified to this,
and
his
testimony
is
true.
He
knows
that
he is telling
the truth,
so that
you
also
may believe.
Now
these things
happened
so that
the
Scripture
would be fulfilled:
“Not one
of His
bones
will be broken.”
Afterward,
Joseph
of
Arimathea,
who was
a disciple
of Jesus
(but
secretly
for
fear
of the
Jews),
asked
Pilate
to
let him remove
the
body
of Jesus.
Pilate
gave him permission,
so
he came
and
removed
His
body.
Nicodemus,
who
had previously come
to
Jesus
at night,
also
brought
a mixture
of myrrh
and
aloes,
about
seventy-five pounds.
So
they took
the
body
of Jesus
and
wrapped
it
in linen cloths
with
the
spices,
according to
the Jewish
burial
custom.
Now
there was
a garden
in
the
place
where
Jesus was crucified,
and
in
the
garden
a new
tomb
in
which
no one
had yet been
laid.