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daybreak came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted together against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he told them, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “See to it yourself!”
5 So Judas threw the pieces of silver into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they conferred together and decided to buy the potter’s field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why the field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “ ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him on whom a price was set by the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field’, as the Lord directed me”.
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
12 But when He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He did not answer.
13 Then Pilate asked Him, “Don’t You hear how many things they are testifying against You?” 14 But Jesus did not answer him, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
15 Now at the feast it was the governor’s custom to release to the crowd any one prisoner they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered together, Pilate asked them, “Whom you do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed Him over.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him!”
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus.
21 The governor again asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”
“Barabbas!” they answered.
22 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”
23 Then Pilate asked, “Why, what evil has he done?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he getting nowhere, but instead that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “See to it yourselves.”
25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26 So he released Barabbas to them. But after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 Then they twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, along with a reed in His right hand. And kneeling down before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 When they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
32 As they went out, they came across a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means ‘Place of a Skull’), 34 they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. 35 When they had crucified Him, they divided up His clothes by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over Him there. 37 Above His head they put the charge against Him in writing:
38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders also mocked Him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but He cannot save Himself. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I am the Son of God’!” 44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with Him also kept taunting Him.
45 From the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
47 When some of the those standing there heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.”
48 At once one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after His resurrection and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, and had provided for His needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were also there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, that followed the Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered before Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘After three days I will rise again’. 64 So give the order that the tomb be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come by night and steal the body away, and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead’. Then this last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go and make the tomb as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made and the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting the guard.