15:1 Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire ①Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate.
▷ ①Or Sanhedrin
15:2 Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”
15:3 And the chief priests started accusing Him ①of many things.
▷ ①Or harshly
15:4 But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”
15:5 But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.
15:6 Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.
15:7 And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt.
15:8 And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
15:9 Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
15:10 For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.
15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.
15:12 And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
15:13 They shouted ①back, “Crucify Him!”
▷ ①Or again
15:14 But Pilate said to them, “Why, what ①evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”
▷ ①Or crime has He committed
15:15 Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
15:16 Now the soldiers took Him away into the ①palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman ②cohort.
▷ ①Or court ②Normally 600 men (the number varied)
15:17 And they *dressed Him in ①purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;
▷ ①Prob. a term for a Roman soldier’s red cloak (cf. Matt 27:28)
15:18 and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
15:19 And they repeatedly beat His head with a ①reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him.
▷ ①Or staff (made of a reed)
15:20 And after they had mocked Him, they took the ①purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.
▷ ①See note v 17
15:21 And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.
15:22 Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.
15:23 And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.
15:24 And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting ①lots for them to decide ②what each man would take.
▷ ①Lit a lot upon ②Lit who would take what
15:25 Now it was the ①third hour ②when they crucified Him.
▷ ①I.e., 9 a.m. ②Lit and
15:26 The inscription of the charge against Him ①read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
▷ ①Lit had been inscribed
15:27 And they *crucified two ①rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ②
▷ ①Or robbers ②Late mss add the following as v 28: And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was counted with wrongdoers.”
15:28
15:29 Those passing by were ①hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
▷ ①Or blaspheming Him
15:30 save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”
15:31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; ①He cannot save Himself!
▷ ①Or can He not save Himself?
15:32 Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
15:33 When the ①sixth hour came, darkness ②fell over the whole land until the ③ninth hour.
▷ ①I.e., noon ②Lit occurred ③I.e., 3 p.m.
15:34 At the ①ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
▷ ①I.e., 3 p.m.
15:35 And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!”
15:36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “ ①Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”
▷ ①Lit Allow that we see; or Hold off, let us see
15:37 But Jesus let out a loud cry, and ①died.
▷ ①Lit expired
15:38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
15:39 And when the centurion, who was standing ①right in front of Him, saw that He ②died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was ③the Son of God!”
▷ ①Or opposite Him ②Lit expired ③Or a son of God; or a son of a god
15:40 Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of ①James the ②Less and Joses, and Salome.
▷ ①Or Jacob ②Lit little (either in stature or age)
15:41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
15:42 When evening had already come, since it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
15:43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
15:44 Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.
15:45 And after learning this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
15:46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
15:47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.