John 18:25-19:22

English Standard Version

Peter Denies Jesus Again

^25 (A)Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of ^(B)the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you ^(C)in the garden with him?” ²⁷ Peter again denied it, and ^(D)at once a rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

^28 (E)Then they led Jesus ^(F)from the house of Caiaphas to ^(G)the governor's headquarters.^[a] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, ^(H)so that they would not be defiled, ^(I)but could eat the Passover. ^29 (J)So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, ^(K)“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” ^32 (L)This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken ^(M)to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

My Kingdom Is Not of This World

^33 (N)So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, ^(O)“Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, ^(P)“My kingdom ^(Q)is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, ^(R)my servants would have been fighting, that ^(S)I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, ^(T)“You say that I am a king. ^(U)For this purpose I was born and for this purpose ^(V)I have come into the world—^(W)to bear witness to the truth. ^(X)Everyone who is ^(Y)of the truth ^(Z)listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, ^(AA)he went back outside to the Jews and told them, ^(AB)“I find no guilt in him. ^39 (AC)But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ They cried out again, ^(AD)“Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.^[b]

Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and ^(AE)flogged him. ^2 (AF)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. ⁴ Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that ^(AG)I find no guilt in him.” ⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing ^(AH)the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ^(AI)“Behold the man!” ⁶ When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, ^(AJ)“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for ^(AK)I find no guilt in him.” ⁷ The Jews^[c] answered him, “We have a law, and ^(AL)according to that law he ought to die because ^(AM)he has made himself the Son of God.” ⁸ When Pilate heard this statement, ^(AN)he was even more afraid. ^9 (AO)He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, ^(AP)“Where are you from?” But ^(AQ)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, ^(AR)“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(AS)he who delivered me over to you ^(AT)has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on ^(AU)Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. ^(AV)Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³ So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on ^(AW)the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic^[d] Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(AX)the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.^[e] He said to the Jews, ^(AY)“Behold your King!” ¹⁵ They cried out, ^(AZ)“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” ^16 (BA)So he ^(BB)delivered him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus, ¹⁷ and ^(BC)he went out, ^(BD)bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ^18 (BE)There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ¹⁹ Pilate ^(BF)also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for ^(BG)the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, ^(BH)“What I have written I have written.”