John 19:5-24

New King James Version

Pilate’s Decision

⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

^6 (A)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

⁷ The Jews answered him, ^(B)“We have a law, and according to ^[a]our law He ought to die, because ^(C)He made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” ^(D)But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have ^[b]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, ^(E)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(F)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^(G)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

^13 (H)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now ^(I)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, ^(J)“We have no king but Caesar!”

^16 (K)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus ^[c]and led Him away.

The King on a Cross^(L)

^17 (M)And He, bearing His cross, ^(N)went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and ^(O)two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ^19 (P)Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰ Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹ Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

^23 (Q)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴ They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

Therefore the soldiers did these things.