Matthew 27:22-66

English Standard Version

²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(A)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(B)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(C)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(D)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(E)this man's blood;^{[a] (F)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(G)“His blood be on us and ^(H)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(I)scourged^[b] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (J)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(K)governor's headquarters,^[c] and they gathered the whole ^(L)battalion^[d] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(M)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(N)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(O)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(P)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(Q)led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^32 (R)(S)As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^(T)carry his cross. ^33 (U)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^34 (V)they offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^(W)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, ^(X)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and ^(Y)kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^(Z)the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two ^(AA)robbers were crucified with him, ^(AB)one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And ^(AC)those who passed by ^(AD)derided him, ^(AE)wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(AF)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^(AG)If you are ^(AH)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^42 (AI)“He saved others; ^(AJ)he cannot save himself. ^(AK)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^43 (AL)He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (AM)And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour^[e] there was darkness over all the land^[f] until the ninth hour.^{[g] 46} And about the ninth hour Jesus ^(AN)cried out with a loud voice, saying, ^(AO)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^(AP)sour wine, and put it on a reed and ^(AQ)gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(AR)cried out again with a loud voice and ^(AS)yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(AT)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^(AU)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^(AV)the saints ^(AW)who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^(AX)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (AY)When the centurion and those who were with him, ^(AZ)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^(BA)“Truly this was the Son^[h] of God!”

⁵⁵ There were also ^(BB)many women there, looking on ^(BC)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^(BD)ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were ^(BE)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^(BF)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (BG)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was 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 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(BH)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(BI)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(BJ)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(BK)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(BL)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(BM)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(BN)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(BO)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(BP)a guard^[i] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(BQ)sealing the stone and setting a guard.