LukeChapter 23
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1Then the whole council got up and took Jesus to Pilate. 2They began to accuse him. They said, "We found this man leading our nation astray. He tells people not to pay taxes to Caesar. And he says he is the Messiah, a king." 3So Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "You have said so." 4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I don't find any reason to charge this man with a crime." 5But they kept insisting. "His teaching stirs up the people all over Judea," they said. "He started in Galilee, and now he has come all the way here." 6When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was from Galilee. 7He learned that Jesus was from the land Herod ruled. So he sent Jesus to Herod. Herod was also in Jerusalem at that time. 8Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus. He had wanted to see him for a long time. He had heard about Jesus, and he hoped to see him do a miracle. 9Herod asked Jesus many questions. But Jesus didn't answer him at all. 10The chief priests and scribes were standing there. They were accusing him angrily. 11Then Herod and his soldiers also laughed at Jesus and made fun of him. They dressed him in a fine robe and sent him back to Pilate. 12Herod and Pilate had been enemies before this. But that day they became friends. 13Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. 14He said to them, "You brought this man to me. You said he was turning the people against the government. I have questioned him here in front of you. I find that he is not guilty of the things you say he did. 15And Herod didn't find him guilty either, because he sent him back to us. You can see that this man has done nothing that deserves death. 16So I will have him whipped, and then I will let him go." 17—a 18But the whole crowd shouted together, "Take this man away! Let Barabbas go free for us!" 19(Barabbas had been put in prison for murder and for starting a riot against the government in the city.) 20Pilate wanted to let Jesus go. So he spoke to the crowd again. 21But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" 22Pilate spoke to them a third time. "Why? What evil has this man done?" he asked. "I have found no reason to put him to death. So I will have him whipped, and then I will let him go." 23But they kept pushing. They shouted loudly for Jesus to be crucified. And their shouting won. 24So Pilate decided to give them what they asked for. 25He set free the man they asked for, the one in prison for a riot and murder. And he handed Jesus over to them to do what they wanted. 26The soldiers led Jesus away. On the way, they grabbed a man named Simon from Cyrene. He was coming into the city from the country. They put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27A large crowd of people followed Jesus. Among them were women who kept crying and wailing over him. 28But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. 29Listen, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the women who can't have children! Blessed are the wombs that never had babies, and the breasts that never fed them!' 30At that time, 'people will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" And they will say to the hills, "Cover us!"' 31If people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 32Two other men, who were criminals, were also led out to be killed with Jesus. 33They came to the place called The Skull. There they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also crucified the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.b 35The people stood there watching. And the rulers made fun of him. They said, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One." 36The soldiers also made fun of him. They came up and offered him sour wine. 37They said, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38A sign was put up above him. It said: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39One of the criminals hanging there shouted insults at him. "Aren't you the Messiah?" he said. "Then save yourself and us!" 40But the other criminal told him to stop. He said, "Don't you even fear God, since you are getting the same punishment? 41We are being punished fairly. We are getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man hasn't done anything wrong." 42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!" 43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." 44It was now about noon. Darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 45The sun stopped shining. And the curtain in the temple was torn down the middle. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I give my spirit." After he said this, he took his last breath. 47The centurion saw what had happened, and he praised God. He said, "This man really was righteous."c 48Crowds of people had come together to watch this sight. When they saw what had happened, they beat their chests in sorrow and went home. 49But all the people who knew Jesus stood far away, watching these things. The women who had followed him from Galilee were with them. 50There was a man named Joseph who was a member of the Council. He was a good and righteous man. 51He had not agreed with what the Council decided and did. He came from Arimathea, a town in Judea. He was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 53Then he took the body down and wrapped it in a linen cloth. He put it in a tomb cut out of rock. No one had ever been buried there. 54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed. They saw the tomb and how Jesus' body was laid in it. 56Then they went home and got spices and perfumes ready. But they rested on the Sabbath, as the law commanded.