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19
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 Soldiers made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and put a purple robe on him. 3 Time and again they went up to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped him.
4 Pilate went outside once more and said to them, “I'm bringing him out here to you so you'll know I find him not guilty of any crime.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. “Look, here's the man,” said Pilate.
6 When the chief priests and the guards saw Jesus, they shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
“You take him and crucify him,” Pilate answered. “I find him not guilty.”
7 The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this he was more afraid than ever, 9 and he went back into the governor's palace. He asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus didn't respond.
10 “Are you refusing to talk to me?” Pilate said to him. “Don't you realize that I have the power to have you released or to crucify you?”
11 “You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above,” Jesus answered. “Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of the greater sin.”
12 Because of this statement Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you set this man free you're not Caesar's friend. Anyone who sets himself up as a king is rebelling against Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called Stone Pavement (Gabbatha in Hebrew). 14 It was around noon on the preparation day before the Passover.
“Look, here is your king,” he said to the Jews.
15 “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!” they screamed out.
“Do you want me to crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“The only king we have is Caesar,” the chief priests replied.
16 So he handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
17 They led Jesus away, who carried his own cross, and went out to the “Place of the Skull,” (Golgotha in Hebrew). 18 They crucified him there, and two others with him: one on either side, with Jesus between them.
19 Pilate had a notice made and placed on the cross which said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many people read the notice because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 Then the chief priests came to Pilate and asked him, “Don't write ‘the King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said I am the King of the Jews.’ ”
22 Pilate replied, “What I have written I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his clothes and divided them in four so that each soldier had his share. There was also his robe, made without seams, woven in one piece. 24 So they said to each other, “Let's not tear it, but let's decide who will have it by rolling dice.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them and rolled dice for my clothing.”*Quoting Psalms 22:18. So that is what the soldiers did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus' mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.†It is not clear whether there were three women present or four. Some believe Mary's sister is the same person as Mary, wife of Clopas. 26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Mother,‡Literally, “woman,” but this does not work in English. this is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “This is your mother.” From then on the disciple took her into his home.
28 Jesus now realized that he had finished all that he had come to do. In fulfillment of Scripture, he said, “I'm thirsty.”§Quoting Psalms 69:21. 29 A jar of wine vinegar was standing there, so they soaked a sponge in the vinegar, put it on a hyssop stick, and held it to his lips. 30 After he'd had the vinegar, Jesus said, “It's finished!”*“Finished”: this can also mean “completed” or “fulfilled.” Then he bowed his head and breathed his last.
31 It was preparation day, and the Jewish leaders didn't want to leave the bodies on the crosses during the Sabbath day (in fact this was a special Sabbath), so they asked Pilate to break the legs, so that the bodies could be removed. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one and then the other of those crucified with Jesus, 33 but when they came to Jesus they saw he was already dead, so they didn't break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stuck a spear into his side, and blood mixed with water came out. 35 The one who saw this has given this evidence, and his evidence is true. He's certain that what he says is true so you can believe it too. 36 It happened like this so Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”†Quoting Psalms 34:20. 37 and as another Scripture says, “They will look at the one they pierced.”‡Referring to Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, or Psalms 34:20.
38 After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take down the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave his permission. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but in secret because he feared the Jews. So Joseph came and took the body away. 39 He was joined by Nicodemus, the man who had first visited Jesus at night. He brought with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds. 40 They took Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen cloth together with the mixture of spices, in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 There was a garden near where Jesus was crucified; and in the garden was a new, unused tomb. 42 Since it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus to rest there.

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*19:24 Quoting Psalms 22:18.

†19:25 It is not clear whether there were three women present or four. Some believe Mary's sister is the same person as Mary, wife of Clopas.

‡19:26 Literally, “woman,” but this does not work in English.

§19:28 Quoting Psalms 69:21.

*19:30 “Finished”: this can also mean “completed” or “fulfilled.”

†19:36 Quoting Psalms 34:20.

‡19:37 Referring to Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, or Psalms 34:20.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher