Matthew 27

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death; ²and they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor.

³When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. ⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” ⁷So they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. ⁸Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” ¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly.

¹⁵Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶And they had then a notorious prisoner, called Barabʹbas. ¹⁷So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabʹbas or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.” ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to ask for Barabʹbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabʹbas.” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified.” ²³And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified.”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” ²⁵And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released for them Barabʹbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. ²⁸And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, ²⁹and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

³²As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyreʹne, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. ³³And when they came to a place called Golʹgotha (which means the place of a skull), ³⁴they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; ³⁶then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” ³⁸Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, laʹma sabach-thaʹni?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” ⁴⁷And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Eliʹjah.” ⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Eliʹjah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

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

⁵⁵There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him; ⁵⁶among whom were Mary Magʹdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebʹedee.

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimatheʹa, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. ⁶¹Mary Magʹdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.

⁶²Next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember how that imposter said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴Therefore order the sepulchre to be made secure until the third day, 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.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the sepulchre secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.