Chapter 27

Now when morning came all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus in order to put him to death.

And they bound him and led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the procurator. The End of Judas

Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it thyself."

And he flung the pieces of silver into the temple, and withdrew; and went away and hanged himself with a halter.

And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, seeing that it is the price of blood."

And after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, as a burial place for strangers.

For this reason that field has been called even to this day, Haceldama, that is, the Field of Blood.

Then what was spoken through Jeremias the prophet was fulfilled, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was priced, upon whom the children of Israel set a price;

And they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me." Jesus before Pilate

Now Jesus stood before the procurator; and the procurator asked him, saying, "Art thou the king of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "Thou sayest it"

And when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he made no answer.

Then Pilate said to him, "Dost thou not hear how many things they prefer against thee? "

But he did not answer him a single word, so that the procurator wondered exceedingly.

Now at festival time the procurator used to release to the crowd a prisoner, whomever they would.

Now he had at that time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said, "Whom do you wish that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? "

For he knew that they had delivered him up out of envy.

Now, as he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream today because of him."

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus.

But the procurator addressed them, and said to them, "Which of the two do you wish that I release to you?" And they said, "Barabbas."

Pilate said to them, "What then am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified! "

The procurator said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they kept crying out the more, saying, "Let him be crucified."

Now Pilate, seeing that he was doing no good, but rather that a riot was breaking out, took water and washed his hands in sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves."

And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." The Scourging and Crowning

Then he released to them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to them to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the procurator took Jesus into the praetorium, and gathered together about him the whole cohort.

And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet cloak;

and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed into his right hand; and bending the knee before him they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews! "

And they spat on him, and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. The Way of the Cross

And when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off him and put his own garments on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Now as they went out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon; him they forced to take up his cross.

And they came to the place called Golgotha, that is, the Place of the Skull. The Crucifixion

And they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall; but when he had tasted it, he would not drink.

And after they had crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, "They divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots. "

And sitting down they kept watch over him.

And they put above his head the charge against him, written, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on his left.

Now the passers-by were jeering at him, shaking their heads,

and saying, "Thou who destroyest the temple, and in three days buildest it up again, save thyself! If thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross! "

In like manner, the chief priests with the Scribes and the elders, mocking, said,

"He saved others, himself he cannot save! If he is the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him.

He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God. '"

And the robbers also, who were crucified with him, reproached him in the same way. The Death of Jesus

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

But about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabacthani," that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? "

And some of the bystanders on hearing this said, "This man is calling Elias."

And immediately one of them ran and, taking a sponge, soaked it in common wine, put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink.

But the rest said, "Wait, let us see whether Elias is coming to save him."

But Jesus again cried out with a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent,

and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose;

and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection, they came into the holy city, and appeared to many.

Now when the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were very much afraid, and they said, "Truly he was the Son of God."

And many women were there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.

Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. The Burial

Now when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, Joseph by name, who was himself a disciple of Jesus.

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be given up.

And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb, and departed.

But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre. Precautions of the Chief Priests

And the next day, which was the one after the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate,

saying, "Sir, we have remembered how that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again. '

Give orders, therefore, that the sepulchre be guarded until the third day, or else his disciples may come and steal him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead'; and the last imposture will be worse than the first."

Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, guard it as well as you know how."

So they went and made the sepulchre secure, sealing the stone, and setting the guard.