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Jesus Before Pilate
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with
the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin,
reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and
handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You
have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So
again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how
many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was
amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a
prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas
was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed
murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate
to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the
Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the
chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief
priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas
instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the
king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over
to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that
is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of
soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted
together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they
began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again
and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit
on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe
and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to
crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of
Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the
country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They
brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the
place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed
with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified
him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what
each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.
26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the
king of the jews. 27 [28] They crucified two rebels with
him, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who
passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and
saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and
build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save
yourself!”
31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers
of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,”
they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah,
this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we
may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped
insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema
sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”).
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they
said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put
it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave
him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he
said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top
to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in
front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man
was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among
them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the
younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women
had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women
who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the
Sabbath). So as evening approached. 43 Joseph of Arimathea,
a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting
for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for
Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was
already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus
had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that
it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought
some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the
linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he
rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was
laid.
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
