Mark 15:1-20

1Very early the next morning, all the Jewish leaders met together. The leaders of the priests met with the leaders, the teachers of God's Law, and the other important Jews. They decided what they would do. They tied Jesus' hands and feet and they took him to Pilate's house. They put him under Pilate's authority.

2Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus replied, ‘You have said it.’

3Then the leaders of the priests told Pilate that Jesus had done many bad things.

4So Pilate asked him again, ‘What is your answer? You should say something! Listen! They are saying that you have done many bad things.’

5But Jesus still did not reply to what the men were saying against him. Pilate was very surprised about that.

6During the Passover festival each year, Pilate let one person go free out of the prison. The people had to ask him for the person that they wanted.

7A man called Barabbas was in the prison at that time. He and some other men had fought against the Roman rulers. And they had killed someone when they were fighting.

8The crowd came to Pilate. They asked him to do what he usually did at this time.

9Pilate asked the people, ‘Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?’

10Pilate knew why the leaders of the priests had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much.

11But the leaders of the priests talked strongly to the people. They said, ‘Ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead of Jesus.’

12Pilate asked the crowd again, ‘So what should I do to Jesus? He is the man that you call “the king of the Jews”.’

13The people shouted back to Pilate: ‘Kill him on a cross!’

14‘Why should I kill him?’ Pilate asked. ‘What bad things has he done?’ But the people shouted even louder, ‘Kill him on a cross!’

15Pilate decided to do what the crowd wanted. So he let Barabbas go free. He said to his soldiers, ‘Hit Jesus many times with a whip. Then take him and fix him on a cross to die.’

16So the soldiers took Jesus to the yard at the ruler's house. They told all the soldiers in their group to come there.

17Then they put a dark red coat on Jesus. They used some branches with thorns to make a crown for him. They put it on his head.

18Then the soldiers began to laugh at Jesus. They said, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’

19They took a stick and they hit him on the head with it many times. They spat on him. Then they went down on their knees in front of him. They told him how great he was.

20When they had stopped laughing at him, they took the dark red coat off him. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they took him away to the place where they would kill him on a cross.