John 19

The Crown of Thorns

1So Pilate then took Jesus and 12had Him flogged. 23And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple 4cloak on Him; 3and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “5Hail, King of the Jews!” and 6slapped Him in the face again and again. 4And then Pilate 7came out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that 8I find no grounds at all for charges in 9His case.” 5Jesus then came out, 10wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” 6So when the chief priests and the 11officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for 12I find no grounds for charges in 13His case!” 7The Jews answered him, “14We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He 15made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

8Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; 9and he 16entered the 17Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But 18Jesus gave him no answer. 10So Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11Jesus answered him, “19You would have no authority 20over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason 21the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” 12As a result of this, Pilate 22made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “23If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king 24opposes Caesar!”

13Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and 25sat down on the judgment seat at a place called 26The Pavement--but 27in 28Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14Now it was 29the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the 3031sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, 32your King!” 15So they shouted, “33Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

16So he then 34handed Him over to them to be crucified.

1735They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, 3637carrying His own cross, to the place called 38the Place of a Skull, which 39in 40Hebrew is called, Golgotha. 18There they crucified Him, and with Him 41two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. 19Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “42JESUS THE NAZARENE, 43THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written 44in 45Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. 21So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘46The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am 47King of the Jews.’” 22Pilate answered, “48What I have written, I have written.”

23Then 49the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made 50four parts: a part to each soldier, and the 51tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven 52in one piece. 24So they said to one another, “53Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” 54This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They 55divided My garments among themselves, and they cast 56lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

2557Now beside the cross of Jesus stood 58His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and 59Mary Magdalene. 26So when Jesus saw His mother, and 60the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “61Woman, behold, your son!” 27Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into 62his own household.

28After this, Jesus, 63knowing that all things had already been accomplished, 64in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “65I am thirsty.” 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so 66they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “67It is finished!” And He bowed His head and 68gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

31Now then, since it was 69the day of preparation, to prevent 70the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (71for that Sabbath was a 72high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away. 32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was 73crucified with Him; 33but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately 74blood and water came out. 35And he who has seen has 75testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36For these things took place 76so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “77Not a bone of Him shall be 78broken.” 37And again another Scripture says, “79They will look at Him whom they pierced.”

38Now 80after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a 81secret one for 82fear of the 83Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 3984Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, 85bringing a 86mixture of 87myrrh and aloes, about a 8889hundred litras weight. 40So they took the body of Jesus and 90bound it in 91linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a 92new tomb 93in which no one had yet been laid. 42Therefore because of the Jewish day of 94preparation, since the tomb was 95nearby, they laid Jesus there.