Judas’s Remorse
1Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;
2and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.
3Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”
5And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”
7And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.
8For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
9Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel;
10AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.”
Jesus before Pilate
11Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”
12And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.
13Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”
14And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed. Life Lessons
15Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted.
16At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.
17So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
18For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.
19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” Life Lessons
20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.
21But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”
22Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all *said, “Crucify Him!”
23And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
24When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
25And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
26Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.
28They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
29And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
30They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.
31After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
32As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.
The Crucifixion
33And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,
34they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.
35And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.
36And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.
37And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.
39And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads
40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying,
42“He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.
43“HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
44The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. Life Lessons
45Now from the asixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the bninth hour.
46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
47And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”
48Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.
49But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Himc.”
50And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
55Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him.
56Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Jesus Is Buried
57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
58This man 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 cloth,
60and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
61And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
62Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,
63and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Life Lessons
64“Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”
66And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
Jesus Is Risen!
1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
2And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. Life Lessons
5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Life Lessons
7“Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
9And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
10Then Jesus *said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
11Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
12And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
14“And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”
15And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
The Great Commission
16But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. Life Lessons
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Life Lessons
19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Answers to Life’s Questions: Do I have a role to play in communicating God’s truth to others?
*20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”