John 18:28-19:15

New American Standard Bible

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸^(A)Then they *brought Jesus from ^(B)Caiaphas into ^(C)the ^[a]Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter ^(D)the ^[b]Praetorium, so that ^(E)they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ²⁹^(F)Therefore Pilate came out to them and *said, “What accusation are you bringing against this Man?” ³⁰They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not ^[c]a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you.” ³¹So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not ^[d]permitted to put anyone to death.” ³²This happened so that ^(G)the word of Jesus which He said, indicating what kind of death He was going to die, would be fulfilled.

³³Therefore Pilate ^(H)entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “^(I)You are the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you saying this ^[e]on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?” ³⁶Jesus answered, “^(J)My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ^[f]of this realm.” ³⁷Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “^(K)You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: ^(L)to testify to the truth. ^(M)Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” ³⁸Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

And after saying this, he ^(N)came out again to the Jews and *said to them, “^(O)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^[g]His case. ³⁹^(P)However, you have a custom that I release one prisoner ^[h]for you at the Passover; therefore do you wish that I release ^[i]for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰So they shouted again, saying, “^(Q)Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a rebel.

The Crown of Thorns

19 So Pilate then took Jesus and ^[j]^(R)had Him flogged. ²^(S)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple ^[k]cloak on Him; ³and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “^(T)Hail, King of the Jews!” and ^(U)slapped Him in the face again and again. ⁴And then Pilate ^(V)came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that ^(W)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^[l]His case.” ⁵Jesus then came out, ^(X)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” ⁶So when the chief priests and the ^(Y)officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for ^(Z)I find no grounds for charges in ^[m]His case!” ⁷The Jews answered him, “^(AA)We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He ^(AB)made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

⁸Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; ⁹and he ^(AC)entered the ^[n]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^(AD)Jesus 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, “^(AE)You would have no authority ^[o]over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason ^(AF)the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” ¹²As a result of this, Pilate ^[p]made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “^(AG)If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^[q]opposes Caesar!”

¹³Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and ^(AH)sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[r]The Pavement—but ^(AI)in ^[s]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was ^(AJ)the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[t]^(AK)sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Look, ^(AL)your King!” ¹⁵So they shouted, “^(AM)Away 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.”