Judas Betrays Jesus

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, ^(A)He went forth with His disciples over ^(B)the ^[a]ravine of the Kidron, where there was ^(C)a garden, in which He entered ^[b]with His disciples. ² Now Judas also, who was ^[c]betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had ^(D)often met there with His disciples. ^3 (E)Judas then, having received ^(F)the Roman ^[d]cohort and ^(G)officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and ^(H)torches and weapons. ⁴ So Jesus, ^(I)knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “^(J)Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶ So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Therefore He again asked them, “^(K)Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ to fulfill the word which He spoke, “^(L)Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” ¹⁰ Simon Peter then, ^(M)having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; ^(N)the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Jesus before the Priests

^12 (O)So ^(P)the Roman ^[e]cohort and the ^[f]commander and the ^(Q)officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, ¹³ and led Him to ^(R)Annas first; for he was father-in-law of ^(S)Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that ^(T)it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

^15 (U)Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into ^(V)the court of the high priest, ^16 (W)but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. ^17 (X)Then the slave-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “^(Y)You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He *said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the slaves and the ^(Z)officers were standing there, having made ^(AA)a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were ^(AB)warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

^19 (AC)The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I ^(AD)have spoken openly to the world; I always ^(AE)taught in ^[g]synagogues and ^(AF)in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. ²¹ Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” ²² When He had said this, one of the ^(AG)officers standing nearby ^(AH)struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” ^23 (AI)Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” ^24 (AJ)So Annas sent Him bound to ^(AK)Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

^25 (AL)Now ^(AM)Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “^(AN)You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one ^(AO)whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in ^(AP)the garden with Him?” ²⁷ Peter then denied it again, and immediately ^(AQ)a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

^28 (AR)Then they *led Jesus from ^(AS)Caiaphas into ^(AT)the ^[h]Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into ^(AU)the ^[i]Praetorium so that ^(AV)they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ^29 (AW)Therefore Pilate went out to them and *said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” ³¹ So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” ³² to fulfill ^(AX)the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

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

And when he had said this, he ^(BE)went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “^(BF)I find no guilt in Him. ^39 (BG)But you have a custom that I release someone ^[m]for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release ^[n]for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ So they cried out again, saying, “^(BH)Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

The Crown of Thorns

19 Pilate then took Jesus and ^[o](BI)scourged Him. ^2 (BJ)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; ³ and they began to come up to Him and say, “^(BK)Hail, King of the Jews!” and to ^(BL)give Him slaps in the face. ⁴ Pilate ^(BM)came out again and *said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that ^(BN)I find no guilt in Him.” ⁵ Jesus then came out, ^(BO)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” ⁶ So when the chief priests and the ^(BP)officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for ^(BQ)I find no guilt in Him.” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “^(BR)We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He ^(BS)made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; ⁹ and he ^(BT)entered into the ^[p]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^(BU)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “^(BV)You would have no authority ^[q]over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason ^(BW)he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” ¹² As a result of this Pilate ^[r]made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “^(BX)If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^[s]opposes Caesar.”

¹³ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and ^(BY)sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[t]The Pavement, but ^(BZ)in ^[u]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(CA)the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[v](CB)sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, ^(CC)your King!” ¹⁵ So they cried out, “^(CD)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 but Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶ So he then ^(CE)handed Him over to them to be crucified.

^17 (CF)They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ^[w](CG)bearing His own cross, to the place called ^(CH)the Place of a Skull, which is called ^(CI)in ^[x]Hebrew, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(CJ)two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “^(CK)JESUS THE NAZARENE, ^(CL)THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(CM)in ^[y]Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘^(CN)The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am ^(CO)King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “^(CP)What I have written I have written.”

²³ Then ^(CQ)the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made ^(CR)four parts, a part to every soldier and also the ^[z]tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven ^[aa]in one piece. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “^(CS)Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; ^(CT)this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They ^(CU)divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast ^[ab]lots.” ²⁵ Therefore the soldiers did these things.

^(CV)But standing by the cross of Jesus were ^(CW)His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^(CX)Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus then saw His mother, and ^(CY)the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “^(CZ)Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into ^(DA)his own household.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^(DB)knowing that all things had already been accomplished, ^(DC)to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “^(DD)I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so ^(DE)they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “^(DF)It is finished!” And He bowed His head and ^(DG)gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was ^(DH)the day of preparation, so that ^(DI)the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (^[ac]for that Sabbath was a ^(DJ)high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was ^(DK)crucified with Him; ³³ but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^(DL)blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has ^(DM)testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things came to pass ^(DN)to fulfill the Scripture, “^(DO)Not a bone of Him shall be ^[ad]broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “^(DP)They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

^38 (DQ)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a ^(DR)secret one for ^(DS)fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. ^39 (DT)Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, ^(DU)bringing a ^[ae]mixture of ^(DV)myrrh and aloes, about a ^(DW)hundred ^[af]pounds weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(DX)bound it in ^(DY)linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a ^(DZ)new tomb ^(EA)in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² Therefore because of the Jewish day of ^(EB)preparation, since the tomb was ^(EC)nearby, they laid Jesus there.

The Vanity of Life.

For the choir director, for ^[a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.