John 19:1-16

Common English Bible

Jesus is whipped and mocked as king

19 Then Pilate had Jesus taken and whipped. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. ³Over and over they went up to him and said, “Greetings, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

⁴Pilate came out of the palace again and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look! I’m bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no grounds for a charge against him.” ⁵When Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here’s the man.”

⁶When the chief priests and their deputies saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify!”

Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find any grounds for a charge against him.”

⁷The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a Law, and according to this Law he ought to die because he made himself out to be God’s Son.”

Pilate questions Jesus again

⁸When Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid. ⁹He went back into the residence and spoke to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus didn’t answer. ¹⁰So Pilate said, “You won’t speak to me? Don’t you know that I have authority to release you and also to crucify you?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. That’s why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” ¹²From that moment on, Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

However, the Jewish leaders cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t a friend of the emperor! Anyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes the emperor!”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he led Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench at the place called Stone Pavement (in Aramaic, Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was about noon on the Preparation Day for the Passover. Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Here’s your king.”

¹⁵The Jewish leaders cried out, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

Pilate responded, “What? Do you want me to crucify your king?”

“We have no king except the emperor,” the chief priests answered. ¹⁶Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.