¹⁴ It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people,^[a] “Look, here is your king!”

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, on the Sabbath,^[a] the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.

⁵ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”

⁴² And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover^[a] and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

³¹ It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.

¹⁹ And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth,^[a] the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

²¹ Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

³ “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

⁵⁴ This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation,^[a] as the Sabbath was about to begin.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation,^[a] the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached,