John 19:16-20:18

New Life Version

¹⁶ Then Pilate handed Him over to be nailed to a cross. They took Jesus and led Him away.

Jesus on the Cross ^(A)

¹⁷ Jesus carried His own cross to a hill called the Place of the Skull. ¹⁸ There they nailed Him to the cross. With Him were two others. There was one on each side of Jesus. ¹⁹ Then Pilate put a writing on the cross which said, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ This was read by many of the Jews. The place where Jesus was nailed to the cross was near the city. The writing was written in the Hebrew and the Latin and the Greek languages. ²¹ Then the head religious leaders of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’! Write, ‘He said, I am the King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate said, “What I have written is to stay just as it is!”

They Divided His Clothes ^(B)

²³ The soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross took His clothes and divided them in four parts, each soldier getting one part. But His coat which was not sewed was made in one piece. ²⁴ They said to each other, “Let us not cut it up. Let us draw names to see whose it should be.” This happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen, “They divided My clothes among them and they drew names for My coat.” ^{(C) 25} This is what the soldiers did.

The Women at the Cross ^(D)

The mother of Jesus and her sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, were standing near the cross. Mary Magdalene was there also. ²⁶ Jesus saw His mother and the follower whom He loved standing near. He said to His mother, “Woman, look at your son.” ²⁷ Then Jesus said to the follower, “Look at your mother.” From that time the follower took her to his own house.

The Death of Jesus ^(E)

²⁸ Jesus knew that everything was now finished. Everything happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen. He said, “I am thirsty.” ^{(F) 29} There was a jar full of sour wine near. They filled a sponge and put it on a stick and put it to His mouth. ³⁰ Jesus took the sour wine and said, “It is finished.” He put His head down and gave up His spirit and died.

His Bones Were Not Broken

³¹ This was the day before the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. The next day was the Day of Rest and the great day of the religious gathering. The Jews went to Pilate and asked to have the legs of the men broken. They wanted their bodies taken away so they would not be hanging on the crosses on the Day of Rest. ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been nailed to crosses beside Jesus. ³³ They came to Jesus. They saw He was already dead so they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pushed a spear into His side. Blood and water ran out.

³⁵ The one who saw it is writing this and what he says is true. He knows he is telling the truth so you may believe. ³⁶ These things happened as the Holy Writings said they would happen, “Not one of His bones will be broken.” ^{(G) 37} And in another place the Holy Writings say, “They will look at Him Whose side they cut.” ^(H)

The Grave of Jesus ^(I)

³⁸ Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a follower of Jesus but was afraid of the Jews. So he worshiped without anyone knowing it. He asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Pilate said he could. Then Joseph came and took it away. ³⁹ Nicodemus came also. The first time he had come to Jesus had been at night. He brought with him a large box of spices. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus with the spices and put it in linen cloths. This was the way the Jews made a body ready for the grave.

⁴¹ There was a garden near the place where He had been nailed to the cross. In the garden there was a new grave in the side of the hill. No one had ever been laid there. ⁴² This place was near by. Because it was the day the Jews got ready for the special religious gathering, they laid Jesus in it.

Jesus Is Raised from the Grave ^(J)

20 It was the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene came to the grave early in the morning while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been pushed away from the grave. ² She ran to Simon Peter and the other follower whom Jesus loved. She said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the grave. We do not know where they have put Him.”

³ Then Peter and the other follower went to the grave. ⁴ They ran but the other follower ran faster than Peter and came to the grave first. ⁵ He got down and looked in and saw the linen cloths but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came and went into the grave. He saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The white cloth that had been around the head of Jesus was not lying with the other linen cloths. It was rolled up and lying apart by itself. ⁸ Then the other follower, who had come first, went in also. He saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand what the Holy Writings meant when they said that He must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the followers went back again to their homes.

¹¹ Mary stood outside the grave crying. As she cried, she got down and looked inside the grave. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One angel was where His head had lain and one angel was where His feet had lain. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have put Him.”

¹⁴ After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She thought He was the man who cared for the garden. She said to Him, “Sir, if you have taken Jesus from here, tell me where you have put Him. I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned around and said to Him, “Teacher!” ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to Me. I have not yet gone up to My Father. But go to My brothers. Tell them that I will go up to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God!” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and told the followers that she had seen the Lord. She told them the things He had said to her.