Luke 23:1-16

New King James Version

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

23 Then ^(B)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(C)Pilate. ²And they began to ^(D)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(E)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(F)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(G)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

³^(H)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(I)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(J)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶When Pilate heard ^[b]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(K)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(L)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(M)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(N)nothing. ¹⁰And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ¹¹^(O)Then Herod, with his ^[c]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹²That very day ^(P)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(Q)

¹³^(R)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴said to them, ^(S)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(T)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵no, neither did Herod, for ^[d]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ¹⁶^(U)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”