Mark 14:53-15:20
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Before the Leaders
53 The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest. All the leading priests, the Jewish elders, and the teachers of the law were gathered there. 54 Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 The leading priests and all the Jewish council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof against him. 56 Many people came and told false things about him. But all said different things—none of them agreed.
57 Then some men stood up and lied about Jesus. They said, 58 “We heard this man say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that men made. And three days later, I will build another Temple—a Temple not made by men.’” 59 But even the things these men said did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood before them and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer the charges these men bring against you?” 61 But Jesus said nothing. He did not answer.
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?”
62 Jesus answered, “I am. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of the Powerful One. And you will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky.”
63 When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! 64 You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”
They all said that Jesus was guilty and should be killed. 65 Some of the people there spit at Jesus. They covered his eyes and hit him with their fists. They said, “Prove that you are a prophet!” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
66 Peter was still in the courtyard when a servant girl of the high priest came there. 67 She saw Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked closely at him.
Then the girl said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”
68 But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard.[a]
69 The servant girl saw Peter there. Again she said to the people who were standing there, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.” 70 Again Peter said that it was not true.
A short time later, some people were standing near Peter. They said, “We know you are one of those who followed Jesus. You are from Galilee, too.”
71 Then Peter began to curse. He said, “I swear that I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72 As soon as Peter said this, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter was very sad and began to cry.
Pilate Questions Jesus
15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the Jewish elders, the teachers of the law, and all the Jewish council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”
3 The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. 4 So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”
5 But Jesus still said nothing. Pilate was very surprised at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
6 Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one person from prison. He would free any person the people wanted him to free. 7 At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison. He was a rebel and had committed murder during a riot. 8 The crowd came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did.
9 Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” 10 Pilate knew that the leading priests had given Jesus to him because they were jealous of Jesus. 11 And the leading priests had persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.
12 Pilate asked the crowd again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”
14 Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
15 Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he freed Barabbas for them. And Pilate told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
16 Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. 17 They put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they used thorny branches to make a crown. They put it on his head. 18 Then they called out to him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They also spit on him. Then they made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. 20 After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus out of the palace to be killed on a cross.
Footnotes
- 14:68 Many Greek copies add: “And the rooster crowed.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Bible Gateway Recommends
