Matthew 26:57-27:31
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Before the Leaders
57 Those men who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. The teachers of the law and the Jewish elders were gathered there. 58 Peter followed Jesus but did not go near him. He followed Jesus to the courtyard of the high priest’s house. He sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59 The leading priests and the Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so that they could kill him. 60 Many people came and told lies about him. But the council could find no real reason to kill Jesus. Then two people came and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “You must swear to this. I command you by the power of the living God to tell us the truth. Tell us, are you the Christ, the Son of God?”
64 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One. And you will see him coming in clouds in the sky.”
65 When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses. You all heard him say these things against God. 66 What do you think?”
The people answered, “He is guilty, and he must die.”
67 Then the people there spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped Jesus. 68 They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69 At that time, Peter was sitting in the courtyard. A servant girl came to him and said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Galilee.”
70 But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said this to all the people there. Peter said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 Then he left the courtyard. At the gate, another girl saw him. She said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again, Peter said that he was never with Jesus. Peter said, “I swear that I don’t know this man Jesus!”
73 A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter. They said, “We know you are one of those men who followed Jesus. We know this because of the way you talk.”
74 Then Peter began to curse. He said, “May a curse fall on me if I’m not telling the truth. I don’t know the man.” After Peter said this, a rooster crowed. 75 Then he remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
Jesus Is Taken to Pilate
27 Early the next morning, all the leading priests and elders of the people decided to kill Jesus. 2 They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Kills Himself
3 Judas saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Judas was the one who gave Jesus to his enemies. When Judas saw what happened, he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the 30 silver coins back to the priests and the leaders. 4 Judas said, “I sinned. I gave you an innocent man to be killed.”
The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That’s your problem, not ours.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple. They said, “Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money. This money has paid for a man’s death.” 7 So they decided to use the coins to buy a field called Potter’s Field. This field would be a place to bury strangers who died while visiting Jerusalem. 8 That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. 9 So the thing came true that Jeremiah the prophet had said: “They took 30 silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. 10 They used those 30 silver coins to buy Potter’s Field, as the Lord commanded me.”[a]
Pilate Questions Jesus
11 Jesus stood before Pilate the governor. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”
12 When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing.
13 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear these people accusing you of all these things?”
14 But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate. Pilate was very surprised at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
15 Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one person from prison. This was always a person the people wanted to be set free. 16 At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.[b] 17 All the people gathered at Pilate’s house. Pilate said, “Which man do you want me to free: Barabbas,[c] or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 Pilate knew that they gave Jesus to him because they were jealous.
19 Pilate said these things while he was sitting on the judge’s seat. While he was sitting there, his wife sent a message to him. The message said, “Don’t do anything to that man. He is not guilty. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”
20 But the leading priests and elders told the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.
21 Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas!”
22 Pilate asked, “What should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?”
They all answered, “Kill him on a cross!”
23 Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
24 Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this, and a riot was starting. So he took some water and washed his hands[d] in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”
25 All the people answered, “We will be responsible. We accept for ourselves and for our children any punishment for his death.”
26 Then Pilate freed Barabbas. Pilate told some of the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
27 Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around Jesus. 28 They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. 29 Then the soldiers used thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him. They said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spit on Jesus. Then they took his stick and hit him on the head many times. 31 After they finished making fun of Jesus, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus away to be killed on a cross.
Footnotes
- 27:10 “They . . . commanded me.” See Zechariah 11:12–13 and Jeremiah 32:6–9.
- 27:16, 17 Barabbas Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.”
- 27:16, 17 Barabbas Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.”
- 27:24 washed his hands He did this as a sign to show that he wanted no part in what the people did.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
