Matthew 27:11-31

Christian Standard Bible

Jesus Faces the Governor

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor.^(A) “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.

Jesus answered, “You say so.”^{(B) 12} While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he didn’t answer.^(C)

¹³ Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how much they are testifying against you?” ¹⁴ But he didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.^(D)

Jesus or Barabbas

¹⁵ At the festival^(E) the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.^{[a] 17} So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ^{(F) 18} For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of him.”^(G)

²⁰ The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. ²¹ The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

“Barabbas!” they answered.

²² Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?”

They all answered, “Crucify him!” ^(H)

²³ Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!” ^(I)

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.^[b] See to it yourselves!” ^(J)

²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood be on us^(K) and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.^(L)

Mocked by the Military

²⁷ Then^(M) the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company^[c] around him.^{(N) 28} They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe.^{(O) 29} They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” ³⁰ Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.^(P)