The Crucifixion

³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³² As they were going out of the city, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha, which means “The place of the skull.” ³⁴ They offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ After they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among themselves by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and were keeping watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they posted the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸ At the same time two criminals were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ People who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, experts in the law, and elders kept mocking him. They said, ⁴² “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he’s the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now, if he wants him, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him kept insulting him.

The Crucifixion

²⁰ When they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothing on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

²¹ A certain man, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), was passing by on his way in from the country. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means, “The place of a skull.” ²³ They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ They crucified him. And they divided his garments, casting lots for them to decide what each of them would take.

²⁵ Now it was the third hour^[a] when they crucified him. ²⁶ The superscription stating the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ They also crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and one on his left.^[b]

²⁹ Those who passed by ridiculed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself! Come down from the cross!”

³¹ In the same way, the chief priests along with the experts in the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said. “He cannot save himself. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross so that we may see and believe!”

Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.

¹⁶ So then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

“They Crucified Him”

So they took Jesus away. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to what is called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him with two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate also had a notice written and fastened on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”

²⁰ Many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.

²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘this man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took his tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it. Instead, let’s cast lots to see who gets it.” This was so that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

So the soldiers did these things.

Jesus’ Compassion for His Mother

²⁵ Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were standing near the cross.

²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” And from that time this disciple took her into his own home.

Jesus’ Death

⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour,^[a] there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^[b]

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “This fellow is calling for Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, and soaked it with sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and gave him a drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ After Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ Suddenly, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and rocks were split. ⁵² Tombs were opened, and many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised to life. ⁵³ Those who came out of the tombs went into the holy city after Jesus’ resurrection and appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

⁵⁵ Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and who had served him were there, watching from a distance. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus’ Death

³³ When it was the sixth hour,^[a] darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.^{[b] 34} At the ninth hour Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^[c]

³⁵ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah!”

³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. They said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷ Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. ³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he cried out and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ There were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and served him. Many other women also came up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Gives Up His Life

²⁸ After this, knowing that everything had now been finished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was sitting there. So they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished!” Then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

The Piercing of Jesus’ Side

³¹ Since it was the Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses over the Sabbath (because that Sabbath was a particularly important day). They asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and the bodies taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who was crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other man.

³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. Immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ The one who saw it has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ Indeed, these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not one of his bones will be broken.”^{[a] 37} Again another Scripture says, “They will look at the one they pierced.”^[b]

Jesus’ Burial

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. He rolled a large stone over the tomb’s entrance and left. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb.

Jesus’ Burial

⁴² It was already evening, and since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), ⁴³ Joseph from Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had been dead for a long time. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought a linen cloth, took him down, and wrapped him in the linen cloth. He laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of rock, and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where the body was laid.

Jesus’ Burial

³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took Jesus’ body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-two pounds.^[a]

⁴⁰ They took Jesus’ body and bound it with linen strips along with the spices, in accord with Jewish burial customs.

⁴¹ There was a garden at the place where Jesus was crucified. And in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² So they laid Jesus there, because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was near.