Read the Gospels in 40 Days

Christ is crucified. He commits his mother to John’s care, sheds his blood, and is buried.

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. ² And the soldiers wound a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple garment, ³ and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they struck him on the face.

⁴ Pilate went forth again and said to the people, Look, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no fault in him. ⁵ Then Jesus came forth wearing the crown of thorns and the robe of purple. And Pilate said to them, Behold the man!

⁶ When the high priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. ⁷ The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

⁸ When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the judgment hall and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ Then Pilate said to him, Will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you, and have the power to set you free?

¹¹ Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me unless it were given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you is more in sin.

¹² And from then on Pilate sought means to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, If you let him go, you are not Caesar’s friend! For whoever makes himself a king, is against Caesar.

¹³ When Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down to give sentence in a place called The Pavement, but in the Hebrew tongue, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ It was the day before the Sabbath that falls in the Passover feast, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold your king! ¹⁵ They cried, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The high priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

¹⁶ Then Pilate delivered him to them, to be crucified.

¹⁷ And they took Jesus and led him away. And he bore his cross, and went out to a place called the Place of Dead Men’s Skulls, which is named in Hebrew, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and two others with him, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ And Pilate wrote his title and put it on the cross. The writing was, jesus of nazareth, king of the jews. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this title, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹ Then the high priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write King of the Jews, but that he said, I am King of the Jews. ²² Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat. The coat was without seam, woven throughout, ²⁴ and they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots who should have it. This was to fulfil the scripture that says: They parted my garments among them, and for my coat did cast lots. ²⁵ And the soldiers did such things indeed.

Then there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her for his own.

²⁸ After that, when Jesus perceived that all things were performed, so that the scripture would be fulfilled, he said, I thirst! ²⁹ There was standing nearby a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and wound it about with hyssop, and put it to his mouth. ³⁰ As soon as Jesus had received of the vinegar, he said, It is finished! And he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.

³¹ The Jews then, because it was the day before the Sabbath, in order that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day (for that Sabbath day was a high day), requested Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken down. ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other that was crucified with Jesus. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers thrust him in the side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

³⁵ And he who saw it has borne witness, and his testimony is true. And he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you may believe also. ³⁶ These things were done so that the scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones shall be broken. ³⁷ And again another scripture says: They shall look on him whom they pierced.

³⁸ After that, Joseph of Arimathea (who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) asked Pilate if he could take down the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission.

³⁹ And Nicodemus came also, who at the beginning had gone to Jesus by night, and brought myrrh and aloes mingled together, about a hundred pound weight. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus and wound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹ And in the place where Jesus was crucified was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, in which no man had ever been laid. ⁴² There they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Sabbath eve. For the sepulchre was near at hand.

The resurrection of Christ, who appears to Mary Magdalene and to all his disciples, to their great comfort.

20 The morrow after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene came early to the sepulchre when it was still dark, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. ² Then she ran and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.

³ Peter went out, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. ⁴ They ran both together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the sepulchre. ⁵ And he stooped down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but did not go in. ⁶ Then came Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre and saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the cloth that had been around his head not lying with the linen cloth, but wrapped together in a place by itself. ⁸ Then that other disciple went in also, who had come first to the sepulchre; and he saw and believed. ⁹ For as yet they did not know the scriptures, that he must rise again from death. ¹⁰ And the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹ Mary stood outside at the sepulchre, weeping. And as she wept, she bowed herself into the sepulchre ¹² and saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where they had laid the body of Jesus. ¹³ And they said to her, Woman, why do you weep? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.

¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, but did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom are you seeking?

She, supposing he was a gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him so that I may get him.

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, Mary!

She turned herself about and said to him, Rabboni! (which is to say, Teacher!).

¹⁷ Jesus said to her, Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken such things to her.

¹⁹ The same day at night, which was the day after the Sabbath day, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you. ²⁰ And when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As my Father sent me, so I also send you.

²² And when he had said that, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ Whosever sins you remit, they are remitted to them, and whosever sins you retain, they are retained.

²⁴ But Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples said to him, We have seen the Lord! And he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the marks of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

²⁶ And after eight days his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Then Jesus came when the doors were shut and stood in their midst and said, Peace be with you.

²⁷ After that he said to Thomas, Bring your finger here, and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.

²⁸ Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God!

²⁹ Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, therefore you believe. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe!

³⁰ And Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹ These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and so that in believing you may have life through his name.