New Testament in a Year

The Crown of Thorns ^(A)

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him beaten. ² The soldiers put a crown of thorns on His head. They put a purple coat on Him. ³ Then they said, “Hello, King of the Jews!” and hit Him with their hands.

⁴ Pilate went out again and said to the people, “See, I bring Him out to you so you will know I do not find Him guilty.” ⁵ Jesus came out. He had on the crown of thorns and a purple coat. Pilate said to the people, “See! This is the Man!”

Pilate Tries to Let Jesus Go Free

⁶ The religious leaders and the soldiers saw Him. They spoke with loud voices, “Nail Him to a cross! Nail Him to a cross!” Pilate said, “Take Him yourselves and nail Him to a cross. As for me, I do not find Him guilty.” ⁷ The Jews said to Pilate, “We have a Law that says He should die because He has said He is the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard them say this, he was more afraid. ⁹ He went into the court room again. He said to Jesus, “Where do You come from?” Jesus did not say a word. ¹⁰ Pilate said, “Will You not speak to me? Do You not know that I have the right and the power to nail You to a cross? I have the right and the power to let You go free also.” ¹¹ Jesus said, “You would not have any right or power over Me if it were not given you from above. For this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the worse sin.”

¹² When Pilate heard this, he wanted to let Jesus go free. But the Jews kept saying, “If you let this Man go free, you are not a friend of Caesar! Whoever makes himself as a king is working against Caesar.” ¹³ When Pilate heard this, he had Jesus brought in front of him. Pilate sat down at the place where men stand in front of him if they are thought to be guilty. The place is called the Stone Floor.

¹⁴ It was the day to get ready for the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. It was about noon. Pilate said to the Jews, “See, your King!” ¹⁵ They spoke with a loud voice, “Take Him away! Nail Him to a cross!” Pilate said to them, “Do you want me to nail your King to a cross?” The head religious leaders said, “We have no king but Caesar!” ¹⁶ Then Pilate handed Him over to be nailed to a cross. They took Jesus and led Him away.

Jesus on the Cross ^(B)

¹⁷ Jesus carried His own cross to a hill called the Place of the Skull. ¹⁸ There they nailed Him to the cross. With Him were two others. There was one on each side of Jesus. ¹⁹ Then Pilate put a writing on the cross which said, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ This was read by many of the Jews. The place where Jesus was nailed to the cross was near the city. The writing was written in the Hebrew and the Latin and the Greek languages. ²¹ Then the head religious leaders of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’! Write, ‘He said, I am the King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate said, “What I have written is to stay just as it is!”