Readings for Lent and Easter

Pilate asks Jesus questions

15 Very early the next morning, all the Jewish leaders met together. The leaders of the priests met with the leaders, the teachers of God's Law, and the other important Jews. They decided what they would do. They tied Jesus' hands and feet and they took him to Pilate's house. They put him under Pilate's authority.^[a]

² Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’

Jesus replied, ‘You have said it.’

³ Then the leaders of the priests told Pilate that Jesus had done many bad things. ⁴ So Pilate asked him again, ‘What is your answer? You should say something! Listen! They are saying that you have done many bad things.’

⁵ But Jesus still did not reply to what the men were saying against him. Pilate was very surprised about that.

⁶ During the Passover festival each year, Pilate let one person go free out of the prison. The people had to ask him for the person that they wanted. ⁷ A man called Barabbas was in the prison at that time. He and some other men had fought against the Roman rulers. And they had killed someone when they were fighting. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate. They asked him to do what he usually did at this time.

⁹ Pilate asked the people, ‘Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?’ ¹⁰ Pilate knew why the leaders of the priests had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much. ¹¹ But the leaders of the priests talked strongly to the people. They said, ‘Ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead of Jesus.’

¹² Pilate asked the crowd again, ‘So what should I do to Jesus? He is the man that you call “the king of the Jews”.’

¹³ The people shouted back to Pilate: ‘Kill him on a cross!’

¹⁴ ‘Why should I kill him?’ Pilate asked. ‘What bad things has he done?’

But the people shouted even louder, ‘Kill him on a cross!’