Matthew 27

1 Now when morning was come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:2 and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pilate the governor.

3 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,4 saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? see thou to it.5 And he cast down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.8 Wherefore that field was called, the field of blood, unto this day.9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price;10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.13 Then saith Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?14 And he gave him no answer, not even to one word: insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.15 Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the multitude one prisoner, whom they would.16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.17 When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him up.19 And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.21 But the governor answered and said unto them, Which of the two will ye that I release unto you? And they said, Barabbas.22 Pilate saith unto them, What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ? They all say, Let him be crucified.23 And he said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out exceedingly, saying, Let him be crucified.24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it.25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.26 Then released he unto them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered unto him the whole band.28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.29 And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head.31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the robe, and put on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him.

32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross.

33 And they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull,34 they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.35 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots;36 and they sat and watched him there.37 And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.38 Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left.39 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads,40 and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.41 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God.44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach.

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?47 And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah.48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.49 And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.51 And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised;53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.54 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.55 And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:56 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62 Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate,63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again.64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can.66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.

Matthew 27

Jesus is Taken to Pilate

(Mk 15.1; Lk 23.1–2; Jn 18.28–32)

1 Early in the morning all the chief priests and the elders made their plans against Jesus to put him to death.

2 They put him in chains, led him off, and handed him over to Pilate, the Roman governor.

The Death of Judas

(Acts 1.18–19)

4 “I have sinned by betraying an innocent man to death!” he said.
“What do we care about that?” they answered. “That is your business!”

5 Judas threw the coins down in the Temple and left; then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “This is blood money, and it is against our Law to put it in the temple treasury.” 7 After reaching an agreement about it, they used the money to buy Potter's Field, as a cemetery for foreigners.

8 That is why that field is called “Field of Blood” to this very day.
9 Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true: “They took the thirty silver coins, the amount the people of Israel had agreed to pay for him,t

10 and used the money to buy the potter's field, as the Lord had commanded me.”

Pilate Questions Jesus

(Mk 15.2–5; Lk 23.3–5; Jn 18.33–38)

11 Jesus stood before the Roman governor, who questioned him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked.
“So you say,” answered Jesus.

12 But he said nothing in response to the accusations of the chief priests and elders.

13 So Pilate said to him, “Don't you hear all these things they accuse you of?”

14 But Jesus refused to answer a single word, with the result that the Governor was greatly surprised.

Jesus is Sentenced to Death

(Mk 15.6–15; Lk 23.13–25; Jn 18.39—19.16)

18 He knew very well that the Jewish authorities had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

19 While Pilate was sitting in the judgement hall, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night I suffered much on account of him.”
20 The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barabbas free and have Jesus put to death.

21 But Pilate asked the crowd, “Which one of these two do you want me to set free for you?”
“Barabbas!” they answered.

22 “What, then, shall I do with Jesus called the Messiah?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they all answered.

23 But Pilate asked, “What crime has he committed?”
Then they started shouting at the top of their voices: “Crucify him!”

24 When Pilate saw that it was no use to go on, but that a riot might break out, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am not responsible for the death of this man! This is your doing!”t

25 The whole crowd answered, “Let the responsibility for his death fall on us and our children!”

26 Then Pilate set Barabbas free for them; and after he had Jesus whipped, he handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

(Mk 15.16–20; Jn 19.2–3)

31 When they had finished mocking him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Jesus is Crucified

(Mk 15.21–32; Lk 23.26–43; Jn 19.17–27)

34 There they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter substance; but after tasting it, he would not drink it.t
35 They crucified him and then divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.t 36 After that they sat there and watched him. 37 Above his head they put the written notice of the accusation against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

38 Then they crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.
39 People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus:t

40 “You were going to tear down the Temple and build it up again in three days! Save yourself if you are God's Son! Come on down from the cross!”t
41 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and the elders jeered at him: 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Isn't he the king of Israel? If he comes down off the cross now, we will believe in him!

43 He trusts in God and claims to be God's Son. Well, then, let us see if God wants to save him now!”t

44 Even the bandits who had been crucified with him insulted him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

(Mk 15.33–41; Lk 23.44–49; Jn 19.28–30)

46 At about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”t
47 Some of the people standing there heard him and said, “He is calling for Elijah!”

48 One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make him drink it.t

49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah is coming to save him!”

50 Jesus again gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
51 Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart,t 52 the graves broke open, and many of God's people who had died were raised to life.

53 They left the graves, and after Jesus rose from death, they went into the Holy City, where many people saw them.

54 When the army officer and the soldiers with him who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55 There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and helped him.t

56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the wife of Zebedee.

The Burial of Jesus

(Mk 15.42–47; Lk 23.50–56; Jn 19.38–42)

61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

64 Give orders, then, for his tomb to be carefully guarded until the third day, so that his disciples will not be able to go and steal the body, and then tell the people that he was raised from death. This last lie would be even worse than the first one.”

65 “Take a guard,” Pilate told them; “go and make the tomb as secure as you can.”
66 So they left and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and leaving the guard on watch.