27Matthew 27

Jesus Is Taken to Pilate

1Early the next morning all the chief priests and the nation's leaders met and decided that Jesus should be put to death.Select Matthew 27:1

2They tied him up and led him away to Pilate the governor.Select Matthew 27:2

The Death of Judas

3Judas had betrayed Jesus, but when he learned that Jesus had been sentenced to death, he was sorry for what he had done. He returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and leadersSelect Matthew 27:3

4and said, “I have sinned by betraying a man who has never done anything wrong.” “So what? That's your problem,” they replied.Select Matthew 27:4

5Judas threw the money into the temple and then went out and hanged himself.Select Matthew 27:5

6The chief priests picked up the money and said, “This money was paid to have a man killed. We can't put it in the temple treasury.”Select Matthew 27:6

7Then they had a meeting and decided to buy a field that belonged to someone who made clay pots. They wanted to use it as a graveyard for foreigners.Select Matthew 27:7

8This is why people still call that place “Field of Blood.”Select Matthew 27:8

9So the words of the prophet Jeremiah came true, “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of a person among the people of Israel.Select Matthew 27:9

10They paid it for a potter's field, as the Lord had commanded me.”Select Matthew 27:10

Pilate Questions Jesus

11Jesus was brought before Pilate the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Those are your words!” Jesus answered.Select Matthew 27:11

12And when the chief priests and leaders brought their charges against him, he did not say a thing.Select Matthew 27:12

13Pilate asked him, “Don't you hear what crimes they say you have done?”Select Matthew 27:13

14But Jesus did not say anything, and the governor was greatly amazed.Select Matthew 27:14

The Death Sentence

15During Passover the governor always freed a prisoner chosen by the people.Select Matthew 27:15

16At that time a well-known terrorist named Jesus Barabbas was in jail.Select Matthew 27:16

17So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, “Which prisoner do you want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”Select Matthew 27:17

18Pilate knew the leaders had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.Select Matthew 27:18

19While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don't have anything to do with that innocent man. I have had nightmares because of him.”Select Matthew 27:19

20But the chief priests and the leaders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be killed.Select Matthew 27:20

21Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of these two men do you want me to set free?” “Barabbas!” they shouted.Select Matthew 27:21

22Pilate asked them, “What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?” They all yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”Select Matthew 27:22

23Pilate answered, “But what crime has he done?” “Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.Select Matthew 27:23

24Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do and that the people were starting to riot. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of them and said, “I won't have anything to do with killing this man. You are the ones doing it!”Select Matthew 27:24

25Everyone answered, “We and our own families will take the blame for his death!”Select Matthew 27:25

26Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.Select Matthew 27:26

Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

27The governor's soldiers led Jesus into the fortress and brought together the rest of the troops.Select Matthew 27:27

28They stripped off Jesus' clothes and put a scarlet robe on him.Select Matthew 27:28

29They made a crown out of thorn branches and placed it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. The soldiers knelt down and pretended to worship him. They made fun of him and shouted, “Hey, you king of the Jews!”Select Matthew 27:29

30Then they spit on him. They took the stick from him and beat him on the head with it.Select Matthew 27:30

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

31When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross.Select Matthew 27:31

32On the way they met a man named Simon who was from Cyrene, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.Select Matthew 27:32

33They came to a place named Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.”Select Matthew 27:33

34There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it.Select Matthew 27:34

35The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes.Select Matthew 27:35

36Then they sat down to guard him.Select Matthew 27:36

37Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”Select Matthew 27:37

38The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.Select Matthew 27:38

39People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads andSelect Matthew 27:39

40shouted, “So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God's Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!”Select Matthew 27:40

41The chief priests, the leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said,Select Matthew 27:41

42“He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we will believe him.Select Matthew 27:42

43He trusted God, so let God save him, if he wants to. He even said he was God's Son.”Select Matthew 27:43

44The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.Select Matthew 27:44

The Death of Jesus

45At noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until three o'clock.Select Matthew 27:45

46Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”Select Matthew 27:46

47Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He's calling for Elijah.”Select Matthew 27:47

48One of them at once ran and grabbed a sponge. He soaked it in wine, then put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus.Select Matthew 27:48

49Others said, “Wait! Let's see if Elijah will come and save him.”Select Matthew 27:49

50Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died.Select Matthew 27:50

51At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart.Select Matthew 27:51

52Graves opened, and many of God's people were raised to life.Select Matthew 27:52

53They left their graves, and after Jesus had risen to life, they went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people.Select Matthew 27:53

54The officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw everything else that happened. They were frightened and said, “This man really was God's Son!”Select Matthew 27:54

55Many women had come with Jesus from Galilee to be of help to him, and they were there, looking on at a distance.Select Matthew 27:55

56Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were some of these women.Select Matthew 27:56

Jesus Is Buried

57That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of ArimatheaSelect Matthew 27:57

58went and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph,Select Matthew 27:58

59who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.Select Matthew 27:59

60Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.Select Matthew 27:60

61All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb.Select Matthew 27:61

62On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate.Select Matthew 27:62

63They said, “Sir, we remember what this liar said while he was still alive. He claimed in three days he would come back from death.Select Matthew 27:63

64So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don't, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.”Select Matthew 27:64

65Pilate said to them, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.”Select Matthew 27:65

66So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.Select Matthew 27:66