Matthew 27:11-61

Jesus Before Pilate

11 1Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you 2the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, 3"You have said so."
12 4But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
13 Then Pilate said to him, 5"Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?"
14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

15 6Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.
16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or 7Jesus who is called Christ?"
18 For he knew that it was out 8of envy that they had delivered him up.
19 Besides, while he was sitting on 9the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with 10that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today 11in a dream."
20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to 12ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"13They all said, "Let him be crucified!"
23 And he said, "Why, 14what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!"

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that 15a riot was beginning, he took water and 16washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of 17this man's blood;[a]18see to it yourselves."
25 And all the people answered, 19"His blood be on us and 20on our children!"
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having 21scourged[b] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

27 22Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the 23governor's headquarters,[c] and they gathered the whole 24battalion[d] before him.
28 And they stripped him and put 25a scarlet robe on him,
29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they 26mocked him, saying, "Hail, 27King of the Jews!"
30 And 28they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and 29led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to 30carry his cross.
33 31And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),
34 32they offered him wine to drink, mixed with 33gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
35 And when they had crucified him, 34they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
36 Then they sat down and 35kept watch over him there.
37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, 36the King of the Jews."
38 Then two 37robbers were crucified with him, 38one on the right and one on the left.
39 And 39those who passed by 40derided him, 41wagging their heads
40 and saying, 42"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! 43If you are 44the Son of God, come down from the cross."
41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,
42 45"He saved others; 46he cannot save himself. 47He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43 48He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
44 49And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour[e] there was darkness over all the land[f] until the ninth hour.[g]
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus 50cried out with a loud voice, saying, 51"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah."
48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with 52sour wine, and put it on a reed and 53gave it to him to drink.
49 But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."
50 And Jesus 54cried out again with a loud voice and 55yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, 56the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And 57the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of 58the saints 59who had fallen asleep were raised,
53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into 60the holy city and appeared to many.
54 61When the centurion and those who were with him, 62keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 63"Truly this was the Son[h] of God!"
55 There were also 64many women there, looking on 65from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, 66ministering to him,
56 among whom were 67Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and 68the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 69When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
60 and 70laid it in his own new tomb, 71which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled 72a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
61 Mary Magdalene and 73the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Cross References 73

  • 1. For ver. 11-14, see Mark 15:2-5; Luke 23:2, 3; John 18:29-38
  • 2. ver. 29, 37; Matthew 2:2; John 18:39; John 19:3; [ver. 42]
  • 3. [1 Timothy 6:13]; See Luke 22:70
  • 4. See Matthew 26:63
  • 5. John 19:10
  • 6. For ver. 15-26, see Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39, 40; John 19:16
  • 7. ver. 22
  • 8. [John 12:19]
  • 9. John 19:13
  • 10. ver. 24; [Luke 23:47]
  • 11. See Matthew 2:12
  • 12. Acts 3:14
  • 13. Acts 13:28
  • 14. [Luke 23:41; John 8:46]
  • 15. Matthew 26:5
  • 16. [Deuteronomy 21:6-8; Psalms 26:6; Psalms 73:13]
  • 17. ver. 19
  • 18. ver. 4
  • 19. [Matthew 23:35, 36; Joshua 2:19; Acts 5:28]
  • 20. [Exodus 20:5; Lamentations 5:7]
  • 21. Matthew 20:19; Isaiah 50:6; Isaiah 53:5; [Luke 23:16; John 19:1]
  • 22. For ver. 27-31, see Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2, 3
  • 23. John 18:28, 33; John 19:9; Acts 23:35; Philippians 1:13(Gk.)
  • 24. See Acts 10:1(Gk.)
  • 25. Revelation 18:12, 16; [Luke 23:11]
  • 26. Matthew 20:19
  • 27. See ver. 11
  • 28. See Matthew 26:67
  • 29. Isaiah 53:7
  • 30. Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17]
  • 31. For ver. 33-51, see Mark 15:22-38; Luke 23:32-38, 44-46; John 19:17-19, 23, 24, 28-30
  • 32. [Psalms 69:21]
  • 33. Acts 8:23
  • 34. Psalms 22:18
  • 35. ver. 54; [Psalms 22:17]
  • 36. ver. 11, 29
  • 37. [John 18:40]
  • 38. [Matthew 20:21]
  • 39. Psalms 22:7; Psalms 109:25; [Lamentations 1:12]
  • 40. Luke 22:65; Luke 23:39; [James 2:7]
  • 41. Job 16:4; Isaiah 37:22; Jeremiah 18:16; Lamentations 2:15
  • 42. Matthew 26:61
  • 43. Matthew 4:3, 6
  • 44. ver. 43; Matthew 26:63; See Matthew 14:33
  • 45. [Luke 4:23]
  • 46. [Matthew 26:53, 54; John 10:18]
  • 47. John 1:49; John 12:13; [ver. 37]
  • 48. Cited from Psalms 22:8
  • 49. [Luke 23:39-43]
  • 50. [Hebrews 5:7]
  • 51. Cited from Psalms 22:1
  • 52. Ruth 2:14
  • 53. Psalms 69:21
  • 54. ver. 46
  • 55. [John 10:18]
  • 56. Exodus 26:31-33; 2 Chronicles 3:14
  • 57. ver. 54
  • 58. [Daniel 7:18, 22]
  • 59. John 11:11-13; Acts 7:60; Acts 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 2 Peter 3:4
  • 60. See Matthew 4:5
  • 61. For ver. 54-56, see Mark 15:39-41; Luke 23:47, 49
  • 62. ver. 36
  • 63. ver. 43
  • 64. John 19:25
  • 65. Psalms 38:11
  • 66. See Luke 8:2, 3
  • 67. [See ver. 55 above]
  • 68. Matthew 20:20; [Mark 15:40]
  • 69. For ver. 57-61, see Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42
  • 70. [Isaiah 53:9]
  • 71. Isaiah 22:16
  • 72. Mark 16:4; [John 11:38]
  • 73. ver. 56; Matthew 28:1

Footnotes 8

  • [a]. Some manuscripts this righteous blood, or this righteous man's blood
  • [b]. A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing imbedded pieces of bone and metal
  • [c]. Greek the praetorium
  • [d]. Greek cohort; a tenth of a Roman legion, usually about 600 men
  • [e]. That is, noon
  • [f]. Or earth
  • [g]. That is, 3 p.m.
  • [h]. Or a son
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.