12
When Pilate heard this, he tried to find a way to set Jesus free. But the crowd shouted back, "If you set him free, that means that you are not the Emperor's friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is a rebel against the Emperor!"
13
When Pilate heard these words, he took Jesus outside and sat down on the judge's seat in the place called "The Stone Pavement." (In Hebrew the name is "Gabbatha.")
14
It was then almost noon of the day before the Passover. Pilate said to the people, "Here is your king!"
15
They shouted back, "Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "The only king we have is the Emperor!"
16
Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took charge of Jesus.
17
He went out, carrying his cross, and came to "The Place of the Skull," as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called "Golgotha.")
18
There they crucified him; and they also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus between them.
19
Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," is what he wrote.
20
Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21
The chief priests said to Pilate, "Do not write "The King of the Jews,' but rather, "This man said, I am the King of the Jews.' "
22
Pilate answered, "What I have written stays written."