Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)

Jesus before Pilate

(Matthew 27:11–14; Luke 23:1–5)

^<28>Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

^<29>So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”

^<30>“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

^<31>“You take Him and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“We are not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews replied. ^<32>This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.¹

^<33>Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

^<34>“Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”

^<35>“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

^<36>Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”

^<37>“Then You are a king!” Pilate said.

“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

^<38>“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. ^<39>But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

^<40>“Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

(Isaiah 50:4–11; Matthew 27:27–31;
Mark 15:16–20; Luke 22:63–65)

19 ^<1>Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. ^<2>The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. ^<3>And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.

^<4>Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” ^<5>When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

^<6>As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

^<7>“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”

^<8>When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, ^<9>and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked.

But Jesus gave no answer.

^<10>So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

^<11>Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

^<12>From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

^<13>When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew² is Gabbatha. ^<14>It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour.³ And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”

^<15>At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!”

“Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.

The Crucifixion

(Psalms 22:1–31; Matthew 27:32–44;
Mark 15:21–32; Luke 23:26–43)

^<16>Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.

Word Come Alive
(WCA)

Jesus before Pilate

^<28>Then the Jewish leaders led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. It was now early morning. The Jewish leaders did not enter the governor’s residence because they were careful to avoid becoming ceremonially unclean, as they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ^<29>So Pilate went out to them instead and asked, ‘What are you accusing this man of? What charges are you bringing against him?’

^<30>The chief priests were surly in their answer: ‘If he hadn’t committed a crime, we wouldn’t have turned him over to you.’

^<31>Not wanting to become involved in what he saw as an internal religious dispute, Pilate told them, ‘Take him away and deal with him yourselves. Judge him according to your own law.’

But the Jewish leaders argued back, ‘We have no legal right to execute anyone. Only you Romans can do that.’ ^<32>(All this took place to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken about the kind of death he was going to suffer.)

^<33>Pilate then went back into his residence and ordered Jesus to come and speak to him privately. Pilate asked him directly, ‘Is it true that you are the king of the Jews?’

^<34>Not intimidated at all by the question, Jesus pressed the matter and asked him, ‘Did you come up with that question yourself, or have other people talked to you about me?’

^<35>Pilate sneered, ‘What! Am I a Jew? Why should I have come up with that idea myself? Your own people and chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done? What crime have you committed?’

^<36>Jesus replied, ‘My authority as king does not have its origin in this world, but in heaven. My authority is spiritual. If my authority were merely human and political, my servants would have fought for me not to have been handed over to the Jewish leaders. No, my kingdom is not based on military power. It is not from here.’

^<37>‘I see that you are talking about a kingdom. So you admit you are a king, then?’ asked Pilate.

Jesus replied, ‘You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, the very reason I was born, left heaven and came into this world is to be a king who would declare the truth. Everyone who stands by the truth will listen and respond to me.’

^<38>‘Bah! Truth! What’s truth got to do with anything?’ Pilate snapped back dismissively. Then, not even waiting for an answer, he left his residence and went out again into the courtyard to the Jews who were waiting there. He reported his decision to them, ‘Having examined this case, I consider that there is no evidence to support any charge against this man. I have found no reason to judge him guilty. As far as I am concerned, I can release him.’ ^<39>Pilate then added, maybe to try to please the Jewish leaders, ‘But I understand it is your practice to set one of the prisoners free during the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the one called “the king of the Jews”?’

^<40>The crowd screamed back at the top of their voices, ‘No, not that man! We want Barabbas! We want Barabbas! Bar-ab-bas! Give us Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was … a terrorist.

John 19

Pilate gives in

^<1>Pilate then had Jesus taken away and ordered him to be tortured. Soldiers flogged him with a whip of leather straps embedded with pieces of metal and bone.

^<2>The soldiers took some spiky thorns and twisted them into a crown, which they rammed down on his head, causing blood to trickle down his body. They took off his clothes and threw an old purple cloak on him. ^<3>They came up to him one by one, jeering in mock homage, ‘Long live the king of the Jews!’ and slapping him hard across the face.

^<4>Pilate came out of his residence again and told the Jews who were there, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you. But I can find no reason for any charges against him.’

^<5>When Jesus came out with the crown of thorns on his head, bleeding and wearing the purple cloak, Pilate called out to them, ‘Here he is! This is the man! Does he look dangerous to you?’

^<6>The moment the chief priests and the temple police saw him, they shouted out, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’

But Pilate answered them, ‘You take him away and crucify him. You put him to death. I can find no evidence for any charges against him.’

^<7>The Jewish leaders then brought a further accusation, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he has committed blasphemy. He must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.’

^<8>When Pilate heard these words, he became even more frightened, ^<9>and he went back inside his residence. He asked Jesus privately, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’ But Jesus remained silent. ^<10>Pilate continued, ‘Why do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realise you are at my mercy? I have the authority to release you or to crucify you.’

^<11>Jesus replied, ‘You would not have any authority over me unless it had been given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of an even greater sin.’

^<12>From that time onwards, Pilate tried to do all he could to set Jesus free. But he was shouted down by the Jewish leaders who kept demanding, ‘If you release this man, you’re not being loyal to Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king defies Caesar.’

^<13>When Pilate heard them mention Caesar, he finally realised he had to give in to the Jewish leaders and their demands. He brought Jesus out. Pilate sat down on the judge’s bench at a place called the Stone Pavement, or ‘Gabbatha’ in Aramaic. ^<14>It was then about midday on the Friday, the Day of Preparation for the Passover.

Pilate called out to the Jews, ‘Here is your king!’

^<15>But by now they had worked themselves up into a frenzy. They shouted out, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him! Crucify him!’

Pilate asked them, ‘Do you want me to crucify your king?’

‘The only king we have is Caesar!’ the chief priests replied, rejecting their true king.

^<16>So in the end, Pilate caved in to their demands and handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.

Jesus is crucified

So the soldiers took Jesus away.