Matthew 27

1When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

2And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

8Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

9Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;

10And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

11And 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.

12And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

15Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

16And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

17Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

18For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

19When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

20But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

21The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

22Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

23And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

24When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

26Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

28And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

29And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

30And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

32And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

33And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

34They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

35And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

36And sitting down they watched him there;

37And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

39And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

40And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

41Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

44The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

47Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

48And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

49The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

55And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

56Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.

57When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:

58He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60And 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 sepulchre, and departed.

61And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

65Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

66So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

1When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death. 2They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

3When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. 4“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
“What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”

5So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

6The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:“They took the thirty pieces of silver,the price set on Him by the people of Israel, 10and they gave them for the potter’s field,as the Lord had commanded me.”footnote a

Jesus before Pilate

11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

12And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.

13Then Pilate asked Him, “Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?”

14But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

15Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. 16At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.footnote b 17So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

20But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.

21“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they replied.

22“What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

23“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

Pilate Washes His Hands

24When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,footnote c” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”

25All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

26So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. 28They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.

31After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.

The Crucifixion

32Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

33And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, 34they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

35When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.footnote d 36And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.

37Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:
THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38Two robbersfootnote e were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left.

39And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

41In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, 42“He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him.footnote f For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

44In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

The Death of Jesus

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hourfootnote g darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,footnote h lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”footnote i

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.” 48One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine,footnote j put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.footnote k

49But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”footnote l

50When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. 51At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

55And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

The Burial of Jesus

57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guards at the Tomb

62The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. 63“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

65“You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.