⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(A)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(B)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(C)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (D)Then Herod, with his ^[a]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(E)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(A)

^13 (B)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(C)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(D)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[a]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (E)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (F)(for^[b] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(G)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[c]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(H)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.

⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, ^(A)that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

^6 (B)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

⁷ The Jews answered him, ^(C)“We have a law, and according to ^[a]our law He ought to die, because ^(D)He made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” ^(E)But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have ^[b]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, ^(F)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(G)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^(H)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

^13 (I)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now ^(J)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, ^(K)“We have no king but Caesar!”

^16 (L)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus ^[c]and led Him away.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(A)

^15 (B)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. ¹⁶ And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called ^[a]Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that they had handed Him over because of ^(C)envy.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”

^20 (D)But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

They said, ^(E)“Barabbas!”

²² Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”

²³ Then the governor said, ^(F)“Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a ^[b]tumult was rising, he ^(G)took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this ^[c]just Person. You see to it.”

²⁵ And all the people answered and said, ^(H)“His blood be on us and on our children.”

²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them; and when ^(I)he had ^[d]scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.