Pilate Tries to Free Jesus^(A)

¹⁵ Every year at the ·time of Passover [festival/feast] the governor would free [^Lfor the crowd] one prisoner whom the people chose. ¹⁶ At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas,^[a] who was ·known to be very bad [well known; notorious]. ¹⁷ When the people gathered, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas^[b] or Jesus who is called the ·Christ [Messiah]?” ¹⁸ [^LFor] Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting there on the judge’s seat [^Ca special seat for speeches or judicial pronouncements], his wife sent this message to him: “·Don’t do anything to [or Have nothing to do with] that man, because he is ·innocent [righteous]. Today I had a dream about him, and it ·troubled me very much [caused me great pain/anguish].”

²⁰ But the ·leading [^Tchief] priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be ·killed [executed].

²¹ Pilate said, “Which of these two do you want me to set free for you?”

The people answered, “Barabbas.”

²² Pilate asked, “So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the ·Christ [Messiah]?”

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³ Pilate asked, “Why? What ·wrong [crime; evil] has he done?”

But they shouted louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he ·could do nothing about this [was getting nowhere; was gaining nothing] and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am ·not guilty [innocent] of this man’s ·death [^Lblood]. ·You are the ones who are causing it [It is your responsibility now; or Take care of it yourselves]!”

²⁵ All the people answered, “·We and our children will be responsible for his death [^LHis blood be on us and on our children].”

²⁶ Then he set Barabbas free. But he had Jesus ·beaten with whips [scourged; flogged] and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.

²⁷ The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the ·governor’s palace [fortress; headquarters; ^LPraetorium], and ·they all gathered around him [or the whole regiment/company/cohort was assembled; ^Ca cohort was about five hundred soldiers; here it may mean those of the cohort on duty]. ²⁸ They ·took off his clothes [stripped him] and put a ·red [scarlet] robe on him [^Cprobably a scarlet military coat, whose color resembled purple, the color of royalty]. ²⁹ Using thorny branches, they made a crown, put it on his head, and put a ·stick [reed; staff] in his right hand [^Cas a scepter]. Then the soldiers ·bowed [kneeled] before Jesus and ·made fun of [mocked] him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spat on Jesus. Then they took his ·stick [reed; staff] and began to beat him on the head. ³¹ After they ·finished [had mocked him], the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus^(A)

⁶ Every year at the ·time of the Passover [festival/feast] the governor would free one prisoner whom the people ·chose [requested]. ⁷ At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison, one of a group of rebels who had committed murder during ·a riot [the uprising/insurrection]. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate and began to ask him to free a prisoner as he always did.

⁹ So Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ Pilate knew that the ·leading [^Tchief] priests had turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous. ¹¹ But the ·leading [^Tchief] priests had ·persuaded [stirred up] the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.

¹² Then Pilate asked the crowd again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴ Pilate asked, “Why? What ·wrong [crime; evil] has he done?”

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to ·please [satisfy] the crowd, so he freed Barabbas for them. After having Jesus ·beaten with whips [flogged; scourged], he handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(B)

¹⁶ The soldiers took Jesus into the [courtyard of the] governor’s palace (called the Praetorium) and called ·all the other soldiers [the whole cohort] together [^Ca cohort was about 500 soldiers; here it may mean those of the cohort on duty]. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe [^Cprobably a scarlet military coat (Matt. 27:28), whose color resembled purple—the color of royalty] on Jesus and used thorny branches to make a crown for his head. ¹⁸ They began to ·call out to [greet; salute] him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They spit on him and made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. ²⁰ After they finished, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be crucified.

Jesus Is Crucified^(C)

²¹ A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus [^Cprobably two Christians known to Mark’s readers], was coming from the ·fields [countryside] to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.

|¹⁷ Every year at the Passover Feast, Pilate had to release one prisoner to the people.|^[a]

¹⁸ But ·the people [^Lthey] shouted together, “Take this man away [^Cfor execution]! ·Let Barabbas go free [^LRelease Barabbas to/for us]!” ¹⁹ (Barabbas was a man who was in prison for his part in a ·riot [insurrection] in the city and for murder.)

²⁰ Pilate wanted to let Jesus go free and [^Lagain] ·told this to [appealed to; addressed] the crowd. ²¹ But they shouted again, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² A third time Pilate said to them, “Why? What ·wrong [crime; evil] has he done? I can find no reason to kill him. So I will have him ·punished [flogged] and set him free.”

²³ But they continued to shout, demanding that Jesus be crucified. Their ·yelling became so loud [^Lvoices prevailed so] that ²⁴ Pilate decided to give them what they ·wanted [requested; demanded]. ²⁵ He set free the man who was in jail for ·rioting [insurrection] and murder, and he handed Jesus over ·to them to do with him as they wished [or as they requested; ^Lto their will].

Jesus Is Crucified^(A)

²⁶ As they led Jesus away, Simon, a man from Cyrene [^Ca port city in North Africa (modern Libya)], was coming in from the ·fields [countryside; country; ^CSimon may be a Jewish pilgrim visiting Jerusalem for Passover or an immigrant living there]. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross and to walk behind him.

²⁷ A large crowd of people was following Jesus, including some women who were ·sad [mourning] and ·crying [wailing; lamenting] for him. ²⁸ But Jesus turned and said to them, “·Women [^LDaughters] of Jerusalem, don’t ·cry [weep] for me. ·Cry [Weep] for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ [^LFor look/^Tbehold] The ·time is [days are] coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are ·the women who cannot have children [^Lthe barren women and the wombs that never gave birth] and ·who have no babies to nurse [^Lthe breasts that have never nursed].’ ³⁰ Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ And they will say to the hills, ‘·Cover [Bury] us [Hos. 10:8]!’ ³¹ If they act like this now when ·life is good [^Lthe tree is green], what will happen when ·bad times come [^Lit is dry; ^Cprobably an allusion to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70]?”

³² There were also two criminals led out with Jesus to be ·put to death [executed].

³⁹ But it is your custom that I ·free [release] one prisoner to you at Passover time. Do you want me to ·free [release] the ‘king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Let Barabbas ·go free [be released]!” (Barabbas was a ·robber [bandit; revolutionary; terrorist; ^Cthe Romans referred to insurrectionists as “robbers” or “criminals”].)

19 Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and ·whipped [flogged]. ² The soldiers ·made [wove; twisted together] a crown ·from some thorny branches [^Tof thorns] and put it on Jesus’ head and put a purple robe [^Cpurple was the color of royalty] around him. ³ Then they came to him many times and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and ·hit him in the face [slapped/struck him].

⁴ Again Pilate came out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find ·nothing [no case; no basis for a charge] against him.” ⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “·Here is the man [^TBehold the man]!”

⁶ When the ·leading [^Tchief] priests and the ·guards [officials; temple police] saw Jesus, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

But Pilate answered them, “Crucify him yourselves, because I find ·nothing [no case; no basis for a charge] against him.”

⁷ The ·leaders [Jewish leaders; ^LJews] answered [^Lhim], “We have a law [Lev. 24:16] that says he should die, because he ·said he is [made himself; claimed to be] the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this [^Lstatement; word], he was even more afraid. ⁹ He went back inside the ·palace [headquarters; ^LPraetorium] and asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus did not answer him. ¹⁰ Pilate said [^Lto him], “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know I have ·power [authority] to ·set you free [release you] and ·power [authority] to have you crucified?”

¹¹ Jesus answered [him], “The only ·power [authority] you have over me is the ·power [authority] given to you ·by God [^Lfrom above]. The man who ·turned me in to you [betrayed me; ^CCaiaphas or perhaps Judas] is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² ·After this [or For this reason], Pilate tried to let Jesus go. But ·some in the crowd [^Lthe Jews] ·cried out [shouted], “Anyone who makes himself king ·is against [opposes] Caesar [^Cthe Roman emperor]. If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate heard ·what they were saying [^Lthese words], he brought Jesus out and ·sat down [or seated him] on the judge’s seat at the place called The Stone Pavement. (In the ·Hebrew language [^Cmore specifically, Aramaic, the native language of the Jews at the time] the name is Gabbatha.) ¹⁴ It was about ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour; ^Chours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM] on Preparation Day of Passover week. Pilate said to ·the crowd [^Lthe Jews], “·Here is your king! [^LLook, your king! or Look at your king!]”

¹⁵ They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to crucify your king?”

The ·leading [^Tchief] priests answered, “The only king we have is Caesar.”

¹⁶ So Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

Jesus Is Crucified^(A)

The soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to a place called The Place of the Skull, which in the Hebrew [^CAramaic; see v. 13] language is called Golgotha.