15:1 - And first thing in the morning, after consulting with the elders and scribes and the whole council, the chief priests tied Jesus up, and carried him off to Pilate.
15:2 - Pilate inquired, are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, It is you who say that
15:3 - The main priest kept accusing him of lots of things but he would never answer.
15:4 - And Pilate again asked him, Don’t you have anything to say? Listen to what they accuse you of.
15:5 - Pilate was in awe, for Jesus did not respond.
15:6 - At the feast he set free the prisoner of their choice.
15:7 - And there was man named Barabbas, who lay tied up together with his fellow rebels, who had committed murder during the uprising.
15:8 - And the crowd cried out, asking him to do what he had done for them before.
15:9 - Pilate said, You want me to release from the prison the King of the Jews?
15:10 - For he knew full well that it was jealousy that had motivated the high priests to turn him in.
15:11 - The head priests persuaded the crowd that they would rather have Barabbas set free.
15:12 - Pilate answered by asking the crowd What do you want me to do with this man you call the King of the Jews?
15:13 - Kill him, the crowds shouted.
15:14 - As Pilate spoke, What sin has he committed? They screamed out, Kill him.
15:15 - Pilate wanted to please the people, so he let Barabbas go and after having Jesus whipped he sent him to be crucified.
15:16 - The soldiers took him down to Praetorium hall where they called together the entire band.
15:17 - They dressed him in purple clothes and made a crown of thorns which they put on his head.
15:18 - And they saluted him in mocking, Hail, King of the Jews
15:19 - Then, they hit him on the head with a reed and spit on him, and when they finished, got on their knees and worshiped him.
15:20 - After they finished ridiculing him, they removed the purple clothes from him and dressed him in his own clothes,then proceeded to direct him out to be crucified.
15:21 - Simon was a Cyrenian and the father of two boys, Alexander and Rufus, who happened to be there as Jesus was unable to carry his own cross; the soldiers required Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.
15:22 - And they brought him to Golgotha, which translated means The place of a skull.
15:23 - And they offered him a drink of wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it.
15:24 - After they crucified him, they gave his clothing to those around and told them what they could take.
15:25 - It was the third hour and they killed him.
15:26 - Above His head they wrote what they had accused Him of being: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
15:27 - There were also two thieves crucified at the same time, one on either side of him.
15:28 - And it fulfilled the scripture in which it is written, And he was one of the sinners.
15:29 - Those that passed him, shook their heads, saying, You have destroyed the temple that was built in three days,
15:30 - Save your own life, and get down from the cross.
15:31 - The chief priests, along with the scribes, made fun of Jesus saying, He can’t even save himself yet he saved the others.
15:32 - Let Christ the Lord Of Israel get lowed from the cross, that we may see and believe. And those who crucified with him reviled him.
15:33 - And when 6 o’clock came, it was still dark throughout the country until 9 o’clock.
15:34 - In the ninth hour, Jesus cried loudly Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which means My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
15:35 - When those that were watching heard, some said, Look, he is calling Elias.
15:36 - And one ran and engorged a sponge until it was filled to the brim with vinegar, and placed it on a reed and handed it over to him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see if Elias will come to over throw him.
15:37 - Jesus gave up the ghost with a loud voice.
15:38 - And the veil of the temple was ripped into from the top to the bottom.
15:39 - And when the soldier, who was standing guard, saw him call on God and die, he said, Indeed this was God’s son.
15:40 - There were women watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene and also Mary, who was the mother of James the younger, Joses, and Salome.
15:41 - (Who also followed him, and ministered to him when he was in Galilee; ) and many other women that came with him to Jerusalem.
15:42 - When it was evening, because it was the day to get ready for the sabbath,
15:43 - Joseph of Arimathaea, a member of the Sanhedrin and an honored counselor, requested that Pontius Pilate allow him to retrieve the body of Jesus.
15:44 - And Pilate wondered if he was already dead, and he sent for the centurion, and asked him whether he was dead yet.
15:45 - And after he heard about it from the centurion, he gave Joseph the body.
15:46 - He bought fine linen and, taking him down, wrapped him in the linen and laid him in a burial vault hewn out of a rock, and then rolled a stone over the entrance of the vault.
15:47 - Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ mother Mary saw where he was laid.