1 Now when morning came, all the leading priests and the elders of the [Jewish] people conferred together against Jesus as to how they might put Him to death.
2 So, they chained Him, led Him away and turned Him over to Pilate, the [Roman] governor.
3 Then Judas, who had betrayed Him [to the Jewish leaders], when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to die, changed his mind [i.e., about betraying Him] and brought back the thirty silver coins [Note: See Matt. 26:15 for the amount of money involved] to the leading priests and [Jewish] elders,
4 saying, "I have sinned by delivering up an innocent man to die." But they replied, "What is that to us? It is your affair!"
5 And he threw down the thirty silver coins in the Sanctuary [i.e., probably the outer area of the Temple], then left and went out and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests took the silver coins and said, "It is not permissible by the law of Moses to put this money in the Temple treasury, since it is the price [paid] for [taking] a life.
7 So, they conferred together [and decided] to buy "The Potter's Field" with the money [Note: This was probably an abandoned field where clay had been obtained for making pottery], for use in burying people who were not from the local area.
8 So, that field is called, "The Field of Blood" to this day.
9 [Thus the prophecy] spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet [Note: The passage actually appears to be Zech. 11:12-13], was fulfilled which said, "And they took the thirty silver coins, the amount charged for Him on whom certain Israelites had set a price,
10 and gave the money for 'The Potter's Field,' as the Lord directed me."
11 Now Jesus stood in front of the governor [i.e., Pilate], who asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so."
12 When He was accused by the leading priests and the [Jewish] elders, He made no reply.
13 Pilate then said to Him, "Do you not hear how many charges the witnesses are bringing against you?"
14 But He [again] made no reply, not even to a single charge, which caused the governor to be greatly amazed.
15 Now at the [Passover] Festival, the governor was accustomed to releasing whatever prisoner the crowd wanted.
16 There was at that time in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.
17 Therefore, when the people had gathered together, Pilate asked them, "Whom do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called 'Christ'?"
18 For he knew that the reason they had turned Jesus over to him was out of envy.
19 Then while he was seated in Pilate's courtroom of justice, Pilate's wife sent [word] to him, saying, "You should have nothing to do with that innocent man. For I was very troubled in a dream over him today." [Note: That is, she was troubled over a dream she had before waking up that morning].
20 Now the leading priests and [Jewish] elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas [to be released] and for Jesus to be killed.
21 But the governor asked them, "Which one of these two men do you want me to release to you?" And they answered, "Barabbas."
22 Pilate replied, "Then what should I do to Jesus, who is called 'Christ'?" They all shouted, "Let him be crucified!"
23 And he said, "Why [should he be]? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Let him be crucified!"
24 So, when Pilate saw that he was not convincing anyone, but that a riot was brewing instead, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying, "I am not responsible for this man's blood. [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "righteous man's blood"]. You tend to the matter."
25 And all the people answered, "Let his blood be on our hands, and on our children's [as well]."
26 Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and then turned over to be crucified.
27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus to Pilate's headquarters and assembled the entire company [i.e., about men] in front of Him.
28 They stripped off His clothing and placed a scarlet robe on Him [Note: Mark 15:17 calls this a "purple" robe because in that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple," so the use of "scarlet" was appropriate].
29 Then they made a wreath out of thorns and placed it on His head and put a stick in His right hand. They knelt down in front of Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hey, king of the Jews!"
30 And they spat on Him and took the stick and beat Him on the head with it.
31 And after mocking Him [some more], they removed the [scarlet] robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
32 As they were leaving [i.e., probably the city of Jerusalem], they met a man from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya]. His name was Simon and they forced him to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion].
33 And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means "the place of a skull" [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance],
34 they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter drug [i.e., for the purpose of dulling the pain of crucifixion. Mark 15:23 calls it "myrrh"], but when He tasted it He refused to drink it.
35 And after they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His clothing among themselves by gambling for them.
36 Then they just sat there and watched Him [die].
37 They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."
38 They [also] crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left.
39 And those who passed by [the cross] shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision],
40 saying, "You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
41 In the same way the leading priests, experts in the law of Moses and [Jewish] elders also mocked Him, saying,
42 "He saved other people, [but] he cannot [even] save himself [i.e., from dying]. He is 'the king of Israel;' let him now come down from the cross and then we will believe in him.
43 He trusted in God; now let God deliver him, if He wants [to save him from dying], for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
44 And the thieves who were crucified with Him also heaped the same abuse on Him.
45 Now from noon until three o'clock in the afternoon there was darkness over all the land.
46 Then about three in the afternoon Jesus called out in a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? [Note: These words were spoken in the commonly used Aramaic language], which mean, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
47 And when some of those standing there heard this, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah."
48 And immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, soaked it in sour wine and, attaching it to a stick, [lifted it up] and offered Jesus a drink.
49 But the rest of them said, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah [really] comes to save him."
50 Then Jesus called out again with a loud voice and [finally] gave up His spirit [to God. See Luke 23:46].
51 Just then the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the ground shook, and rocks were split open.
52 Graves opened up and the bodies of many dead saints [i.e., God's holy people] were raised up [from the dead].
53 They came out of their graves after Jesus' resurrection and entered the holy city [i.e., Jerusalem] where they appeared to many people.
54 Now when the military man in charge, and those with him who were watching Jesus, saw [and felt] the earthquake and the [other] things that happened, they became extremely fearful, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."
55 And many women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had ministered to His needs, were watching [all this] from a distance.
56 Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee [i.e., Salome. Mark 15:40].
57 And when evening had come, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was also one of Jesus' disciples,
58 went to [governor] Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. So, Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth
60 and placed it in his own newly prepared grave, which he had cut out of [a ledge of] rock. Then he [had] a huge stone rolled across the entrance of the grave and went away.
61 Mary from Magdala and the other Mary [i.e., probably Jesus' mother. See verse 56], stood near the grave site.
62 Now on the following day, which was the day after the Preparation [for the Passover Festival], the leading priests and Pharisees assembled in front of Pilate
63 and said, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: 'I will rise [from the dead] after three days.'
64 Therefore, give the order to secure the grave site until the third day, so his disciples will not steal his body and then tell the people 'He has risen from the dead.' This last deception would be worse than the first one [i.e., the claim that Jesus rose from the dead would be worse than the claim that he was the Messiah]."