Matthew 27:32-44 - Jesus Is Crucified

³² As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced this man to carry His cross. ³³ When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Place), ³⁴ they gave Him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. ³⁵ After crucifying Him they divided His clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and were guarding Him there. ³⁷ Above His head they put up the charge against Him in writing:

THIS IS JESUS

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁸ Then two criminals were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ Those who passed by were yelling insults at Him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “The One who would demolish the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him and said, 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. ⁴³ He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him! For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with Him kept taunting Him.

²¹ They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross. He was Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus. ²² And they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Skull Place). ²³ They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. ²⁴ Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. ²⁵ Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge written against Him was:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷ They crucified two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ²⁸ [So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And He was counted among outlaws.] ²⁹ Those who passed by were yelling insults at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The One who would demolish the sanctuary and build it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself by coming down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking Him to one another and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! ³² Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him were taunting Him.

²⁶ As they led Him away, they seized Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, and laid the cross on him to carry behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large crowd of people followed Him, including women who were mourning and lamenting Him. ²⁸ But turning to them, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children. ²⁹ Look, the days are coming when they will say, ‘The women without children, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed, are fortunate!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ³¹ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two others—criminals—were also led away to be executed with Him. ³³ When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁴ [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”] And they divided His clothes and cast lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and even the leaders kept scoffing: “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him. They came offering Him sour wine ³⁷ and said, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”

³⁸ An inscription was above Him:

THIS IS

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹ Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

⁴³ And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

¹⁷ Carrying His own cross, He went out to what is called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was:

JESUS THE NAZARENE

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” They did this to fulfill the Scripture that says: They divided My clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing. And this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵ Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.