John 19

²Soldiers made a crown of thorns. They pressed it on His head. They put a purple robe on Him.

³The soldiers called out, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' Then they hit Him.

⁴Pilate came out again. He said, 'Look — I find nothing wrong with this man.'

⁵Jesus came out wearing the thorns and the robe. Pilate said, 'Look at this man!'

⁶The chief priests cried out: 'Crucify Him!' Pilate said again, 'I find no fault in Him.'

⁷The leaders said, 'He must die because He called Himself the Son of God.'

⁸When Pilate heard 'Son of God,' he became very afraid.

⁹Pilate went back inside and asked Jesus, 'Where are You from?' Jesus said nothing.

¹⁰Pilate said, 'Don't you know I have the power to free You or crucify You?'

¹¹Jesus said, 'You have no power except what God gave you. The one who handed Me over has the greater sin.'

¹²Pilate tried to free Jesus. The crowd threatened him. They said, 'You are not Caesar's friend if you free Him!'

¹³Pilate brought Jesus out and sat on the judge's seat. The place was called Gabbatha.

¹⁴It was Passover preparation day, about noon. Pilate said to the crowd, 'Behold your King!'

¹⁵The crowd cried, 'Away with Him! Crucify Him!' The chief priests said, 'We have no king but Caesar.'

¹⁶Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. They took Jesus and led Him away.

¹⁷Jesus carried His own cross. He walked to a place called Golgotha — the Place of the Skull.

¹⁸There they crucified Jesus. Two others were crucified beside Him — one on each side.

¹⁹Pilate had a sign made. It was put on the cross. It said: JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰Many people read the sign. It was written in three languages — Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹The chief priests told Pilate, 'Change the sign. Write that He only claimed to be King.'

²²Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'

²³The soldiers took Jesus's clothes and divided them into four parts. His coat had no seam — it was woven whole.

²⁴The soldiers said, 'Let's not tear it. Let's draw lots to see who gets it.' This fulfilled what was written in Scripture.

²⁵Near the cross stood Jesus's mother, her sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

²⁶Jesus saw His mother and His beloved disciple. He said to her, 'Woman, look — here is your son.'

²⁷Jesus said to the disciple, 'Look — here is your mother.' From that moment, the disciple took her home.

²⁸Jesus knew everything was nearly done. To fulfil Scripture, He said, 'I thirst.'

²⁹A jar of sour vinegar was there. They soaked a sponge in it and lifted it to His mouth on a hyssop branch.

³⁰Jesus received the vinegar. He said, 'It is finished.' He bowed His head and died.

³¹The Jewish leaders asked Pilate to break the legs of those crucified. They did not want bodies on the cross on the Sabbath.

³²Soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified beside Jesus.

³³When they came to Jesus, He was already dead. So they did not break His legs.

³⁴A soldier pierced Jesus's side with a spear. Blood and water came out right away.

³⁵The one who saw it told us this. His record is true. He tells us so you will believe.

³⁶These things happened so that Scripture would come true: 'Not one of His bones shall be broken.'

³⁷Another Scripture was fulfilled: 'They will look on the One they have pierced.'

³⁸Joseph of Arimathaea was a secret follower of Jesus. He asked Pilate for the body. Pilate said yes. Joseph took Jesus's body.

³⁹Nicodemus also came. He had once visited Jesus at night. He brought myrrh and aloes — a hundred pounds of spices.

⁴⁰They wrapped Jesus's body in linen cloths with the spices. This was the Jewish way of burying.

⁴¹Near the place of the crucifixion was a garden. In the garden was a brand new tomb — never used.

⁴²They laid Jesus there because the Sabbath was near. The tomb was close by.