Staying with God at the Cross

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹And going on a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, were you not able to keep watch with me for one hour? ⁴¹Keep watch and pray, that you may not enter into testing. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again, for a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down. ⁴⁴So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for a third time, saying the same words again.

⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour has drawn near, and the Son of Man is handed over into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going. See, the one who betrays me has drawn near.”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, “The one whom I kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹And immediately he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. ⁵¹And behold, one of those with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and striking the servant of the high priest he cut off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Return your sword to its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once place at my side more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen in this way?”

⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber to seize me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. ⁵⁶But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

⁷¹And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him, and she said to those there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷²And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”

⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you also are one of them, for your speech makes you clear.” ⁷⁴Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵And Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Before Pilate

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Judeans?” Jesus said, “You say so.” ¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Barabbas Released; Jesus Condemned

¹⁵Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when they were gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that it was because of envy that they had delivered him up.

¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much today in a dream because of him.” ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus. ²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!”

²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³And he said, “Why—what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” ²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” ²⁵And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

³²As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he tasted it he would not drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Judeans.” ³⁸Then two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁹And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will trust him. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if God desires him; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” ⁴⁴And the rebels who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

⁴⁷And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also had become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.