Jesus Delivered to Pilate

1 ^mAnd as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 ⁿAnd Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, ^o“You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

6 ^pNow at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed ^qmurder in the ^rinsurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd ^sto have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having ^tscourged¹ Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

16 ^uAnd the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters),² and they called together the whole battalion.³ 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, ^vKing of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

21 ^wAnd they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they ^xoffered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and ^ydivided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour⁴ when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And ^zwith him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.⁵ 29 And those who ^apassed by derided him, ^bwagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would ^cdestroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

The Death of Jesus

33 ^dAnd when the sixth hour⁶ had come, there was ^edarkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.⁷ 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus ^fcried with a loud voice, ^g“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with ^hsour wine, put it on a reed and ⁱgave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether ^jElijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the ^kcurtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 ^lAnd when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he⁸ breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the ^mSon⁹ of God!”

40 There were also ⁿwomen looking on ^ofrom a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

42 ^pAnd when evening had come, since it was the day of ^qPreparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself ^rlooking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.¹⁰ And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph¹¹ bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a ^stomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

The Resurrection

1 ^tWhen the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the ^ustone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is ^vgoing before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and ^wfled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]¹²

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[[9 ^xNow when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out ^yseven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would ^znot believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 ^aAfter these things he appeared ^bin another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

14 ^cAfterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and ^dproclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 ^eWhoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will ^fcast out demons; they will ^gspeak in new tongues; 18 they will ^hpick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will ⁱlay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was ^jtaken up into heaven and ^ksat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and ^lconfirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

Dedication to Theophilus

1 ^aInasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been ^baccomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were ^ceyewitnesses and ministers of the word have ^ddelivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 ^ethat you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the ^fdays of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,¹ of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was ^gbarren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his ^hdivision was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by ⁱlot to enter the temple of the Lord and ^jburn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the ^kaltar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was ^ltroubled when he saw him, ^mand fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. ⁿAnd he must not ^odrink wine or strong drink, ^pand he will be ^qfilled with the Holy Spirit, even ^rfrom his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^sto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, ^t“How shall I ^uknow this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am ^vGabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this ^wgood news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and ^xunable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to ^ytake away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 ^zIn the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin ^abetrothed² to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^cO favored one, ^dthe Lord is with you!”³ 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, ^eyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 ^fHe will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the ^gthrone of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be ^hno end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”⁴

35 And the angel answered her, ⁱ“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born⁵ will be called holy—the ^jSon of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For ^knothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant⁶ of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your ^lwomb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be⁷ a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the ^veighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And ^wfear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^xprophesied, saying,

80 ^qAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.