Luke 23 : 1 (NLT)
Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor.
Luke 23 : 2 (NLT)
They began to state their case: "This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king."
Luke 23 : 3 (NLT)
So Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "You have said it."
Luke 23 : 4 (NLT)
Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, "I find nothing wrong with this man!"
Luke 23 : 5 (NLT)
Then they became insistent. "But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes-- all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!"
Luke 23 : 6 (NLT)
"Oh, is he a Galilean?" Pilate asked.
Luke 23 : 7 (NLT)
When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod's jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.
Luke 23 : 8 (NLT)
Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle.
Luke 23 : 9 (NLT)
He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.
Luke 23 : 10 (NLT)
Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations.
Luke 23 : 11 (NLT)
Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.
Luke 23 : 12 (NLT)
(Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)
Luke 23 : 13 (NLT)
Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people,
Luke 23 : 14 (NLT)
and he announced his verdict. "You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent.
Luke 23 : 15 (NLT)
Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty.
Luke 23 : 16 (NLT)
So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him."
Luke 23 : 18 (NLT)
Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, "Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!"
Luke 23 : 19 (NLT)
(Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.)
Luke 23 : 20 (NLT)
Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.
Luke 23 : 21 (NLT)
But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
Luke 23 : 22 (NLT)
For the third time he demanded, "Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him."
Luke 23 : 23 (NLT)
But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed.
Luke 23 : 24 (NLT)
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.
Luke 23 : 25 (NLT)
As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
Luke 23 : 26 (NLT)
As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
Luke 23 : 27 (NLT)
A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women.
Luke 23 : 28 (NLT)
But Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Luke 23 : 29 (NLT)
For the days are coming when they will say, 'Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.'
Luke 23 : 30 (NLT)
People will beg the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and plead with the hills, 'Bury us.'
Luke 23 : 31 (NLT)
For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? "
Luke 23 : 32 (NLT)
Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him.
Luke 23 : 33 (NLT)
When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified-- one on his right and one on his left.
Luke 23 : 34 (NLT)
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
Luke 23 : 35 (NLT)
The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One."
Luke 23 : 36 (NLT)
The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine.
Luke 23 : 37 (NLT)
They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
Luke 23 : 38 (NLT)
A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews."
Luke 23 : 39 (NLT)
One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself-- and us, too, while you're at it!"
Luke 23 : 40 (NLT)
But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?
Luke 23 : 41 (NLT)
We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong."
Luke 23 : 42 (NLT)
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."
Luke 23 : 43 (NLT)
And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 23 : 44 (NLT)
By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.
Luke 23 : 45 (NLT)
The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.
Luke 23 : 46 (NLT)
Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last.
Luke 23 : 47 (NLT)
When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, "Surely this man was innocent. "
Luke 23 : 48 (NLT)
And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.
Luke 23 : 49 (NLT)
But Jesus' friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.
Luke 23 : 50 (NLT)
Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council,
Luke 23 : 51 (NLT)
but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.
Luke 23 : 52 (NLT)
He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
Luke 23 : 53 (NLT)
Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.
Luke 23 : 54 (NLT)
This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.
Luke 23 : 55 (NLT)
As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed.
Luke 23 : 56 (NLT)
Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.
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