English Bible Presentation Sharing - Matthew Book, chapter 27, verse 55 in Nlt Version

Matthew 27 : 1 (NLT)

Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death.

Matthew 27 : 2 (NLT)

Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

Matthew 27 : 3 (NLT)

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.

Matthew 27 : 4 (NLT)

"I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." "What do we care?" they retorted. "That's your problem."

Matthew 27 : 5 (NLT)

Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

Matthew 27 : 6 (NLT)

The leading priests picked up the coins. "It wouldn't be right to put this money in the Temple treasury," they said, "since it was payment for murder."

Matthew 27 : 7 (NLT)

After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter's field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.

Matthew 27 : 8 (NLT)

That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood.

Matthew 27 : 9 (NLT)

This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says, "They took the thirty pieces of silver-- the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel,

Matthew 27 : 10 (NLT)

and purchased the potter's field, as the LORD directed. "

Matthew 27 : 11 (NLT)

Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. "Are you the king of the Jews?" the governor asked him.Jesus replied, "You have said it."

Matthew 27 : 12 (NLT)

But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.

Matthew 27 : 13 (NLT)

"Don't you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?" Pilate demanded.

Matthew 27 : 14 (NLT)

But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor's surprise.

Matthew 27 : 15 (NLT)

Now it was the governor's custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd-- anyone they wanted.

Matthew 27 : 16 (NLT)

This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.

Matthew 27 : 17 (NLT)

As the crowds gathered before Pilate's house that morning, he asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you-- Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?"

Matthew 27 : 18 (NLT)

(He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

Matthew 27 : 19 (NLT)

Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: "Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night."

Matthew 27 : 20 (NLT)

Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.

Matthew 27 : 21 (NLT)

So the governor asked again, "Which of these two do you want me to release to you?" The crowd shouted back, "Barabbas!"

Matthew 27 : 22 (NLT)

Pilate responded, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" They shouted back, "Crucify him!"

Matthew 27 : 23 (NLT)

"Why?" Pilate demanded. "What crime has he committed?" But the mob roared even louder, "Crucify him!"

Matthew 27 : 24 (NLT)

Pilate saw that he wasn't getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. The responsibility is yours!"

Matthew 27 : 25 (NLT)

And all the people yelled back, "We will take responsibility for his death-- we and our children!"

Matthew 27 : 26 (NLT)

So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Matthew 27 : 27 (NLT)

Some of the governor's soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment.

Matthew 27 : 28 (NLT)

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.

Matthew 27 : 29 (NLT)

They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, "Hail! King of the Jews!"

Matthew 27 : 30 (NLT)

And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.

Matthew 27 : 31 (NLT)

When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

Matthew 27 : 32 (NLT)

Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross.

Matthew 27 : 33 (NLT)

And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means "Place of the Skull").

Matthew 27 : 34 (NLT)

The soldiers gave him wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.

Matthew 27 : 35 (NLT)

After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

Matthew 27 : 36 (NLT)

Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.

Matthew 27 : 37 (NLT)

A sign was fastened to the cross above Jesus' head, announcing the charge against him. It read: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

Matthew 27 : 38 (NLT)

Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Matthew 27 : 39 (NLT)

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.

Matthew 27 : 40 (NLT)

"Look at you now!" they yelled at him. "You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!"

Matthew 27 : 41 (NLT)

The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.

Matthew 27 : 42 (NLT)

"He saved others," they scoffed, "but he can't save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!

Matthew 27 : 43 (NLT)

He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

Matthew 27 : 44 (NLT)

Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.

Matthew 27 : 45 (NLT)

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.

Matthew 27 : 46 (NLT)

At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

Matthew 27 : 47 (NLT)

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.

Matthew 27 : 48 (NLT)

One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.

Matthew 27 : 49 (NLT)

But the rest said, "Wait! Let's see whether Elijah comes to save him."

Matthew 27 : 50 (NLT)

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.

Matthew 27 : 51 (NLT)

At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

Matthew 27 : 52 (NLT)

and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

Matthew 27 : 53 (NLT)

They left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

Matthew 27 : 54 (NLT)

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, "This man truly was the Son of God!"

Matthew 27 : 55 (NLT)

And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.

Matthew 27 : 56 (NLT)

Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Matthew 27 : 57 (NLT)

As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus,

Matthew 27 : 58 (NLT)

went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.

Matthew 27 : 59 (NLT)

Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth.

Matthew 27 : 60 (NLT)

He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left.

Matthew 27 : 61 (NLT)

Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

Matthew 27 : 62 (NLT)

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.

Matthew 27 : 63 (NLT)

They told him, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: 'After three days I will rise from the dead.'

Matthew 27 : 64 (NLT)

So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first."

Matthew 27 : 65 (NLT)

Pilate replied, "Take guards and secure it the best you can."

Matthew 27 : 66 (NLT)

So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.