Matthew 27:1-18

Early the next morning, all the leading priests and elders of the people decided that Jesus should die. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor. Judas, the one who had given Jesus to his enemies, saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Then he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the thirty silver coins back to the priests and the leaders, saying, “I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man.” The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That’s your problem, not ours.” So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself. The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple and said, “Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because it has paid for a man’s death.” So they decided to use the coins to buy Potter’s Field as a place to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem. That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. So what Jeremiah the prophet had said came true: “They took thirty silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. They used those thirty silver coins to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” Jesus stood before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Those are your words.” When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing. So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear them accusing you of all these things?” But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate, and Pilate was very surprised at this. Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose. At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas, who was known to be very bad. When the people gathered at Pilate’s house, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.