Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.
The governor's soldiers led Jesus into the fortress and brought together the rest of the troops. They stripped off Jesus' clothes and put a scarlet robe on him. They made a crown out of thorn branches and placed it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. The soldiers knelt down and pretended to worship him. They made fun of him and shouted, “Hey, you king of the Jews!” Then they spit on him. They took the stick from him and beat him on the head with it.
When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross. On the way they met a man named Simon who was from Cyrene, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
They came to a place named Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.” There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it.
The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. Then they sat down to guard him. Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.
People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, “So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God's Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
The chief priests, the leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said, “He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we will believe him. He trusted God, so let God save him, if he wants to. He even said he was God's Son.” The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.
At noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until three o'clock. Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He's calling for Elijah.” One of them at once ran and grabbed a sponge. He soaked it in wine, then put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus.
Others said, “Wait! Let's see if Elijah will come and save him.” Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died.
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