1. Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and whipped.
2. The soldiers made a crown from thorny branches and put it on his head. Then they put a purple robe around him.
3. They kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail to the king of the Jews!” And they hit him in the face.
4. Again Pilate came out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge him with.”
5. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is the man!”
6. When the leading priests and the Jewish guards saw Jesus they shouted, “Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge him with.”
7. The Jewish leaders answered, “We have a law that says he must die, because he said he is the Son of God.”
8. When Pilate heard this, he was more afraid.
9. So he went back inside the palace and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not answer him.
10. Pilate said, “You refuse to speak to me? Remember, I have the power to make you free or to kill you on a cross.”
11. Jesus answered, “The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12. After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders shouted, “Anyone who makes himself a king is against Caesar. So if you let this man go free, that means you are not Caesar’s friend.”
13. When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out to the place called “The Stone Pavement.” (In Aramaic the name is Gabbatha.) Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat there.
14. It was now almost noon on Preparation day of Passover week. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”
15. They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!” Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?” The leading priests answered, “The only king we have is Caesar!”