11. But the leading priests persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.
12. Pilate asked the people again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13. The people shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”
14. Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But the people shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
15. Pilate wanted to please the people, so he set Barabbas free for them. And he told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
16. Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together.
17. They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown from thorny branches, and put it on his head.
18. Then they began shouting, “Welcome, king of the Jews!”
19. They kept on beating his head with a stick and spitting on him. Then they bowed down on their knees and pretended to honor him as a king.
20. After they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be killed on a cross.
21. There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.