23. Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
24. Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do to make the people change. In fact, it looked as if there would be a riot. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of them all. He said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are doing it!”
25. The people answered, “We will take full responsibility for his death. You can blame us and even our children!”
26. Then Pilate set Barabbas free. And he told some soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
27. Then Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around him.
28. They took off Jesus’ clothes and put a red robe on him.
29. Then they made a crown from thorny branches and put it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. Then they bowed before him, making fun of him. They said, “We salute you, king of the Jews!”
30. They spit on him. Then they took his stick and kept hitting him on the head with it.
31. After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be killed on a cross.
32. The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They saw a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
33. They came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”)
34. There the soldiers gave Jesus some wine mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35. The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they threw dice to divide his clothes between them.
36. The soldiers stayed there to guard him.
37. They put a sign above his head with the charge against him written on it: “this is jesus, the king of the jews.”
38. Two criminals were nailed to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left.
39. People walked by and shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads