Luke 23:16-37

¹⁶I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

¹⁷Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.

¹⁸But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”—

¹⁹one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.

²⁰Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus,

²¹but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

²²He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

²³But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief priests prevailed.

²⁴Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done.

²⁵He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.

²⁶When they led him away, they grabbed one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid the cross on him to carry it after Jesus.

²⁷A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him.

²⁸But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’

³⁰Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’

³¹For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”

³²There were also others, two criminals, led with him to be put to death.

³³When they came to the place that is called “The Skull”, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments amongst them, they cast lots.

³⁵The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,

³⁷and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”