Luke 23:2-25

²And they began to accuse him, “This is a man whom we found misleading our people, preventing them from paying taxes to the Emperor, and giving out that he himself is ‘Christ, a king.’”

³“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked him. “It is true,” replied Jesus.

⁴But Pilate, turning to the chief priests and the people, said, “I do not see anything to find fault with in this man.”

⁵But they insisted, “He is stirring up the people by his teaching all through Judea; he began with Galilee and has now come here.”

⁶Hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean;

⁷and, having satisfied himself that Jesus came under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who also was at Jerusalem at the time.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly pleased, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, having heard a great deal about him; and he was hoping to see some sign given by him.

⁹So he questioned him at some length, but Jesus made no reply.

¹⁰Meanwhile the chief priests and the teachers of the Law stood by and vehemently accused him.

¹¹And Herod, with his soldiers, treated Jesus with scorn; he mocked him by throwing a gorgeous robe around him, and then sent him back to Pilate.

¹²And Herod and Pilate became friends that very day, for before that there had been ill-will between them.

¹³So Pilate summoned the chief priests, and the leading men, and the people,

¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man before me charged with misleading the people; and yet, for my part, though I examined him before you, I did not find this man to blame for any of the things of which you accuse him;

¹⁵nor did Herod either; for he has sent him back to us. And, as a fact, he has not done anything deserving death;

¹⁶so I will have him scourged, and then release him.”

¹⁸But they began to shout as one man, “Kill this fellow, but release Barabbas for us.”

¹⁹(Barabbas was a man who had been put in prison for a riot that had broken out in the city and for murder.)

²⁰Pilate, however, wanting to release Jesus, called to them again;

²¹but they kept calling out, “Crucify, crucify him!”

²²“Why, what harm has this man done?” Pilate said to them for the third time. “I have found nothing in him for which he could be condemned to death. So I will have him scourged, and then release him.”

²³But they persisted in loudly demanding his crucifixion; and their clamour gained the day.

²⁴Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.

²⁵He released the man who had been put in prison for riot and murder, as they demanded, and gave Jesus up to be dealt with as they pleased.