Luke 23:2-25

²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

³Pilate asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him and said, “You say so.”

⁴Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no fault in this man.”

⁵But they were insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place.”

⁶So when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

⁷When he discovered that he was under Herod's authority, he sent Jesus to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in those days.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, because he had wanted to see him for a long time. He had heard about him and he hoped to see some miracle done by him.

⁹Herod questioned Jesus in many words, but Jesus answered him nothing.

¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood, violently accusing him.

¹¹Herod with his soldiers insulted Jesus and they mocked him. Then they dressed him in elegant clothes and sent him back to Pilate.

¹²For Herod and Pilate had become friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been enemies with each other.

¹³Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the crowd of people,

¹⁴and said to them, “You brought to me this man like a man who is leading the people to act badly, and see, I, having questioned him before you, find no fault in this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.

¹⁵No, nor does Herod, for he sent him back to us, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him.

¹⁶I will therefore punish him, and release him.”

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

¹⁹Barabbas was a man who had been put into prison for a certain rebellion in the city and for murder.

²⁰Pilate addressed them again, desiring to release Jesus.

²¹But they shouted, saying, “Crucify him, crucify him.”

²²He said to them a third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found nothing deserving the death penalty in him. Therefore after punishing him, I will release him.”

²³But they were insistent with loud voices, demanding for him to be crucified. Their voices convinced Pilate.

²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand.

²⁵He released the one they asked for who had been put in prison for rioting and murder. But he delivered up Jesus to their will.