Once more Pilate came out. He said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. I myself find no basis for a charge against him."
Jesus answered, "You were given power from heaven. If you weren't, you would have no power over me. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free. But the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is against Caesar!"
When Pilate heard that, he brought Jesus out. Pilate sat down on the judge's seat. It was at a place called The Stone Walkway. In the Aramaic language it was called Gabbatha.
But they shouted, "Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!" "Should I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
The chief priests of the Jews argued with Pilate. They said, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews.' Write that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes. They divided them into four parts. Each soldier got one part. Jesus' long, inner robe was left. It did not have any seams. It was made out of one piece of cloth from top to bottom.
"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's cast lots to see who will get it." This happened so that Scripture would come true. It says, "They divided up my clothes among them. They cast lots for what I was wearing." --(Psalm 22:18) So that is what the soldiers did.
A jar of wine vinegar was there. So they soaked a sponge in it. They put the sponge on a stem of the hyssop plant. Then they lifted it up to Jesus' lips.
It was Preparation Day. The next day would be a special Sabbath. The Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath. So they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
These things happened in order that Scripture would come true. It says, "Not one of his bones will be broken."--(Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20)
Later Joseph asked Pilate for Jesus' body. Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a follower of Jesus. But he followed Jesus secretly because he was afraid of the Jews. After Pilate gave him permission, Joseph came and took the body away.