The continuation of the history of the Passion of Christ.

¹ Therefore, Pilate then took Jesus into custody and scourged him.

² And the soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, imposed it on his head. And they put a purple garment around him.

³ And they were approaching him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly.¹

1. 19:3The expression ‘dabant alapas’ has the verb in the imperative tense, so the translation of ‘repeatedly’ is justified. More literally (and more awkwardly) it says ‘they were giving him blows.’(Conte)

⁴ Then Pilate went outside again, and he said to them: “Behold, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may realize that I find no case against him.”

⁵ (Then Jesus went out, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he said to them, “Behold the man.”

⁶ Therefore, when the high priests and the attendants had seen him, they cried out, saying: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them: “Take him yourselves and crucify him. For I find no case against him.”

⁷ The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to the law, he ought to die, for he has made himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate had heard this word, he was more fearful.

⁹ And he entered into the praetorium again. And he said to Jesus. “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no response.

¹⁰ Therefore, Pilate said to him: “Will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to crucify you, and I have authority to release you?”

¹¹ Jesus responded, “You would not have any authority over me, unless it were given to you from above. For this reason, he who has handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹² And from then on, Pilate was seeking to release him. But the Jews were crying out, saying: “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. For anyone who makes himself a king contradicts Caesar.”

¹³ Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus outside, and he sat down in the seat of judgment, in a place which is called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, it is called the Elevation.

¹⁴ Now it was the preparation day of the Passover, about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your king.”¹

1. 19:14The parasceve of the pasch: That is, the day before the paschal sabbath. The eve of every sabbath was called the parasceve, or day of preparation. But this was the eve of a high sabbath, viz., that which fell in the paschal week.(Challoner)

¹⁵ But they were crying out: “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests responded, “We have no king except Caesar.”

¹⁶ Therefore, he then handed him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away.

¹⁷ And carrying his own cross, he went forth to the place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew it is called the Place of the Skull.

¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Then Pilate also wrote a title, and he set it above the cross. And it was written: Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.

²⁰ Therefore, many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was close to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.

²¹ Then the high priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Do not write, ‘King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’

²² Pilate responded, “What I have written, I have written.”¹

1. 19:22Pilate was most likely speaking in Latin when he said these words. These words show a manner of thought and expression found in ancient Roman culture and society. It is also a very natural expression in Latin.(Conte)

²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments, and they made four parts, one part to each soldier, and the tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven from above throughout the whole.

²⁴ Then they said to one another, “Let us not cut it, but instead let us cast lots over it, to see whose it will be.” This was so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, saying: “They have distributed my garments among themselves, and for my vesture they have cast lots.” And indeed, the soldiers did these things.

²⁵ And standing beside the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, and Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.¹

1. 19:25According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Mary Cleophas was the daughter of Cleophas and Maria Heli (the Virgin Mary’s older sister). So the sister of Christ’s mother, and the woman named Mary Cleophas are two different persons.(Conte)

²⁶ Therefore, when Jesus had seen his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.”

²⁷ Next, he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” And from that hour, the disciple accepted her as his own.

²⁸ After this, Jesus knew that all had been accomplished, so in order that the Scripture might be completed, he said, “I thirst.”

²⁹ And there was a container placed there, full of vinegar. Then, placing a sponge full of vinegar around hyssop, they brought it to his mouth.

³⁰ Then Jesus, when he had received the vinegar, said: “It is consummated.” And bowing down his head, he surrendered his spirit.

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was the preparation day, so that the bodies would not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a great day), they petitioned Pilate in order that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away.

³² Therefore, the soldiers approached, and, indeed, they broke the legs of the first one, and of the other who was crucified with him.

³³ But after they had approached Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and immediately there went out blood and water.

³⁵ And he who saw this has offered testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you also may believe.

³⁶ For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “You shall not break a bone of him.”

³⁷ And again, another Scripture says: “They shall look upon him, whom they have pierced.”

³⁸ Then, after these things, Joseph from Arimathea, (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews) petitioned Pilate so that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave permission. Therefore, he went and took away the body of Jesus.

³⁹ Now Nicodemus also arrived, (who had gone to Jesus at first by night) bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloe, weighing about seventy pounds.¹

1. 19:39The libra was a weight of one Roman pound, but this is substantially less than what is called a pound today. Thus 100 libras is not 100 modern pounds, but about 71.2 pounds or about 32.3 kilograms.(Conte)

⁴⁰ Therefore, they took the body of Jesus, and they bound it with linen cloths and the aromatic spices, just as it is the manner of the Jews to bury.

⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden there was a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.

⁴² Therefore, because of the preparation day of the Jews, since the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.