Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
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Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him;
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they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
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They kept heaping many other insults on him.
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When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.
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They said, “If you are the Messiah,
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tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
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and if I question you, you will not answer.
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But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
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All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”
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Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”
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Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus
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before Pilate.
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They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”
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Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.”
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Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”
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But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”
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When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
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And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
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When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign.
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He questioned him at some length, but Jesus
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gave him no answer.
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The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.
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Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate.
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That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.
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Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,
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and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him.
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Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death.
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I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”
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Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!”
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(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)
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Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again;
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but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
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A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.”
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But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed.
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So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted.
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He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.
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As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.
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A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.
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But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
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For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
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Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’
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For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
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Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
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When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus
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there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
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Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
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And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
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And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah
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of God, his chosen one!”
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The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
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and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
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There was also an inscription over him,
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“This is the King of the Jews.”
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One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding
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him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?
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Save yourself and us!”
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But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
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And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
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Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into
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your kingdom.”
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He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
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It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land
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until three in the afternoon,
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while the sun’s light failed;
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and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
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Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.
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When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
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48
And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.
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But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
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Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council,
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had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.
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This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
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Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid.
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It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
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The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
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Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.
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They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
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but when they went in, they did not find the body.
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While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.
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The women
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were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men
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said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.
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Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
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that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
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Then they remembered his words,
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and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.
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Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
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But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
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But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
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