15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law 1 and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 15:2 So 3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king 4 of the Jews?” He replied, 5 “You say so.” 6 15:3 Then 7 the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. 15:4 So Pilate asked him again, 8 “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” 15:5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
15:6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, 9 whomever they requested. 15:7 A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. 15:8 Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. 10 15:9 So Pilate asked them, 11 “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 15:10 (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) 12 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release 13 Barabbas instead. 15:12 So Pilate spoke to them again, 14 “Then what do you want me to do 15 with the one you call king of the Jews?” 15:13 They shouted back, “Crucify 16 him!” 15:14 Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15:15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, 17 after he had Jesus flogged, 18 he handed him over 19 to be crucified.
15:16 So 20 the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) 21 and called together the whole cohort. 22 15:17 They put a purple cloak 23 on him and after braiding 24 a crown of thorns, 25 they put it on him. 15:18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 26 15:19 Again and again 27 they struck him on the head with a staff 28 and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 15:20 When they had finished mocking 29 him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then 30 they led him away to crucify him. 31
15:21 The soldiers 32 forced 33 a passerby to carry his cross, 34 Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country 35 (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus). 15:22 They brought Jesus 36 to a place called Golgotha 37 (which is translated, “Place of the Skull”). 38 15:23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, 39 but he did not take it. 15:24 Then 40 they crucified 41 him and divided his clothes, throwing dice 42 for them, to decide what each would take. 15:25 It was nine o’clock in the morning 43 when they crucified him. 15:26 The inscription 44 of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” 15:27 And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.
1 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
2 sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.
4 sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.
5 tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.
6 sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 tn Grk “Pilate asked him again, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
9 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “Coming up the crowd began to ask [him to do] as he was doing for them.”
11 tn Grk “Pilate answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
12 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
13 tn Grk “to have him release for them.”
14 tn Grk “answering, Pilate spoke to them again.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
15 tc Instead of “what do you want me to do” several witnesses, including the most important ones (א B C W Δ Ψ Ë1,13 33 892 2427 pc), lack θέλετε (qelete, “you want”), turning the question into the more abrupt “what should I do?” Although the witnesses for the longer reading are not as significant (A D Θ 0250 Ï latt sy), the reading without θέλετε conforms to Matt 27:22 and thus is suspected of being a scribal emendation. The known scribal tendency to assimilate one synoptic passage to another parallel, coupled with the lack of such assimilation in
16 sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
18 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
19 tn Or “delivered him up.”
20 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the soldiers’ action is in response to Pilate’s condemnation of the prisoner in v. 15.
21 tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”
22 sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.
23 sn The purple cloak probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king (cf. 15:2).
24 tn Or “weaving.”
25 sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.
26 tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”
27 tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.
28 tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.
29 tn The aorist tense is taken consummatively here.
30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
31 sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.
32 tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”
34 sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.
35 tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).
36 tn Grk “him.”
37 tn Grk “a place, Golgotha.” This is an Aramaic name; see John 19:17.
38 sn The place called Golgotha (which is translated “Place of the Skull”). This location is north and just outside of Jerusalem. The hill on which it is located protruded much like a skull, giving the place its name. The Latin word for the Greek term κρανίον (kranion) is calvaria, from which the English word “Calvary” is derived (cf. Luke 23:33 in the KJV).
39 sn It is difficult to say for certain who gave Jesus this drink of wine mixed with myrrh (e.g., the executioner, or perhaps women from Jerusalem). In any case, whoever gave it to him most likely did so in order to relieve his pain, but Jesus was unwilling to take it.
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
41 sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.
42 tn Grk “by throwing the lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throwing dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling. According to L&N 6.219 a term for “dice” is particularly appropriate.
43 tn Grk “It was the third hour.” This time would have been approximate, and could refer to the beginning of the process, some time before Jesus was lifted on the cross.
44 sn Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.