thou release this man, thou art not Cæsar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar. When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And he said unto the Jews, Behold, your king! They therefore cried out, Away with him; away with him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar.

So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it. And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done. Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified.

1. Jesus on His Way to Calvary.

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ND WHEN THEY had mocked him, they took off from him the purple robe, and put on him his garments. And they led him out to crucify him. And he went out unto the place which is called Golgotha, bearing the cross for himself. And when they came out, they compelled one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.

And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bear, and the breasts that never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they came unto the place called The Skull, they offered him wine mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.

up over his head on the cross his accusation; and there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat; now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith,

They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots.

These things therefore the soldiers did; and they sat and watched him there.

But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold, thy mother? And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.

the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God. And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself.

And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we reIceive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. And he said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

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3. The Death of Jesus on the Cross. WHEN the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun's light failing. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani, that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah.

After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, said, I thirst. There was set there a vessel full of vinegar. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.

And when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And crying with a loud voice, he said,

Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit and having said this, he bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised; and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.

Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem. And all the multitude that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts.

The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him: but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water.

And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath. And when even was now come, there came a rich man from Arimathæa, named Joseph, a good and righteous man, who was looking for the kingdom of God, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews. He had not consented to their counsel

and deed. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. He came therefore, and took away his body.

And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, which Joseph had hewn out in the rock, wherein never man had yet lain. There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus. And they rolled a great stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and Mary the mother of Joses, sitting over against the sepulchre, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and

prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.