11. Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and made fun of him. They put a colorful robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.
12. So Herod and Pilate became friends that day. They had been enemies before this.
13. Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people.
14. He told them, “You brought me this man as someone who turns the people against the government. I’ve questioned him in front of you and haven’t found this man guilty of the crimes of which you accuse him.
15. Neither could Herod. So he sent this man back to us. This man hasn’t done anything to deserve the death penalty.
16. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”
18. The whole crowd then shouted, “Take him away! Free Barabbas for us.”
19. (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder.)
20. But because Pilate wanted to free Jesus, he spoke to the people again.
21. They began yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22. A third time Pilate spoke to them. He asked, “Why? What has he done wrong? I haven’t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”
23. But the crowd pressured Pilate. They shouted that Jesus had to be crucified, and they finally won.
24. Pilate decided to give in to their demand.
25. He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that’s what they wanted. But he let them do what they wanted to Jesus.
26. As the soldiers led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon, who was from the city of Cyrene. Simon was coming into Jerusalem. They laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27. A large crowd followed Jesus. The women in the crowd cried and sang funeral songs for him.
28. Jesus turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me! Rather, cry for yourselves and your children!
29. The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who couldn’t get pregnant, who couldn’t give birth, and who couldn’t nurse a child.’
30. Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’