15. Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he freed Barabbas for them. And Pilate told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
16. Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together.
17. They put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they used thorny branches to make a crown. They put it on his head.
18. Then they called out to him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
19. The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They also spit on him. Then they made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him.
20. After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus out of the palace to be killed on a cross.
21. There was a man from Cyrene coming from the fields to the city. The man was Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.