Home Page

Verses over Pontius Pilate

Matthew 27 says:

Matthew 27:1 - 66 (NIV) ¹Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.  ²They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. ¹¹Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. ¹²When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.  ¹³Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”  ¹⁴But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. ¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.  ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.  ¹⁷So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”  ¹⁸For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. ¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” ²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. ²²“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” ²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” ²⁵All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. ²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him ⁵⁷As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  ⁵⁸Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.  ⁵⁹Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,  ⁶⁰and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.  ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. ⁶²The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.  ⁶³“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’  ⁶⁴So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Mark 15:1 - 15 (NIV) ¹Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. ²“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. ³The chief priests accused him of many things.  ⁴So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” ⁵But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. ⁶Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  ⁷A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.  ⁸The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. ⁹“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate,  ¹⁰knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.  ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. ¹²“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. ¹³“Crucify him!” they shouted. ¹⁴“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Mark 15:42 - 46 (NIV) ⁴²It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,  ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  ⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.  ⁴⁵When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.  ⁴⁶So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 

Luke 3:1 - 2 (NIV) ¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 

Luke 13:1 (NIV) ¹Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 

Luke 23:1-24 says:

Luke 23:1 - 24 (NIV) ¹Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.  ²And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ,^£ a king.” ³So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. ⁴Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” ⁵But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea^£ by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” ⁶On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.  ⁷When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.  ⁹He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.  ¹⁰The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him.  ¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.  ¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. ¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people,  ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.  ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.  ¹⁶Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.^£” ¹⁸With one voice they cried out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”  ¹⁹(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.  ²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” ²²For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” ²³But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  ²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 

Luke 23:20 - 25 (NIV) ²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.  ²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” ²²For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” ²³But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  ²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand.  ²⁵He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

John 18:28 - 40 (NIV) ²⁸Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.  ²⁹So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” ³⁰“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” ³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected.  ³²This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. ³³Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ³⁴“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” ³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” ³⁶Jesus said,  “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ³⁷“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” ³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.  ³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” ⁴⁰They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

John 19:1 - 22 (NIV) ¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.  ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe  ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. ⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”  ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁷The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” ⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,  ⁹and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.  ¹⁰“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).  ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. ¹⁶Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.  ¹⁷Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).  ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.  ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

John 19:31 - 38 (NIV) ³¹Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.  ³²The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.  ³³But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.  ³⁵The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.  ³⁶These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”^{£  37}and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”^{£ 38}Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.