The Life of Jesus

What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered.

Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him

and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.

But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”

When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”

After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”

At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.

They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”

So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.”

After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.

That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel,

and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.”

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.

Then Pilate asked Him, “Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?”

But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.

Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing.