Matthew 27:27-56 : Easy-to-Read Version
Pilate's Soldiers Tease Jesus (Mk. 15:16-20; Jn. 19:2-3)
27Then Pilate's soldiers brought Jesus into the governor's palace. All the soldiers gathered around Jesus. 28The soldiers took off Jesus' clothes and put a red robe on him. 29Then the soldiers used thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus' head, and they put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and teased him. They said, "Hello, king of the Jews!" 30The soldiers spit on Jesus. Then they took his stick and hit him on the head many times. 31After they finished teasing Jesus, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus away to be killed on a cross.
Jesus Is Killed on a Cross (Mk. 15:21-32; Lk. 23:26-43; Jn. 19:17-27)
32The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. The soldiers forced another man there to carry the cross for Jesus. This man's name was Simon from Cyrene. 33They came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means "The Place of the Skull.") 34At Golgotha, the soldiers gave Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with gall.* Jesus tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then the soldiers gambled with dice to decide who would get Jesus' clothes. 36The soldiers sat there and continued watching Jesus. 37The soldiers put a sign above Jesus' head with the charge against him written on it. The sign said: "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS." 38Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside Jesus. One robber was put beside Jesus on the right and the other was put on the left. 39People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. People shook their heads 40and said, "You said you could destroy the temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross, if you are really the Son of God!" 41The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders were also there. These men teased Jesus the same as the other people. 42They said, "He saved other people. But he can't save himself! People say he is the king of Israel (the Jews). If he is the king, then he should come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43He trusted God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44And in the same way, the robbers that were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.
Jesus Dies (Mk. 15:33-41; Lk. 23:44-49; Jn. 19:28-30)
45At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness continued for three hours. 46At about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" This means, "My God, my God, why have you left me alone?"* 47Some of the people standing there heard this. The people said, "He is calling Elijah."* 48Quickly one of the people ran and got a sponge. That person filled the sponge with vinegar and tied the sponge to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to drink from it. 49But the other people said, "Don't bother him (Jesus). We want to see if Elijah will come to save him." 50Again Jesus cried with a loud voice. Then he died.* 51When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple* was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks were broken. 52All the graves opened, and many of God's people that had died were raised from death. 53Those people came out of the graves. After Jesus was raised from death, those people went into the holy city (Jerusalem), and many people saw them. 54The army officer* and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything that happened. They were very afraid and said, "He really was the Son of God!" 55Many women were standing away from the cross, watching. These were the women that followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. 56Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John* were there.
gall Probably a drink of wine mixed with drugs to relieve pain. "My God ... alone" Quote from Ps. 22:1. "He is calling Elijah" The word for "My God" ({(Eli)} in Hebrew or {(Eloi)} in Aramaic) sounded to the people like the name of Elijah, a famous man that spoke for God about 850 B.C. died Literally, "let his spirit leave." curtain in the temple A curtain divided the "most holy place" from the other part of the temple, the special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. army officer A centurion, a Roman army officer that had authority over 100 soldiers. James and John Literally, "the sons of Zebedee."