During the morning after his
arrest, the
trial of
Jesus before the
Sanhedrin is concluded with plans to have Jesus executed (
verse 1), and he is taken to
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor
(procurator) of
Judaea. As Jesus was being led away,
Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus, sees that his former teacher has been condemned, and is overcome by
remorse: in the words of the
King James Version, he "repented himself". The word translated as "repented" (,
metamelētheis) is not the same as the word for
repentance which
John the Baptist and Jesus himself used in their
ministry (,
metanoeite); Arthur Carr, in the
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that "it implies no change of heart or life, but merely remorse or regret". Pilate begins to address the crowd, and knowing (or "shrewdly suspecting") Instead, he tries to absolve himself of his responsibility in the case, washing his hands in a basin and saying to the crowd: "I am
innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it". Then the Jews present at the trial
take responsibility for the shedding of Jesus' blood. Pilate has Barabbas released, lets Jesus be flogged and sends him off to be crucified.
Jesus is led away to the
Praetorium of the Governor's Residence, where Pilate's guard and the
praetorian guard mock him, giving him a scarlet
robe in place of his own clothes, a reed to hold as a sign of his "kingship" and a
crown made of twisted thorns. The soldiers then replace the robe with Jesus' own clothes and lead him to
Golgotha (the "place of a skull"); in
Luke's Gospel this journey is recorded with "several particulars of what happened on the way to Golgotha, omitted in the other Gospels: the great company of people and of
women who followed Him; the touching address of Jesus to the women; the last warning of the coming sorrows; the leading of two malefactors with Him". A man named
Simon, from
Cyrene, is compelled to carry Jesus'
cross. At Golgotha he is offered wine mingled with gall, which he tastes but does not drink. The soldiers cast lots for his garments once he is
crucified. Those who passed him deride him, taunting him to come down from the cross, saying "He trusts in God, let God deliver him now". At three o'clock Jesus cries "My God, why have you forsaken me?", and starts to give up on his life. One passer-by offers Jesus some wine to drink but the group tell him "Wait, let us see if
Elijah comes to save him". They misunderstand Jesus' pleas, as he is in tremendous physical pain. Jesus cries out once more, but eventually dies. Suddenly, "the crucifixion scene transforms into an explosion of triumph ... as if God responds to the lingering sound of Jesus’ death prayer": the
veil of the Temple sanctuary is torn in two, rocks start to split, and an
earthquake occurs (verse 51), and there follows, after Jesus' resurrection, a resurrection of the dead saints, who enter the holy city. This indicates how the earth has been shaken by the death of the Son of God. Centurions stare on at Jesus in disbelief, as do other bystanders. Arthur Carr comments that the rending of the temple veil must have been seen and reported by the
temple priests, perhaps those who later (
Acts 6:7) became "obedient to the faith". The chapter concludes with Pilate authorising a detachment of troops to guard the tomb, in case the disciples come to remove the body. ==Analysis==