Pilate put a sign on his cross, which read, THE KING OF THE JEWS. The chief priest said, “Don’t write The King of the Jews!” But Pilate said, “I’ve written what I’ve written.”

After the crosses were put into place, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them! They don’t know what they’re doing.” It was nine o’clock in the morning.

Some of the people shouted, “If you’re the Son of God, come down from that cross.”

Religious leaders laughed, “Oh, he can save others, but He can’t save Himself! He said he was the Son of God. Why isn’t God helping Him?”

One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus yelled, “If you’re the Messiah, save yourself and us.”

The other criminal yelled back, “Don’t you fear God? We deserve to be crucified, but this man is innocent!” Then he said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus said, “Today, you’ll be with me in Paradise.”

The soldiers took and divided the clothes of Jesus among themselves. His robe was seamless, so they threw dice to see who would get it.

Jesus saw his mother standing near the cross, and John nearby. He said, “Mother, look to John as your son. John, take care of my mother.”

Around noon, darkness covered the entire area and lasted for three hours.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Soon afterward, he knew everything was accomplished. He said, “I’m thirsty.” The soldiers had a jar of sour wine sitting nearby. One of the men picked it up, along with a sponge. He filled the sponge with the sour wine and put it on a hyssop stalk. No one stopped him as he lifted it up to Jesus’ mouth.

After tasting the wine, he pushed himself up, took a deep breath and yelled, “It’s finished.” He then dropped back down and bowed his head…and died.

At that moment, there was an earthquake. Huge boulders split in two. The veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom. The soldiers standing near the cross were afraid when they saw all of this. They looked up at Jesus and said, “It’s true! This was the Son of God!”

Later in the afternoon, other soldiers came to break the legs of those on the crosses. They did this to speed up their death. First they broke the legs of the two criminals. When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead. To make sure, a soldier thrust a spear into his side.

A rich man named Joseph went to Pilate and got permission to bury the body of Jesus. The religious leaders also met with Pilate and said, “This deceiver told his disciples that after his death he would rise from the dead on the third day. We’re afraid that they may come and steal the body and then tell everyone that he rose from the dead.” Pilate agreed to put a Roman seal on the stone, and he assigned guards to watch the grave.

Joseph and his friend Nicodemus helped take the body down from the cross. They wrapped it in strips of linen cloth, with a mixture of spices. Joseph then laid it in his own tomb and rolled a large stone across the entrance. A Roman seal was put on the stone. Then soldiers stood in front of the grave to guard the body of Jesus.