[1] Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. [2] The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe [3] and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. [4] Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” [5] When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” [6] As 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.” [7] The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” [8] When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, [9] and 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?” [11] Jesus 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.”
