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New Living Translation

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  Jesus Delivered to Pilate

15 cAnd as soon as it was morning, the chief priests dheld a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole Council. And ethey bound Jesus and fled him away and gdelivered him over to hPilate.  2 iAnd Pilate asked him, j“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, k“You have said so.”  3 And the chief priests accused him of many things.  4 And Pilate again asked him, l“Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.”  5 But Jesus lmade no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

 Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

6 mNow at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.  7 And among the rebels in prison, who had ncommitted murder oin the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.  8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.  9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”  10 For he perceived that pit was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.  11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.  12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with qthe man you call the King of the Jews?”  13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”  14 And Pilate said to them, “Why, rwhat evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”  15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having sscourged1 Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

 Jesus Is Mocked

16 tAnd the soldiers led him away inside uthe palace (that is, vthe governor’s headquarters),2 and they called together the whole wbattalion.3  17 And they clothed him in xa purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.  18 And they began to salute him, y“Hail, King of the Jews!”  19 And they were striking his head with a reed and zspitting on him and akneeling down in homage to him.  20 And when they had bmocked him, they stripped him of xthe purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they cled him out to crucify him.

 The Crucifixion

21 dAnd they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.  22 eAnd they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).  23 And they offered him wine mixed with fmyrrh, but he did not take it.  24 And they crucified him and gdivided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.  25 And hit was the third hour4 when they crucified him.  26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, i“The King of the Jews.”  27 And with him they crucified two jrobbers, kone on his right and one on his left.5  29 And lthose who passed by derided him, mwagging their heads and saying, n“Aha! oYou who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,  30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, p“He saved others; qhe cannot save himself.  32 Let rthe Christ, sthe King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may tsee and believe.” uThose who were crucified with him also reviled him.

 The Death of Jesus

33 And when the sixth hour6 had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.7  34 And at the ninth hour Jesus vcried with a loud voice, w“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”  36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with xsour wine, put it on a reed yand gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”  37 And Jesus zuttered a loud cry and abreathed his last.  38 And bthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  39 cAnd when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he8 breathed his last, he said, d“Truly this man was the Son9 of God!”

 40 There were also ewomen looking on ffrom a distance, among whom were gMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and iSalome.  41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and gministered to him, and there were also many other women who jcame up with him to Jerusalem.

 Jesus Is Buried

42 kAnd when evening had come, since it was lthe day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,  43 Joseph of Arimathea, ma respected member of the Council, who nwas also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.10 And summoning othe centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.  45 And when he learned from othe centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.  46 And Joseph11 bought pa linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and qlaid him in a tomb rthat had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled sa stone against the entrance of the tomb.  47 tMary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

  The Resurrection

16 u, vWhen the Sabbath was past, wMary Magdalene and wMary the mother of James and iSalome xbought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away ythe stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”  4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—zit was very large.  5 And aentering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, bdressed in ca white robe, and dthey were alarmed.  6 And he said to them, d“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.  7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that ehe is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, ejust as he told you.”  8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 [Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.]12

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

9 [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, fhe appeared first to gMary Magdalene, gfrom whom he had cast out seven demons.  10 hShe went and told those who had been with him, ias they jmourned and wept.  11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they kwould not believe it.

 Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 lAfter these things mhe appeared in nanother form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.  13 oAnd they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

 The Great Commission

14 Afterward mhe appeared pto the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their qunbelief and rhardness of heart, because sthey had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  15 And he said to them, t“Go into all the world and uproclaim the gospel to vthe whole creation.  16 wWhoever believes and is xbaptized ywill be saved, but zwhoever wdoes not believe will be condemned.  17 And athese signs will accompany those who believe: bin my name they will cast out demons; cthey will speak in new tongues;  18 dthey will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; ethey will lay their hands fon the sick, and they will recover.”

 19 So then the Lord Jesus, gafter he had spoken to them, hwas taken up into heaven and isat down at the right hand of God.  20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while jthe Lord worked with them and confirmed kthe message lby accompanying signs.]]

 Luke

Introduction

The Gospel of Luke is in the form of a letter to a man named Theophilus. Luke wrote after having carefully investigated all the facts about Christ (1:1–4). Luke documents Christ’s life from before his birth through his ministry, death, and resurrection. Jesus carried out his ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit, announcing the good news of salvation. He showed numerous times his compassion for the poor and the outcast. He fulfilled prophecy and carried out his purpose: to seek and save the lost. Luke gives the fullest account of Christ’s birth, and only Luke records the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Luke, a physician and a colleague of Paul, probably wrote this account in the early 60s a.d. He also wrote Acts.

  Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ahave been accomplished among us,  2 bjust as those who cfrom the beginning were deyewitnesses and eministers of fthe word ghave delivered them to us,  3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write han orderly account for you, imost excellent jTheophilus,  4 that you may have kcertainty concerning the things lyou have been taught.

 Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 nof othe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  6 And they were both prighteous before God, walking qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.  7 But they had no child, because rElizabeth was barren, and sboth were advanced in years.

 8 Now twhile he was serving as priest before God when uhis division was on duty,  9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot vto enter wthe temple of the Lord and burn incense.  10 And the whole multitude of the people xwere praying youtside at the hour of incense.  11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of zthe altar of incense.  12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and afear fell upon him.  13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for byour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and cyou shall call his name John.  14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will drejoice at his birth,  15 for he will be egreat before the Lord. And fhe must not drink wine or strong gdrink, and ghe will be hfilled with the Holy Spirit, ieven from his mother’s womb.  16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,  17 and jhe will go before him kin the spirit and power of Elijah, lto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and mthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, nto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, o“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”  19 And the angel answered him, “I am pGabriel. qI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  20 And behold, ryou will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”  21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in sthe temple.  22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in sthe temple. And the kept making signs to them and remained mute.  23 And uwhen his time of vservice was ended, he went to his home.

 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,  25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, wto take away my reproach among people.”

 Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel xGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named yNazareth,  27 zto a virgin betrothed2 to a man whose name was Joseph, aof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, bO favored one, cthe Lord is with you!”3  29 But dshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for eyou have found favor with God.  31 And behold, fyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and gyou shall call his name Jesus.  32 He will be great and will be called the Son of hthe Most High. And the Lord God iwill give to him the throne of jhis father David,  33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob kforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”4

 35 And the angel answered her, l“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of hthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born5 will be called mholy—nthe Son of God.  36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her owho was called barren.  37 For pnothing will be impossible with God.”  38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant6 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And qthe angel departed from her.

 Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into rthe hill country, to a town in Judah,  40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth swas filled with the Holy Spirit,  42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, t“Blessed are you among women, and ublessed is vthe fruit of your womb!  43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of wmy Lord should come to me?  44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  45 And xblessed is she who believed that there would be7 a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

 Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

y“My zsoul amagnifies the Lord,

  47 band my zspirit rejoices in cGod my Savior,

  48 for dhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations ewill call me blessed;

  49 for fhe who is mighty ghas done great things for me,

and hholy is his name.

  50 And ihis mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

  51 jHe has shown strength with his arm;

khe has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

  52 jhe has brought down the mighty from their thrones

land exalted those of humble estate;

  53 he has filled mthe hungry with good things,

and the rich nhe has sent away empty.

  54 He has ohelped phis servant Israel,

qin remembrance of his mercy,

  55 ras he spoke to our fathers,

qto Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

 The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.  58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.  59 And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,  60 but his mother answered, “No; uhe shall be called John.”  61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”  62 And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.  63 And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, u“His name is John.” And they all wondered.  64 xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue yloosed, and he spoke, zblessing God.  65 And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea,  66 and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.

 Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and fprophesied, saying,

  68 g“Blessed be the Lord hGod of Israel,

for he has ivisited and jredeemed his people

  69 and khas raised up la horn of salvation for us

min the house of his servant David,

  70 nas ohe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

  71 pthat we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

  72 qto show the mercy promised to our fathers

and rto remember his holy scovenant,

  73 tthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

  74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him uwithout fear,

  75 vin holiness and righteousness before him wall our days.

  76 And you, child, will be called xthe prophet of ythe Most High;

for zyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

  77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people

ain the forgiveness of their sins,

  78 because of the btender mercy of our God,

whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us8 efrom on high

  79 to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into hthe way of ipeace.”

 80 jAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was kin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.