1: Very early in the ___________________ morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and turned him over to Pilate.

2: "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked ___________________ Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

3: The chief priests accused him of many things.

4: So again Pilate asked him, "Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are ___________________ accusing you of."

5: But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

6: Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a ___________________ prisoner whom the people requested.

7: A man called ___________________ Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.

8: The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9: "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate,

10: knowing it was out of envy that the ___________________ chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

11: But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12: "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the ___________________ Jews?" Pilate asked them.

13: "___________________ Crucify him!" they shouted.

14: "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

15: Wanting to ___________________ satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

16: The soldiers led Jesus away into the ___________________ palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.

17: They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a ___________________ crown of thorns and set it on him.

18: And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"

19: Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spat on him. Falling on their ___________________ knees, they paid homage to him.

20: And when they had mocked him, they took off the ___________________ purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

1. What did the Sanhedrin do before handing over Jesus? (v1)
2. What was the first question Pilate asked Jesus? (v2)
3. What did Jesus reply? (v3)
4. Who was Barabbas? (v7)
5. What question did Pilate ask the crowd? (v9)
6. Why did the crowd turn against Jesus? (v11)
7. Why did Pilate decide to release Barabbas? (v15)
8. What happened to Jesus before he was handed over to be crucified? (v15)
9. In what ways did the soldiers mock Jesus? (vv17-19)