Simon Bears the Cross

 When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷ And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were ^[a]mourning and lamenting Him. ²⁸ But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For if they do these things ^[b]when the tree is green, what will happen ^[c]when it is dry?”

³² Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

³³ When they came to the place called ^[d]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. ^34 [e]But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. ³⁵ And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the ^[f]Christ of God, His Chosen One.” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” ³⁸ Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged there was ^[g]hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the ^[h]Christ? Save Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving ^[i]what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come ^[j]in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴ It was now about ^[k]the sixth hour, and darkness ^[l]fell over the whole land until ^[m]the ninth hour, ^45 [n]because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn ^[o]in two. ⁴⁶ And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was ^[p]innocent.” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, ^[q]beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰ And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man ⁵¹ (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; ⁵² this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. ⁵⁴ It was the ^[r]preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to ^[s]begin. ⁵⁵ Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.

And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Recorded Audio:
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
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Used by permission.” www.Lockman.org