Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
(Matthew 27.32-44; Mark 15.21-32; Luke 23.26-43)

John 19 Jesus was taken away, ¹⁷and he carried his cross to a place known as "The Skull." In Aramaic this place is called "Golgotha." ¹⁸There Jesus was nailed to the cross, and on each side of him a man was also nailed to a cross.
¹⁹Pilate ordered the charge against Jesus to be written on a board and put above the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." ²⁰The words were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
The place where Jesus was taken wasn't far from the city, and many of the people read the charge against him. ²¹So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, "Why did you write that he is King of the Jews? You should have written, 'He claimed to be King of the Jews.' "
²²But Pilate told them, "What is written will not be changed!"
²³After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided up his clothes into four parts, one for each of them. But his outer garment was made from a single piece of cloth, and it did not have any seams. ²⁴The soldiers said to each other, "Let's not rip it apart. We will gamble to see who gets it." This happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say,
"They divided up my clothes
and gambled for my garments."
The soldiers then did what they had decided.
²⁵Jesus' mother stood beside his cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and his favorite disciple with her, he said to his mother, "This man is now your son." ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, "She is now your mother." From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.

The Death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Mark 15.33-41; Luke 23.44-49)

²⁸Jesus knew that he had now finished his work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, he said, "I am thirsty!" ²⁹A jar of cheap wine was there. Someone then soaked a sponge with the wine and held it up to Jesus' mouth on the stem of a hyssop plant. ³⁰After Jesus drank the wine, he said, "Everything is done!" He bowed his head and died.

A Spear Is Stuck in Jesus' Side

³¹The next day would be both a Sabbath and the Passover. It was a special day for the Jewish people, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses during that day. So they asked Pilate to break the men's legs and take their bodies down. ³²The soldiers first broke the legs of the other two men who were nailed there. ³³But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs.
³⁴One of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus' side, and blood and water came out. ³⁵We know this is true, because it was told by someone who saw it happen. Now you can have faith too. ³⁶All this happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say, "No bone of his body will be broken" ³⁷and, "They will see the one in whose side they stuck a spear."

Jesus Is Buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Mark 15.42-47; Luke 23.50-56)

³⁸Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus' disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus' body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.
³⁹Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. ⁴⁰The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. ⁴¹In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. ⁴²The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus' body there.

Hezekiah Prepares To Celebrate Passover

2 Chronicles 30 ^1-4Passover wasn't celebrated in the first month, which was the usual time, because many of the priests were still unclean and unacceptable to serve, and because not everyone in Judah had come to Jerusalem for the festival. So Hezekiah, his officials, and the people agreed to celebrate Passover in the second month.
Hezekiah sent a message to everyone in Israel and Judah, including those in the territories of Ephraim and West Manasseh, inviting them to the temple in Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover in honor of the LORD God of Israel. ⁵Everyone from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north was invited. This was the largest crowd of people that had ever celebrated Passover, according to the official records.
⁶Hezekiah's messengers went everywhere in Israel and Judah with the following letter:

People of Israel, now that you have survived the invasion of the Assyrian kings, it's time for you to turn back to the LORD God our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped. If you do this, he will stop being angry. ⁷Don't follow the example of your ancestors and your Israelite relatives in the north. They were unfaithful to the LORD, and he punished them horribly. ⁸Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. Decide now to obey the LORD our God! Come to Jerusalem and worship him in the temple that will belong to him forever. Then he will stop being angry, ⁹and the enemies that have captured your families will show pity and send them back home. The LORD God is kind and merciful, and if you turn back to him, he will no longer turn his back on you.

¹⁰The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and West Manasseh as far north as the territory of Zebulun, but everyone laughed and insulted them. ¹¹Only a few people from the tribes of Asher, West Manasseh, and Zebulun were humble and went to Jerusalem. ¹²God also made everyone in Judah eager to do what Hezekiah and his officials had commanded.

Passover Is Celebrated

¹³In the second month, a large crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Thin Bread. ¹⁴They took all the foreign altars and incense altars in Jerusalem and threw them into Kidron Valley.
^15-17Then, on the fourteenth day of that same month, the Levites began killing the lambs for Passover, because many of the worshipers were unclean and were not allowed to kill their own lambs. Meanwhile, some of the priests and Levites felt ashamed because they had not gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean. They immediately went through that ceremony and went to the temple, where they offered sacrifices to please the LORD. Then the priests and Levites took their positions, according to the Law of Moses, the servant of God.
As the Levites killed the lambs, they handed some of the blood to the priests, who splattered it on the altar.
^18-19Most of the people that came from Ephraim, West Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean, but they ignored God's Law and ate the Passover lambs anyway. Hezekiah found out what they had done and prayed, "LORD God, these people are unclean according to the laws of holiness. But they are worshiping you, just as their ancestors did. So, please be kind and forgive them." ²⁰The LORD answered Hezekiah's prayer and did not punish them.
²¹The worshipers in Jerusalem were very happy and celebrated the Festival for seven days. The Levites and priests sang praises to the LORD every day and played their instruments. ²²Hezekiah thanked the Levites for doing such a good job, leading the celebration.
The worshipers celebrated for seven days by offering sacrifices, by eating the sacred meals, and by praising the LORD God of their ancestors. ²³Everyone was so excited that they agreed to celebrate seven more days.
²⁴So Hezekiah gave the people one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to be offered as sacrifices and to be used as food for the sacred meals. His officials gave one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and many more priests agreed to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. ²⁵Everyone was very happy, including those from Judah and Israel, the priests and Levites, and the foreigners living in Judah and Israel. ²⁶It was the biggest celebration in Jerusalem since the days of King Solomon, the son of David. ²⁷The priests and Levites asked God to bless the people, and from his home in heaven, he did.

Psalm 86
[A prayer by David.]
A Prayer for Help

¹Please listen, LORD, and answer my prayer!
I am poor and helpless.
²Protect me and save me because you are my God.
I am your faithful servant, and I trust you.
³Be kind to me! I pray to you all day.
⁴Make my heart glad!
I serve you, and my prayer is sincere.
⁵You willingly forgive, and your love is always there
for those who pray to you.
⁶Please listen, LORD! Answer my prayer for help.
⁷When I am in trouble, I pray, knowing you will listen.

⁸No other gods are like you; only you work miracles.
⁹You created each nation, and they will all bow down
to worship and honor you.
¹⁰You perform great wonders because you alone are God.

¹¹Teach me to follow you, and I will obey your truth.
Always keep me faithful.
¹²With all my heart I thank you.
I praise you, LORD God.
¹³Your love for me is so great
that you protected me from death and the grave.

¹⁴Proud and violent enemies, who don't care about you,
have ganged up to attack and kill me.
¹⁵But you, the Lord God, are kind and merciful.
You don't easily get angry,
and your love can always be trusted.
¹⁶I serve you, LORD,
and I am the child of one of your servants.
Look on me with kindness.
Make me strong and save me.
¹⁷Show that you approve of me!
Then my hateful enemies will feel like fools,
because you have helped and comforted me.