Those who passed by insulted him by shaking their heads and shouting at him: “You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The chief priests, the scribes and the elders also mocked him, saying: “He has saved others and cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He has set his trust in God, may God save him now, if he truly loves him, for he has said: ‘I am the Son of God.'” Even the thieves who were crucified next to him insulted him.
From noon until three in the afternoon, the entire land became dark. And around three o’clock, Jesus exclaimed with a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”, which means: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Some of those present, upon hearing it, said: “He is calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and, attaching it to a reed, offered him a drink. But the others told him: “Leave him. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” Then Jesus, shouting again loudly, expired.
Here everyone kneels and remains silent for a few moments.
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two parts, from top to bottom, the earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs were opened and many righteous people who had died were raised to life, and after the resurrection of Jesus, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people. For their part, the officer and those who were with him guarding Jesus, upon seeing the earthquake and the things that were happening, were filled with great fear and said: “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Also there, watching from afar, were many of the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.
In the evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who had also become a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave the order for it to be handed over to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean sheet, and laid it in a new tomb, which he had dug out of the rock for himself. He rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb and left. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting in front of the tomb.
The next day, the day after the preparation of the Passover, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said to him: “Sir, we have remembered that this impostor, while he was still alive, said: ‘On three days I will rise again.’ So order the tomb to be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come, steal it, and then say to the people: ‘He rose from the dead,’ because this last imposture would be worse than the first.” Pilate told them: “Take a platoon of soldiers, go and secure the tomb as you want.” They went and secured the tomb, putting a seal on the door and leaving the guard there.
Or: Mt 27, 11-54
Jesus appeared before the procurator, Pontius Pilate, who asked him: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “You said it.” But he gave no answer to the accusations made against him by the high priests and elders. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear everything they say against you?” But he did not respond, to the point that the prosecutor was very surprised. On the occasion of the Passover festival, the procurator used to grant the crowd the freedom of any prisoner they wanted. They then had a famous prisoner, named Barabbas. So Pilate said to those gathered there: “Who do you want me to set free: Barabbas or Jesus, who calls himself the Messiah?” Pilate knew that it had been given to him out of envy.
While he was sitting in court, his wife ordered him to say: “Do not mess with that righteous man, because today I have suffered a lot in dreams because of him.”
Meanwhile, the high priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and the death of Jesus. Thus, when the prosecutor asked them: “Which of the two do you want me to release?” They answered, “To Barabbas.” Pilate said to them: “And what am I going to do with Jesus, who calls himself the Messiah?” They all answered: “Crucify him.” Pilate asked, “But what evil has he done?” But they continued shouting louder and louder: “Crucify him!” Then Pilate, seeing that he was achieving nothing and that the tumult was growing, asked for water and washed his hands before the people, saying: “I am not responsible for the death of this righteous man. That’s up to you.” All the people responded: “May his blood be on us and on our children!” Then Pilate released Barabbas. Instead he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.
The procurator’s soldiers took Jesus to the praetorium and gathered the entire battalion around him. They stripped him naked, threw a purple cloak over him, braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head; They put a reed in his right hand and, kneeling before him, mocked him, saying, “Long live the king of the Jews!” and spit on him. Then, taking the cane from him, they hit him on the head with it. After they mocked him, they took off his cloak, put his clothes on him, and led him to be crucified.
On their way out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. Upon arriving at a place called Golgotha, that is, “Place of the Skull”, they gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink; He tasted it, but did not want to drink it. Those who crucified him divided his clothes among themselves, casting lots, and sat there to guard him. Above his head they wrote in writing the cause of his condemnation: ‘This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.’ Together with him, they crucified two thieves, one on his right and the other on his left.
Those who passed by insulted him by shaking their heads and shouting at him: “You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The chief priests, the scribes and the elders also mocked him, saying: “He has saved others and cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He has set his trust in God, may God save him now, if he truly loves him, for he has said: ‘I am the Son of God.'” Even the thieves who were crucified next to him insulted him.
From noon until three in the afternoon, the entire land became dark. And around three o’clock, Jesus exclaimed with a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”, which means: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Some of those present, upon hearing it, said: “He is calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and, attaching it to a reed, offered him a drink. But the others told him: “Leave him. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” Then Jesus, shouting again loudly, expired.
Here everyone kneels and remains silent for a few moments.
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two parts, from top to bottom, the earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs were opened and many righteous people who had died were raised to life, and after the resurrection of Jesus, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people. For their part, the officer and those who were with him guarding Jesus, upon seeing the earthquake and the things that were happening, were filled with great fear and said: “Truly this was the Son of God.”
———-
You can read all the other liturgical readings of the day by clicking HERE.