Matthew 27
CHAPTER 27
Jesus is brought to Pilate the governor
Now when morning had arrived, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away, and delivered him up to Pilate the governor.
Judas Iscariot commits suicide
3 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying: I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. But they said: What is that to us? See to it yourself. 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed, and he went away and hanged himself.
6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said: It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood. 7 And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field is called to this day, The field of blood. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel. 10 And they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.
Jesus is silent before the governor
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him: Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him: You say it. 12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he said nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to him: Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? 14 And he gave him no answer, not even one word, so much so that the governor was astonished.
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them: Who do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? 18 For he knew that they had delivered him up out of envy.
19 And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him, saying: Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
Jesus is condemned to be crucified and is mocked
20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 But the governor answered and said to them: Which of the two do you want me to release to you? And they said: Barabbas! 22 Pilate said to them: What then shall I do to Jesus who is called Christ? They all said: Let him be crucified! 23 And he said: Why, what evil has he done? But they cried out exceedingly, saying: Let him be crucified!
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying: I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. 25 And all the people answered and said: His blood is on us and on our children. 26 Then he released Barabbas to them, but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and the whole battalion gathered around him. 28 And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. 29 And they plaited a crown of thorns and put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and they knelt down before him and mocked him, saying: Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And they spat upon him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they took the robe from him and dressed him in his own garments, and led him away to crucify him.
32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, whom they forced to carry the cross.
Jesus is crucified
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, the place of a skull, 34 they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall. And when he had tasted it, he would not drink it.
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 And they sat there and watched him. 37 And over his head they put the written accusation against him, which read: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on his left.
39 And they that passed by derided him, wagging their heads, 40 and saying: You that would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 In like manner also the chief priests with the Scribes and elders mocked him, saying: 42 He saved others; he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, let Him deliver him now- if He desires him. For he said: I am the Son of God. 44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 47 And some of them standing there, when they heard it, said: This man calls Elijah. 48 And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 And the rest said: Let him be. Let us see whether Elijah comes to save him.
50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52 And the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion and those that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that happened, were terrified, saying: Truly this was the Son of God.
55 And many women were there watching from afar, those who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. 56 Among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Jesus is buried and His tomb sealedm
57 And when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone as the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 Now the next day, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together before Pilate, 63 saying: Sir, we remember that that deceiver said when he was still alive, After three days I rise again. 64 Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him away and say to the people, He is risen from the dead; and so the last error will be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said to them: You have a guard. Go make it as secure as you can. 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Commentary
27:3 Judas realized his condemnation and had a change of mind; parallel with Peter (see on 26:74). The difference was that Peter believed in God’s grace but Judas wouldn’t.
27:5 The way Judas threw down the money suggests he now despised those few coins, for which he had betrayed Jesus and lost his eternal salvation.
27:14 The self controlled silence of Jesus was amazing. May it be our inspiration in times of provocation.
27:17 Pilate appears to genuinely want to save Jesus, and to be the victim of manipulation. Yet history records that he was a conscienceless man who murdered people at will, having no respect at all for justice nor the value of life. The ‘contradiction’ is only explicable by the strange effect which Jesus’ righteousness, love and perfection can have on even the hardest character and most damaged conscience. For the example of Pilate shows that everyone has a conscience.
27:23 This is the same crowd that just recently had been crying “Hosanna!”, and whom the Jews feared as supportive of Jesus. We tend to be so fickle in our loyalty to Jesus.
27:25 The fact the Jews said this doesn’t mean it happened; for God doesn’t punish the children for the sins of their fathers (Ez. 18:1-10).
27:29 There is a set of nerves just beneath the scalp which the thorns would’ve intentionally pierced as they hit Him on the head with the crown on (:30). Jesus would’ve been bleeding profusely down His back as a result.
27:34 Because He wanted to share completely in our feelings; nobody, therefore, can say that Jesus doesn’t know how they feel. Maybe nobody on earth does; but He knows.
27:44 The one thief’s repentance was therefore literally a last minute repentance just before he died.
27:46 The Old Testament is clear that God will not forsake those faithful to Him, but will forsake those who sin. Jesus felt forsaken by God. He felt as if He had sinned, even though He hadn’t. This was because of the intensity of His association with us who have sinned, just as men like Daniel and Nehemiah spoke and felt to God as if they had sinned Israel’s sin. So even when we fail, Jesus still knows how we feel in the separation from God which sin brings. He never sinned, but in His final horror of aloneness He felt as if He had.
27:48 The reeds in that area aren’t very long. Therefore Jesus’ cross was not that large. The Catholic impressions of a cross towering far above us is wrong. His feet would’ve been only a metre above the ground; remember how He communicated with Mary and John.
27:55 From Galilee- The idea is that they didn’t just follow Him when the going was good, amidst the crowds of Galilean peasants who thronged Him; but also followed to the cross. We too are to follow the Lamb wherever He leads.
27:56 Mary the mother of James- A reference to Mary the mother of Jesus; for He had two half brothers called James and Joses (Mt. 13:55).
27:58 Only close relatives could beg the body of the crucified. But this was how Joseph felt. He wanted to associate the dead body of Jesus with his own dead body, laying Jesus where his body should lay. This was the essence of baptism, whereby we identify ourselves with the death of the body of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5).
