Christ is delivered bound to Pilate, 1, 2. Judas hangs himself, 3-18. Pilate, admonished by his wife, 19, and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands and releases Barabbas, 20-26. Christ is mocked and crowned with thorns, 27-32; crucified, 33-38; reviled, 39-49; dies, and is buried, 50-61; his sepulcher is sealed and watched, 62-66.
1 When the morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3 Then Judas, who had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented and brought the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself." 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury because 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 has been called, The Field of Blood, to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "'And they took the thirty pieces of silver,' 'the price of him who was valued,' whom they of the children of Israel valued, 10 And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."
11 And Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked him, saying, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "You say." 12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate says to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" 14 And he answered him not a word; therefore, the governor marveled greatly.
15 Now at that feast, the governor was accustomed to release to the people a prisoner whom they wished. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you wish that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?" 18 (For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.)
19 When he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you wish that I release to you?" They said, "Barabbas." 22 Pilate says to them, "What shall I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?" They all say to him, "Let him be crucified." 23 And the governor said, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they cried out the more, saying, "Let him be crucified."
24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person. See to it yourselves." 25 Then all the people answered, and said, "His blood is on us and on our children." 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered the whole band of soldiers to him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 And they spit upon him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off of him, put his own clothing on him, and led him away to crucify him.
32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They constrained him to bear his cross.
33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha (that is to say, The Place of a Skull), 34 They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. And when he had tasted it, he would not drink.
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, "They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots." 36 And sitting down, they watched him there. 37 And they set up over his head his accusation written, "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
38 Then there were two thieves crucified with him: one on the right hand and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40 And saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 Likewise, the chief priests also mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 "He saved others. He cannot save himself. If he is King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43 'He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him,' for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 The thieves who were also crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land to the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" (That is to say, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This man calls for Elijah." 48 And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. 49 The rest said, "Forbear. Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." 50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, expired. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. And the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 And the graves were opened and many bodies of saints who slept, arose, 53 Came out of the graves after his resurrection, went into the holy city, and appeared to many. 54 Now when the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."
55 And many women were there (beholding at a distance) who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 Among whom was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
57 When the evening had come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and petitioned for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 Laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock, rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. 61 And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulcher.
62 Now on the next day that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate, 63 Saying, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 Therefore, command that the sepulcher be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' Thus the last error will be worse than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a watch. Go, make it as secure as you can." 66 So they went, and having sealed the stone, made the sepulcher secure with a watch.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Matthew, Chapter 27[➚]
[v.1-2] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28.
[v.9] - "that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet" - From John Calvin's Commentary: "How the name of Jeremiah crept in, I confess that I do not know nor do I give myself much trouble to inquire. The passage itself plainly shows that the name of Jeremiah has been put down by mistake, instead of Zechariah (11:13), for in Jeremiah we find nothing of this sort, nor any thing that even approaches to it. Now that other passage, if some degree of skill be not used in applying it, might seem to have been improperly distorted to a wrong meaning; but if we attend to the rule which the apostles followed in quoting Scripture, we shall easily perceive that what we find there is highly applicable to Christ."
From John Gill's Exposition: "According to a tradition of the Jews, [the Book of Jeremiah] stands the first of the Prophets, the order of which is, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve. Kimchi makes mention of it in a preface to his comment on [Jeremiah], and Dr. Lightfoot from there concludes, that this is the reason why a passage in Zechariah is cited under the name of Jeremiah, (Matthew 27:9), because he standing first in the volume of the Prophets gave name to the whole--just as the book of Psalms, being the first of the Hagiographa, they are called the Psalms from it (Luke 24:44)."
[v.9] - Quoting Zechariah 11:12-13.
[v.10] - Reference, Zechariah 11:13.
[v.11-12] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:2-3; Luke 23:2-3; John 18:33, 37.
[v.13-14] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:4-5.
[v.15-23] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:17-23; John 18:39-40, 19:6, 15.
[v.24-26] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24-25.
[v.26-30] - Gospel Link: John 19:1-3.
[v.27-31] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:16-20.
[v.31] - Gospel Link: John 19:16.
[v.32] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26.
[v.33-38] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:22-28; Luke 23:33-34, 38; John 19:17-19, 23-24.
[v.35] - Quoting Psalm 22:18 (LXX).
[v.39-43] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-37.
[v.43] - Quoting Psalm 22:8.
[v.44] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39.
[v.45] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44.
[v.46-49] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:34-36.
[v.46] - Quoting Psalm 22:1.
[v.48] - Gospel Link: John 19:29.
[v.50-56] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:37-41; Luke 23:45-49.
[v.50] - Gospel Link: John 19:30.
[v.55-56] - Gospel Link: John 19:25.
[v.57-61] - Gospel Link: Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-55; John 19:38-42.