Matthew 27
27
Chapter 27
The important Jews take Jesus to stand in front of Pilate
1Early the next morning, all the leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together. They decided how to make the Roman rulers kill Jesus. 2They tied Jesus' hands and feet and then they took him to Pilate's house. They put him under the authority of Pilate, who was the Roman ruler. #27:2 Pilate ruled over this part of the Roman world for Caesar. Caesar ruled the whole Roman world.
Judas dies
3Judas heard that the Jewish leaders wanted the Roman rulers to kill Jesus. Judas was the man who had helped Jesus' enemies to take hold of him. Now he was very sorry about what he had done. So he took back the 30 silver coins to the leaders of the priests and the important Jews. 4He said to them, ‘I have done the wrong thing. I helped you to take hold of a man who has done nothing wrong.’
They said to Judas, ‘That is not important to us. That is your problem.’
5So Judas took the money and he threw it down on the floor in the temple. Then he went away. He hung himself from a rope so that he died.
6The leaders of the priests picked up the coins. They said, ‘We used this money to catch and kill a man. So it is against our Law to use this same money for the temple.’ 7They decided to use the money to buy a field. They wanted to use the field to bury foreign people who died in the city. The field had been called ‘The Pot-maker's Field’. 8After this, it was called ‘The Field of Blood’. It is still called that even today. 9So the words that the prophet Jeremiah wrote long ago now became true. #27:9 See Jeremiah 19:1-13; 32:6-9 He had said, ‘Then they took the 30 silver coins. It was the amount of money the people of Israel had agreed to pay for the man. 10They used this money to buy the pot-maker's field. The Lord God had told me to do this.’
Pilate asks Jesus some questions
11Now Jesus stood in front of the Roman ruler, Pilate. The ruler asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
Jesus replied, ‘You have said it.’
12The leaders of the priests and the important Jews spoke against Jesus. They said that he had done many bad things. Jesus did not answer them. 13So Pilate said to Jesus, ‘You hear what these men are saying against you. You should reply.’ 14But Jesus did not reply to what the men were saying against him, not even to one thing. Pilate was very surprised about this.
15Each year, at the time for the Passover festival, the Roman ruler would let one person go free out of the prison. The people could choose which person should go free. 16At that time, there was a man called Barabbas in prison. Everyone knew about the bad things that he had done. 17When the crowd came together at Pilate's house, Pilate asked them, ‘Who do you want me to let go free? Should Barabbas go free? Or should it be Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’ 18Pilate knew why the Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much.
19Pilate was sitting on his special seat as a judge. Then his wife sent a message to him. She said, ‘Do not do anything to that man. He has done nothing wrong. Last night I had a dream about him. It gave me a lot of trouble in my mind.’
20But the leaders of the priests and the important Jews talked to the crowds of people. They said, ‘You must ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free. Then he must tell the soldiers to kill Jesus.’
21Pilate asked the people again, ‘Which of these two men should go free?’ The people answered, ‘Barabbas.’
22Then Pilate asked the people, ‘So what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’ The people all shouted, ‘Take him and kill him on a cross!’
23So Pilate said, ‘Why should I kill him? What bad things has he done?’
But the people shouted even louder, ‘Kill him on a cross!’
24Then Pilate knew that he could not do anything to make them quiet. He thought that the people would start to fight his soldiers. So he took a dish of water and he washed his hands in front of the people. He said, ‘It is not because of me that this man will die. You are the people who have caused it to happen.’
25All the people answered Pilate, ‘Yes, God should punish us and our children, if we have done the wrong thing.’
26Then Pilate let Barabbas go free, as the crowd wanted. But he said to his soldiers, ‘Hit Jesus many times with a whip. Then take him and fix him to a cross to die.’
27Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into the yard of the ruler's house. All the other soldiers in their group were there. 28They removed Jesus' clothes from him. They put a dark red coat on him. 29They used some branches with thorns to make a crown for him. Then they put it on his head. They put a long stick in his right hand. They went down on their knees in front of him. They laughed at him and they said, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’ #27:29 A crown is a special hat that a king wears on his head. The dark red coat was like a coat that a king would wear. Roman soldiers also wore red coats.
30Then the soldiers spat into Jesus' face. They took the stick and they hit Jesus on his head with it many times. 31After they had laughed at him, they took the special coat off him. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they took him out to the place where they would kill him on a cross.
The soldiers kill Jesus on a cross
32When they were going to that place, they met a man called Simon. He came from the city of Cyrene. The Roman soldiers told Simon that he must carry Jesus' cross. 33The soldiers took Jesus to the place that is called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the place of a skull. #27:33 A skull is the bone inside a person's head. )
34They tried to give Jesus some wine to drink. They had mixed some medicine into the wine. Jesus tasted it, but he would not drink it. 35Then the soldiers fixed Jesus onto the cross. They took his clothes for themselves. They played a game to find out who would receive each piece of his clothes. 36Then the soldiers sat down and they watched Jesus carefully. 37Above his head they fixed a notice. This showed the reason why they were killing him. It said, ‘This man is Jesus, the king of the Jews.’ 38Then the soldiers also fixed two robbers to crosses near to Jesus. One robber was at Jesus' right side, and one was at his left side.
39The people who walked near there insulted Jesus. They laughed at him, 40and they said, ‘You said that you could destroy the temple and then build it again in three days. If you really are the Son of God, save yourself. Come down from the cross.’
41The leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law and the important Jews also laughed at him. 42They said, ‘This man saved other people, did he? But he cannot save his own life! He says that he is the king of Israel. So he should come down from the cross now. Then we will believe in him. 43He says that he trusts in God. So if God wants him, God should save him now. He did say that he is the Son of God.’ 44Then the two robbers who were on the crosses next to Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus dies
45It was now midday. The whole country became dark for three hours. 46At about three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus shouted loudly, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ That means, ‘My God, my God, why have you left me alone?’
47Some people who were standing there heard him. They said to each other, ‘He is shouting to Elijah.’
48One of these people ran quickly and he brought a piece of cloth. He poured cheap wine on it, and he put it on the end of a stick. He lifted it up to Jesus so that he could drink the wine from it. 49The other people said, ‘Wait! Now we will see if Elijah comes to save him.’
50Then Jesus shouted again with a loud voice, and after that he died.
51At that moment, the curtain inside the temple tore completely into two parts. It tore from the top down to the bottom. The ground shook and rocks broke into pieces. 52Places in the ground where people had buried dead bodies opened up. Many of God's people who had died now became alive again. 53After Jesus became alive again, those people came up out of those places. They went into God's city, Jerusalem. Many people saw them there.
54The captain and his soldiers had been watching Jesus. They saw the ground shaking. They saw everything that had happened. They were very frightened and they said, ‘It must be true! This man really was the Son of God.’
55There were also many women there. They were standing a long way away and they were watching these events. They had come with Jesus from Galilee to help him. 56Mary from Magdala was there. Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Mary the mother of Zebedee's sons, were also there.
Joseph from Arimathea buries Jesus' body
57That evening a rich man who came from a town called Arimathea went to Pilate. The man's name was Joseph, and he had become a disciple of Jesus. 58Joseph asked Pilate for the dead body of Jesus. Pilate told his soldiers to give Jesus' body to Joseph. 59So Joseph took Jesus' body. He put a clean piece of linen cloth around it. 60Then he put the body in a large hole in a rock. He had made the hole for his own body when he died. After he put Jesus' body there, he rolled a very big stone across the front of the hole to shut it. Then he went away. 61Mary from Magdala and Mary the mother of James were there. They were sitting where they could see the hole in the rock where Joseph had put Jesus' body.
Soldiers watch the place where Joseph had buried Jesus
62The next day was the Jewish day of rest. The leaders of the priests and the Pharisees met together with Pilate. 63They said to him, ‘Sir, that man told lies. When he was still living, he said, “Three days after I die, I will become alive again.” We know that is what he said. 64So you should tell some soldiers to watch the place where Joseph put Jesus' body. They should watch there for the next three days. Then his disciples cannot come to take his body away. If they did that, then they could say to the people, “God has caused Jesus to become alive again.” This will be worse than the lies that Jesus told when he was alive.’
65Pilate said to them, ‘OK. You may take a group of soldiers to watch the place. Let them fix the rock well, so that nobody can open it.’ 66So the Jewish leaders and the soldiers went to the place where Joseph had put Jesus' body. They fixed the big stone that closed the front of the hole with a seal. Then they would know if someone had moved it. The soldiers stayed there to watch the place very carefully.
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Matthew 27: EASY
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Matthew 27
27
Thirty Silver Coins
1-2In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.
3-4Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”
They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”
5Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.
6-10The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.” They decided to get rid of it by buying the “Potter’s Field” and use it as a burial place for the homeless. That’s how the field got called “Murder Meadow,” a name that has stuck to this day. Then Jeremiah’s words became history:
They took the thirty silver pieces,
The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel,
And they purchased the potter’s field.
And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.
Pilate
11Jesus was placed before the governor, who questioned him: “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
Jesus said, “If you say so.”
12-14But when the accusations rained down hot and heavy from the high priests and religious leaders, he said nothing. Pilate asked him, “Do you hear that long list of accusations? Aren’t you going to say something?” Jesus kept silence—not a word from his mouth. The governor was impressed, really impressed.
15-18It was an old custom during the Feast for the governor to pardon a single prisoner named by the crowd. At the time, they had the infamous Jesus Barabbas in prison. With the crowd before him, Pilate said, “Which prisoner do you want me to pardon: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Christ?” He knew it was through sheer spite that they had turned Jesus over to him.
19While court was still in session, Pilate’s wife sent him a message: “Don’t get mixed up in judging this noble man. I’ve just been through a long and troubled night because of a dream about him.”
20Meanwhile, the high priests and religious leaders had talked the crowd into asking for the pardon of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.
21The governor asked, “Which of the two do you want me to pardon?”
They said, “Barabbas!”
22“Then what do I do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?”
They all shouted, “Nail him to a cross!”
23He objected, “But for what crime?”
But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was imminent, he took a basin of water and washed his hands in full sight of the crowd, saying, “I’m washing my hands of responsibility for this man’s death. From now on, it’s in your hands. You’re judge and jury.”
25The crowd answered, “We’ll take the blame, we and our children after us.”
26Then he pardoned Barabbas. But he had Jesus whipped, and then handed over for crucifixion.
The Crucifixion
27-31The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red robe. They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion.
32-34Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus’ cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call “Skull Hill,” they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn’t drink it.
35-40After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they killed time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
41-44The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—he can’t save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his ‘Son’ now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God’s Son, didn’t he?” Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.
45-46From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47-49Some bystanders who heard him said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him.”
50But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
54The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
55-56There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.
The Tomb
57-61Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.
62-64After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, “Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ We’ve got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There’s a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, ‘He’s risen from the dead.’ Then we’ll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first.”
65-66Pilate told them, “You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can.” So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.