Matthew 27
27
Judas Hangs Himself
1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and elders of the people met to plan how to put Jesus to death. 2They tied him up, took him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been sentenced to die, he felt deep shame and sadness for what he’d done. So he returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4“I’ve sinned,” he told them. “I’ve handed over a man who isn’t guilty.”
“What do we care?” they answered. “That’s your problem.”
5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It’s against the law to put this money into the temple fund because it’s blood money. It has paid for a man’s death.” 7So they decided to use the money to buy some land where foreigners could be buried. They chose the Potter’s Field. 8Because it was bought with the “blood money,” it has been called the Field of Blood ever since. 9In this way the words of Jeremiah the prophet came true. He had said, “They took the 30 silver coins, which was how much the people of Israel thought he was worth, 10and they used the coins to buy a potter’s field, just as the Lord commanded me.”
Jesus Is Brought to Pilate
11Meanwhile Jesus was being questioned publicly by the governor Pilate. He asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12But when the chief priests and the elders brought their charges against him, he didn’t respond. 13Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the charges they’re bringing against you?” 14But Jesus didn’t answer a single charge. The governor was amazed.
15Every year at the Passover Feast the governor would let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. 16At that time there was a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. 17So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who’s called the Messiah?” 18Pilate knew that the leaders had handed Jesus over because they were jealous.
19Pilate also wanted to release Jesus because he’d gotten a message from his wife while he was judging the case. The message said, “Don’t do anything to that man. He’s innocent. I had a terrible nightmare about him last night.”
20But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking Pilate to set Barabbas free and put Jesus to death.
21“Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22“Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23“Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even more loudly, “Crucify him!”
24Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I’m not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You’re accountable for that!”
25All the people answered, “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!”
26Then to make the people happy Pilate set Barabbas free. He had Jesus whipped, and then he handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
27The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace, which was called the Praetorium, and there they gathered all the other soldiers around him. 28They took off his regular clothes and put a purple robe on him. 29They twisted thorny branches together to make a crown and forced it onto his head. They put a stick in his right hand to look like a royal scepter, and then they fell on their knees in front of him and made fun of him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30Then they spit on him and beat him on the head with the stick. 31After they had made fun of him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
32On their way out of the city, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means the Place of the Skull). 34There they mixed wine with bitter spices and offered it to Jesus to drink. But after he had tasted it, he wouldn’t drink it. 35When they had nailed him to the cross, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36Then they sat down to keep watch over him. 37Above his head they placed a written charge against him. It read,
this is Jesus, the king of the jews.
38Two men who had rebelled against Rome were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 39People who were passing by shouted insults at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads 40and said, “So, you’re going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? Then save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you’re the Son of God!” 41In the same way the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders made fun of him. 42“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s supposed to be the king of Israel. Let him come down from that cross, and we’ll believe in him! 43He trusts in God; let God rescue him now, if he’s so pleased with him. After all, he said, ‘I’m the Son of God.’ ” 44The rebels who were being crucified with Jesus also insulted him in the same way.
Jesus Dies
45From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness. 46At about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (That means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”)
47When some of those who were standing there heard Jesus cry out, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah!”
48Right away one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, lifted it up on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49But the others said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and then he died.
51At that moment the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn in half from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, 52and tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of their tombs after Jesus was raised from the dead, and they went into the holy city and appeared to many people there.
54When the Roman commander and those who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and everything that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, “He had to be the Son of God!”
55Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Jesus Is Buried
57As evening approached, a rich man named Joseph from the town of Arimathea, who had become a follower of Jesus, 58went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and then he placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and then went away. But 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed there a while longer, sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guards at the Tomb
62The next day, which was the Sabbath day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63“Sir,” they said, “we remember something that this liar said while he was still alive. He claimed, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64So give an order to make the tomb secure until the third day. If you don’t, his disciples might come and steal his body. Then they’ll tell the people that Jesus has risen from the dead, and that last lie will be worse than the first.”
65“Take some guards,” Pilate answered, “and go and make the tomb as secure as you can.” 66So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a royal seal on the stone and posting guards on duty.
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Matthew 27
27
1Early in the morning all the chief priests and elders of the people consulted together and decided to have Jesus put to death. 2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, the one who'd betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus had been condemned to death, he regretted what he'd done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4“I've sinned! I've betrayed innocent blood!” he told them.
“What's that got to do with us?” they replied. “That's your problem!” 5Judas threw the silver coins into the sanctuary and left. He went away and hanged himself. 6The chief priests took the silver coins and said, “This is blood money, so it's not lawful to put this in the Temple treasury.” 7So they agreed to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. 8That's why the field is still called today the “Field of Blood.” 9This fulfilled the prophecy spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “They took thirty silver coins—the ‘value’ of the one who was bought at the price set by some of the children of Israel— 10and used them to pay for the potter's field, just as the Lord instructed me to do.”#27:10. See Zechariah 11:12-13, referencing Jeremiah 32:6-15.
11Jesus was brought before Pilate the governor who asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
“You said it,” Jesus replied. 12But when the chief priests and elders brought charges against him, Jesus did not answer.
13“Don't you hear how many charges they're bringing against you?” Pilate asked him. 14But Jesus didn't say anything, not a single word. This greatly surprised the governor.
15Now it was the custom of the governor to release to the crowd during the festival whichever prisoner they wanted. 16At that time a notorious prisoner was being held, a man named Barabbas. 17So Pilate asked the crowds that had gathered, “Who do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, called the Messiah?” 18(He had realized it was because of jealousy that they had handed Jesus over to him to be tried.) 19While he was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent a message to him that said, “Don't do anything to this innocent man, for I've suffered terribly today as a result of a dream about him.”
20But the chief priests and the elders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus put to death. 21When the governor asked them, “So which of the two do you want me to release to you?” they answered, “Barabbas.”
22“Then what shall I do with Jesus, called the Messiah?” he asked them.
They all shouted out, “Have him crucified!”
23“Why? What crime has he committed?” Pilate asked. But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
24When Pilate saw it was a lost cause, and that a riot was developing, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I'm innocent of this man's blood. It's on your heads!”#27:24. Literally, “see to it yourselves.” he told them. 25All the people answered, “His blood is on us, and on our children!” 26Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and sent to be crucified.
27The governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium#27:27. The military headquarters. and the whole battalion surrounded him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet cloak on him. 29They made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. They kneeled down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “We salute you, King of the Jews!” 30They spat on him, and took the stick and beat him over the head with it. 31When they'd finished mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 32On the way they found a man called Simon, from Cyrene, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
33When they arrived at Golgotha, meaning “Place of the Skull,” 34they gave him wine mixed with gall. But having tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35After they had crucified him, they rolled dice to divide his clothes between them.#27:35. See Psalms 22:18. 36Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37They placed a sign over his head with the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38They crucified two rebels with him, one on the right, and one on the left. 39Those who passed by shouted insults at him, shaking their heads, 40saying, “You who promised to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, why don't you save yourself! If you really are the Son of God, then come down from the cross.” 41The chief priests mocked him in the same way, along with the religious teachers and elders. 42“He saved other people, but he can't save himself!” they said. “If he really is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and then we'll believe him! 43He trusts God so confidently—well let God rescue him now if he wants him,#27:43. What makes this even worse is that they were quoting Scripture back at him: Psalms 22:8. because he claimed ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44The rebels who were crucified with him also insulted him in the same way.
45From noon until three o'clock darkness covered the whole country. 46At about three o'clock Jesus shouted out loud, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”#27:46. Quoting Psalms 22:1. 47When some of those standing there heard it, they said, “He's calling for Elijah!” 48Immediately one of them ran and grabbed a sponge, soaked it in vinegar, put it on a stick, and gave it to Jesus to drink.#27:48. See Psalms 69:21. 49But the others said, “Leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah will come and save him.”
50Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and breathed his last.#27:50. The expression is a Hebrew one meaning that he died. 51Right then the veil of the Temple was torn apart from top to bottom. The ground shook, the rocks split apart, 52and the graves were opened. Many of those who had lived good lives and had fallen asleep in death were raised to life. 53After the resurrection of Jesus they went out from the graveyards into the holy city#27:53. Referring to Jerusalem. where many people saw them.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what happened, they were terrified, and said, “This really was the Son of God!” 55Many women were also watching from a distance, those who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had supported him. 56These included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57When evening came, a rich man named Joseph, from Arimathea (who was also a disciple of Jesus), 58went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate ordered it to be handed over to him. 59Joseph took the body and wrapped it up in a fresh linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb, cut out of solid rock. He rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb, and left. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62The next day,#27:62. Referring to the Sabbath. after the Preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to see Pilate. 63They said to him, “Sir, we recall that the imposter said while he was still alive, ‘After three days, I'll rise again.’ 64Give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. That way his disciples can't come and steal his body and tell people that he was raised from the dead, and the deception in the end will become worse than it was at first.”
65“I'll give you a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Now go, and make it as secure as you possibly can.” 66So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the entrance stone and posting soldiers as guards.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com