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
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
1 #
Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people #See ch. 26:4took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2And they bound him and #Luke 23:1; John 18:28 led him away and #See ch. 20:19 delivered him over to #Luke 3:1; 13:1; Acts 3:13; 4:27; 1 Tim. 6:13Pilate the governor.
Judas Hangs Himself
3Then when #See ch. 26:14 Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus#27:3 Greek he was condemned, #ch. 21:29 he changed his mind and brought back #ch. 26:15the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? #ver. 24See to it yourself.” 5And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, #[2 Sam. 17:23; Acts 1:18]he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into #Mark 12:41, 43; Luke 21:1; John 8:20the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8Therefore #Acts 1:19 that field has been called the Field of Blood #ch. 28:15to this day. 9#See ch. 1:22 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, #Cited from Zech. 11:13“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, 10and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
Jesus Before Pilate
11 # For ver. 11-14, see Mark 15:2-5; Luke 23:2, 3; John 18:29-38 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you #ver. 29, 37; ch. 2:2; John 18:39; 19:3; [ver. 42] the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, #[1 Tim. 6:13]; See Luke 22:70“You have said so.” 12#See ch. 26:63But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate said to him, #John 19:10“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
The Crowd Chooses Barabbas
15 # For ver. 15-26, see Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39, 40; 19:16 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or #ver. 22Jesus who is called Christ?” 18For he knew that it was out #[John 12:19]of envy that they had delivered him up. 19Besides, while he was sitting on #John 19:13 the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with #ver. 24; [Luke 23:47] that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today #See ch. 2:12in a dream.” 20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to #Acts 3:14ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” #Acts 13:28They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23And he said, “Why? #[Luke 23:41; John 8:46]What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
24So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that #ch. 26:5 a riot was beginning, he took water and #[Deut. 21:6-8; Ps. 26:6; 73:13] washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of #ver. 19 this man’s blood;#27:24 Some manuscripts this righteous blood, or this righteous man’s blood #ver. 4see to it yourselves.” 25And all the people answered, #[ch. 23:35, 36; Josh. 2:19; Acts 5:28] “His blood be on us and #[Ex. 20:5; Lam. 5:7]on our children!” 26Then he released for them Barabbas, and having #ch. 20:19; Isa. 50:6; 53:5; [Luke 23:16; John 19:1]scourged#27:26 A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
27 # For ver. 27-31, see Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2, 3 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the #John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35; Phil. 1:13 (Gk.) governor’s headquarters,#27:27 Greek the praetorium and they gathered the whole #See Acts 10:1 (Gk.)battalion#27:27 Greek cohort; a tenth of a Roman legion, usually about 600 men before him. 28And they stripped him and put #Rev. 18:12, 16; [Luke 23:11]a scarlet robe on him, 29and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they #ch. 20:19 mocked him, saying, “Hail, #See ver. 11King of the Jews!” 30And #See ch. 26:67they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and #Isa. 53:7led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
32 #
Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17] #
Heb. 13:12; [ch. 21:39; Num. 15:35] As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to #Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17] carry his cross. 33#For ver. 33-51, see Mark 15:22-38; Luke 23:32-38, 44-46; John 19:17-19, 23, 24, 28-30And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34#[Ps. 69:21] they offered him wine to drink, mixed with #Acts 8:23gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35And when they had crucified him, #Ps. 22:18they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36Then they sat down and #ver. 54; [Ps. 22:17]kept watch over him there. 37And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, #ver. 11, 29the King of the Jews.” 38Then two #[John 18:40] robbers were crucified with him, #[ch. 20:21]one on the right and one on the left. 39And #Ps. 22:7; 109:25; [Lam. 1:12] those who passed by #Luke 22:65; 23:39; [James 2:7] derided him, #Job 16:4; Isa. 37:22; Jer. 18:16; Lam. 2:15wagging their heads 40and saying, #ch. 26:61 “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! #ch. 4:3, 6 If you are #ver. 43; ch. 26:63; See ch. 14:33the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42#[Luke 4:23] “He saved others; #[ch. 26:53, 54; John 10:18] he cannot save himself. #John 1:49; 12:13; [ver. 37]He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43#Cited from Ps. 22:8He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44#[Luke 23:39-43]And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus
45Now from the sixth hour#27:45 That is, noon there was darkness over all the land#27:45 Or earth until the ninth hour.#27:45 That is, 3 p.m. 46And about the ninth hour Jesus #[Heb. 5:7] cried out with a loud voice, saying, #Cited from Ps. 22:1“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with #Ruth 2:14 sour wine, and put it on a reed and #Ps. 69:21gave it to him to drink. 49But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50And Jesus #ver. 46 cried out again with a loud voice and #[John 10:18]yielded up his spirit.
51And behold, #Ex. 26:31-33; 2 Chr. 3:14 the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And #ver. 54the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of #[Dan. 7:18, 22] the saints #John 11:11-13; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; 2 Pet. 3:4who had fallen asleep were raised, 53and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into #See ch. 4:5the holy city and appeared to many. 54#For ver. 54-56, see Mark 15:39-41; Luke 23:47, 49 When the centurion and those who were with him, #ver. 36 keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, #ver. 43“Truly this was the Son#27:54 Or a son of God!”
55There were also #John 19:25 many women there, looking on #Ps. 38:11 from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, #See Luke 8:2, 3ministering to him, 56among whom were #[See ver. 55 above] Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and #ch. 20:20; [Mark 15:40]the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Jesus Is Buried
57 # For ver. 57-61, see Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60and #[Isa. 53:9] laid it in his own new tomb, #Isa. 22:16 which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled #Mark 16:4; [John 11:38]a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and #ver. 56; ch. 28:1the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62The next day, that is, after the day of #Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63and said, “Sir, we remember how #[ver. 64; John 7:12] that impostor said, while he was still alive, #ch. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 28:6; Mark 8:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:6, 7; [ch. 26:61; John 2:19]‘After three days I will rise.’ 64Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, #[ch. 28:13]lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65Pilate said to them, “You have #ch. 28:11a guard#27:65 Or Take a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66So they went and made the tomb secure by #Dan. 6:17sealing the stone and setting a guard.
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