English · KJV

Matthew 27

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Jesus Delivered to Pilate 1–2

1
When the morning was come, 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. ​

The Suicide of Judas 3–10

3
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ​
4
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. ​
6
And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for 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
Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
9
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; ​
10
And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

Jesus Before Pilate 11–25

11
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. ​
12
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13
Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14
And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. ​
15
Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. ​
16
And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17
Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? ​
18
For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19
When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou 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 Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21
The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
23
And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, 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 ye to it. ​
25
Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. ​

The Mocking and Scourging 26–31

26
Then released he Barabbas unto 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 unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28
And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. ​
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 smote him on the head.
31
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus 32–49

32
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. ​
33
And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34
They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. ​
35
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. ​
36
And sitting down they watched him there;
37
And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ​
38
Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39
And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40
And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41
Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42
He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the 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 also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto 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 hast thou forsaken me? ​
47
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48
And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49
The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

The Death and Immediate Aftermath 50–56

50
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; ​
52
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54
Now when the centurion, and they that 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 afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56
Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

The Burial of Jesus 57–61

57
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: ​
58
He went to Pilate, and begged 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
And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. ​
61
And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

The Tomb is Secured 62–66

62
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, ​
63
Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. ​
64
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65
Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Matthew 27

Verse 1

took counsel against Jesus — Symboulion is a consultation, a deliberating body; it returns in v.7 when the same men 'took counsel' to buy the field. The gathering fulfils Ps 2:2, 'the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed'; Luke 22:66 also dates it 'as soon as it was day'.

Verse 2

delivered him to Pontius Pilate — Paradidomi, to hand over, the verb of Judas's 'betrayed' (vv.3–4) and of Pilate's 'delivered' in v.26. Jesus had said he would be delivered 'to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him' (Matt 20:19). Hegemon, 'governor', is Pilate's title throughout the chapter.

Verse 3

repented himself — Metamellomai, literally to care afterwards, to regret. It is remorse over what has happened, and it ends in the despair of v.5: 'the sorrow of the world worketh death' (2 Cor 7:10). The 'thirty pieces of silver' are the price agreed in Matt 26:15.

Verse 5

cast down the pieces of silver in the temple — Naos is the sanctuary itself, the inner house, so the money is thrown into the holy place the priests served. 'Hanged himself' is apanchomai, to strangle oneself. Acts 1:18 gives the sequel: 'falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst'.

Verse 6

the price of blood — Time, price; the 'treasury' is the korban, the temple's sacred offering-chest. The priests keep the rule about unclean money while holding the man the money bought, the 'gnat' and the 'camel' of Matt 23:24. The blood is the 'innocent blood' of Judas's confession (v.4).

Verse 7

the potter's field, to bury strangers in — Xenos is a stranger, a foreigner. The money Judas returned ends by buying a burial ground for those without a place of their own. Acts 1:19 gives the field's Aramaic name, 'Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood', matching v.8.

Verse 9

Jeremy the prophet — The words quoted are those of Zech 11:12–13: 'thirty pieces of silver', cast 'unto the potter'. Jeremiah is named; his book carries the potter's house (Jer 18:2), the potter's bottle (Jer 19:1) and the buying of a field (Jer 32:9), and the verse is spoken under his name.

Verse 11

Thou sayest — Pilate asks what the accusers charged: Jesus 'forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King' (Luke 23:2). The title is the wise men's of Matt 2:2, 'King of the Jews'. The same reply, 'Thou sayest it', stands in Mark 15:2 and Luke 23:3; Jesus then makes no defence (v.12).

Verse 14

answered him to never a word — Rhema, a word, with the negatives piled up: not one. It is the lamb of Isa 53:7, 'he opened not his mouth', and the pattern Peter names: 'when he was reviled, reviled not again' (1 Pet 2:23). The governor 'marvelled greatly' (thaumazo, lian).

Verse 15

wont to release unto the people a prisoner — Apoluo, to release, is the verb that carries the scene: 'Whom will ye that I release?' (v.17), the same question in v.21, and 'Then released he Barabbas' (v.26). Mark 15:6 states the same custom 'at that feast', the season of unleavened bread (26:17).

Verse 17

Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ — Barabbas is Aramaic, meaning son of Abba (a father's name). Mark 15:7 says he lay bound with 'them that had made insurrection with him', and John 18:40 calls him 'a robber'. Christos is 'anointed'; the choice is put to the whole gathered crowd.

Verse 19

that just man — Dikaios, righteous, the word Pilate repeats in v.24, 'this just person', and the centurion's verdict in Luke 23:47, 'Certainly this was a righteous man'. The bema, the judgment seat, is where the verdict belongs; his wife's message, sent 'in a dream' (onar), reaches him while he sits there.

Verse 24

washed his hands — The rite of Deut 21:6, where the elders wash their hands over the slain heifer and say 'lay not innocent blood unto thy people' (Deut 21:8). 'Innocent' is athoos, Judas's word in v.4; 'see ye to it' repeats the priests' 'see thou to that' (v.4), the same verb.

Verse 25

His blood be on us, and on our children — The formula of guilt for shed blood: 'his blood shall be upon his head' (Josh 2:19), 'so blood be upon thee' (Deut 19:10). All the people (laos) take on themselves what Pilate had just refused in v.24; teknon, 'children', extends it to the next generation.

Verse 26

scourged Jesus — Phragelloo, from the Latin flagellum, a whip: a Roman punishment that preceded crucifixion, as Jesus foretold in Matt 20:19. It answers Isa 50:6, 'I gave my back to the smiters', and Isa 53:5, 'with his stripes we are healed'.

Verse 28

a scarlet robe — Chlamys is a soldier's cloak, here kokkinos, scarlet. Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 call the garment purple, the colour of royal robes. It is put on him over the stripes of v.26, and taken off again in v.31 when his 'own raiment' is returned.

Verse 29

a crown of thorns… a reed in his right hand — Stephanos is the chaplet of a victor or king; the reed (kalamos) stands for the sceptre held in the right hand. 'Hail, King of the Jews' answers the title of v.11. The same reed is then used to strike him (v.30) and to lift the sponge (v.48).

Verse 32

they compelled to bear his cross — Angareuo, to press into service, the verb of Matt 5:41, 'whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile'; Matthew uses it only there and here; Mark 15:21 has it too. Mark 15:21 names Simon 'the father of Alexander and Rufus'. Christ's word in Matt 16:24 is 'take up his cross, and follow me'.

Verse 34

vinegar to drink mingled with gall — Chole, gall, bitter. The line is that of Ps 69:21, 'they gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink'. Mark 15:23 calls the mixture 'wine mingled with myrrh'. He 'tasted' (geuomai) and refused; a second drink of vinegar is given in v.48.

Verse 35

parted his garments, casting lots — Kleros, the lot. Fulfils Ps 22:18, 'they part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture'. John 19:23–24 explains the division: four parts for the soldiers, and the seamless coat decided by lot. The Psalm's two lines are himatia, garments, and himatismos, vesture.

Verse 37

his accusation written — Aitia is a cause, the charge on which a man is condemned. The four Gospels word it differently; John 19:19 adds 'of Nazareth', and Luke 23:38 says it was written 'in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew'. Pilate refused to change it: 'What I have written I have written' (John 19:22).

Verse 45

from the sixth hour… unto the ninth hour — Noon to mid-afternoon, three hours of skotos, darkness, matching Mark 15:33 and Luke 23:44. It answers Amos 8:9, 'I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day'. It ends with the cry of v.46 at 'about the ninth hour'.

Verse 46

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? — The opening of Ps 22:1, left in the original tongue and then translated. Mark 15:34 has 'Eloi, Eloi'. Egkataleipo, 'forsaken', is to leave behind. The sound 'Eli' is what produces the mistake about Elias in v.47.

Verse 51

the veil of the temple was rent in twain — Katapetasma, the screen before the holiest place, made 'of blue, and purple, and scarlet' with cherubims (Ex 26:31). Heb 10:19–20 says believers enter 'the holiest' by a way 'through the veil, that is to say, his flesh'. 'From the top to the bottom' also stands in Mark 15:38.

Verse 54

Truly this was the Son of God — The title his mockers threw back at him in v.40, 'If thou be the Son of God', and v.43. The centurion 'watching' (tereo, the verb of v.36) with his men 'feared greatly' (sphodra). Luke 23:47 reports the same moment as 'Certainly this was a righteous man'.

Verse 57

a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph — Fulfils Isa 53:9, 'with the rich in his death'. 'Was Jesus' disciple' is the verb matheteuo. Luke 23:50 calls him 'a counsellor', and 'a good man, and a just', and John 19:38 adds that he was a disciple 'secretly for fear of the Jews'.

Verse 60

his own new tomb — Kainos, new, unused: Luke 23:53 adds 'wherein never man before was laid'. Latomeo, 'hewn out', is to quarry. The 'great stone' (lithos) is the one sealed in v.66 and rolled back by the angel in Matt 28:2.

Verse 62

the day of the preparation — Paraskeue, the day of readiness before the sabbath: Mark 15:42 glosses it 'the day before the sabbath', and Luke 23:54 says 'the sabbath drew on'. The chief priests and Pharisees come to Pilate on the following day, with the request of vv.63–64.

Verse 63

that deceiver — Planos, a wanderer who leads others astray; its noun plane is the 'error' of v.64. They quote Christ's own foretelling, 'the third day he shall rise again' (Matt 20:19; cf. 16:21), and ask for security 'until the third day' (v.64): his words were known to his enemies.

Verse 66

sealing the stone, and setting a watch — Sphragizo, to seal, as the den of lions was sealed with a stone and the king's signet (Dan 6:17). The 'watch' is koustodia, from the Latin for custody, a guard. The same watch later reports to the chief priests 'all the things that were done' (Matt 28:11).