Matthew 27

I took counsel. The Sanhedrin could condemn a criminal to die, but they could not carry the sentence into execution without the sanction of the Roman governor (John xviii. 31). The right of inflicting capital punishment had been taken away from the Jews at the deposition of Archelaus. The Jewish authorities therefore consulted together to find a political charge which they might put forward against Jesus. Pilate’s inquiry and remark (John xviii. 29, 30) brought out this accusation of treason (Luke xxiii. 2), to which they afterwards added (John xix. 7) that of blasphemy. But it was on the political charge that Pilate sentenced Him (John xix. 12-15); and accordingly this was specified in the title on the cross; see John xix. 19, and note.

2 the governor. The Roman governor’s residence was at Cæsarea; but he usually came to Jerusalem at the Passover, with a large body of soldiers, to check any popular rising, which were not infrequent at that season.

3-10. These verses are peculiar to Matthew.

3 repented. That this was only an intolerable remorse, not a change of heart, or “repentance unto salvation” (2 Cor. vii. 10), appears from the result (5, compared with John xvii. 12: Acts i. 18). Judas may perhaps not have anticipated the consequences of his treachery. But the consequences of sin are always beyond the transgressor’s calculation. The protest and remorse of Judas were a solemn warning to the Jewish rulers against their unjust and cruel action.

5 the Temple. More precisely, “the Sanctuary,” as R.V. He flung the money into the Holy Place.

hanged himself. It may seem surprising that such a man should have connected himself with Jesus, so as to be chosen an apostle. He may have been led to it by a strong impression of our Lord’s superhuman power, and by a hope of advancement in His new kingdom. But, as this delusive hope was gradually dispelled by his Master’s life and teachings, his real character became apparent. “This is the tragedy of his career, that he yielded to the baser impulses of his nature, and suffered them to usurp dominion over him” (David Smith).

6 the price of blood. Their objection may have been founded on the principle involved in Deut. xxiii. 18. Their cold and cutting reply to Judas (4), and all their conduct show, how dead may be the moral feelings of those who are most scrupulous about the forms of religion.

7 the potter’s field. “In Acts i. 18, it is said that Judas bought the field; in Matthew, that the priests bought it. The apparent difficulty is simply a mistranslation of the word ἐκτήσατο in Acts. Schleusner and Rosenmüller rightly explain it as meaning, ‘Judas, by his unholy reward, afforded the means of buying the spot.’ Schleusner quotes an apt illustration from Josephus” (Geikie).

8 unto this day. It long remained a public testimony to the innocence of our Lord and the injustice of His judges.

9. Then was fulfilled, etc. Through the whole of 8-10, the evangelist appears to have had several prophetic passages in view. The name of the ground, the use to which it was applied, and the circumstances attending the purchase, seem to have suggested Jeremiah’s appellation of this very valley—“the valley of slaughter”—a name of sin and punishment, connected with “the blood of the innocent” victims immolated by the “elders of the people” and “the priests” (Jer. xix. 2, 4, 6), and with the burying “in Tophet till there be no place” (Jer. vii. 31, 32, and note). And all this is further associated with Zechariah’s prophecy (see Zech. xi. 12, 13), of which the sense is given rather than the words. This last prophecy is attributed to Jeremiah. Origen (quoted by David Smith: In the Days of His Pleas, p. 487, n.) thought it was either a scribe’s error, or a quotation from some secret scripture of Jeremiah. Calvin thought it was an error for “Zechariah,” but added “it does not greatly trouble me.” David Smith says that the latter part of Zechariah (ix. xx.) is a collection of prophecies belonging to different periods, and asks, “What if xi. 12, 13 were a prophecy of Jeremiah after all?”

14. He answered him to never a word. R.V., “He gave him no answer, not even to one word.” Jesus had answered Pilate’s judicial question, but He made no reply to the false and clamorous accusations of the chief priests. His calm silence, whilst His accusers became “more fierce” (Luke xxiii. 5), evidently impressed Pilate “greatly,” and confirmed his belief in our Lord’s innocence (Luke xxiii. 14, 15; op. 1 Pet. ii. 23).

15 at [that] feast. Rather, as R.V., “at the feast”: a general expression: “at feast-time.”

17. Whom will ye that I release? Pilate now weakly tries to save Jesus without offending the Jews, or laying himself open to the charge of acquitting a rebel. Knowing that one great cause of the enmity of the priests was “envy” of our Lord’s popularity with the multitude, he turns to the people and proposes to release Jesus. They were allowed at the festivals to demand the freedom of one prisoner: and Pilate offers them the choice of Barabbas, a criminal then in custody, or Jesus (Mark xv. 7), and three times earnestly beseeches them to choose the latter (Luke xxiii. 16-22). But the violence of His accusers prevails. “They persuade the multitude,” consisting probably of their own adherents among the lower classes of Jerusalem: they raise an outcry against Jesus, and will not desist until the governor has “delivered Him to their will.”

19 his wife. This incident, recorded only by Matthew, illustrates the accuracy of the Gospel records; for the provincial governors had but recently been allowed by the Roman senate to be accompanied by their wives (Tacitus, Ann. iii. 33, 34). Pilate’s wife is said to have been named Claudia Procula. Both in her dream, and in the effect it produced upon her, leading her to send a message to her husband even on the judgement-seat, the hand of God is to be seen.

22. Let Him be crucified. Crucifixion was the Roman punishment awarded to the crime of which our Lord was accused. The cross consisted of a strong upright post, having a short bar or stake projecting from the middle, and a larger transverse beam at right angles, or a little below the top. It was just high enough to raise the feet a little above the ground. The criminal, stripped of his clothes, was fixed to the cross by nails or spikes driven through the hands, and sometimes through the feet, either separated or united. The weight of the body worked not so much upon the nails as upon a wooden pin or peg attached to the upright beam, and serving for a partial seat; but this, if it diminished the sufferings at first, made them much more lingering: see Mark xv. 44; John xix. 32, 33.

24 this just person. See ver. 19. The emblematical action (which Pilate probably knew to be practised among the Jews, as it was by other nations: see Deut. xxi. 6, 9) made his declaration of our Lord’s innocence the more impressive; but it could not cleanse his own conscience from guilt. Pilate wanted to be just, but he allowed himself to be overborne by expediency and fear. Bacon has done him an injustice in calling him “jesting Pilate.” Edwin Arnold is nearer the truth in his estimate in The Light of the World. See also note on ver. 31.

25. His blood [be] on us, etc. That is, If there be guilt, on us and our children let it rest. See xxiii. 35; Deut. xix. 10. The verse is peculiar to Matthew. This awful imprecation has for eighteen centuries seemed to rest on the Jewish nation. In their subsequent wars with Rome, “wrath came upon them to the uttermost”; and the retribution was the more remarkable, by the crucifixion of such multitudes of them, that room failed for the crosses, and crosses for the bodies. (Joseph. Wars, v. 11, § 1.)

26 when he had scourged Jesus. As He had predicted (xx, 19). It was a Roman custom to scourge a criminal before execution; and the infliction was cruelly severe.

27 the common hall. The court of the “prastorium,” or governor’s residence: see John xviii. 28, and note.

the whole band. Perhaps, “a cohort” or “battalion,” about 600 men. The same Greek word is used in Acts x. 1.

28 scarlet. Rather, “crimson”; the red military cloak of a Roman officer. The robe, the bramble crown, and the reed, were mock emblems of the royalty which Jesus was accused of claiming. All these indignities He bore in meek and submissive silence: see Isa. liii. 7.

31 after that they had mocked Him. Before He was actually led away, Pilate brought Him out to the people, and made some final efforts to release Him (John xix. 4-16).

32 as they came out. Rather, “as they were going out”; i.e., out of the city. All executions took place outside the city, as anciently “without the camp”: see Numb. xv. 35; 1 Kings xxi. 13; and cp. Heb. xiii. 11-13.

a man of Cyrene. Cyrene (now Grennah, part of Tunis) was a city of Libya, on the north coast of Africa. It was an important Greek colony, and contained a large number of Jews; see Acts ii. 10; vi. 9. Perhaps this man was singled out because he showed some sympathy with Jesus; but if it were not so, it is probable that he became interested in the meek and uncomplaining sufferer; for his sons, and probably their mother, were well known among the disciples; see Mark xv. 21; Rom. xvi. 13.

him they compelled (Gr., “impressed,” cp. the word “pressgang”) to bear His cross. At first Jesus bore His own cross, as was usual (see John xix. 17); but His sufferings through the preceding night had probably so exhausted His frame that He could not carry it alone: see Luke xxiii. 26. This kind of “impressment” is referred to, ch. v. 41.

33 a place of a skull. So called, either because it was a rounded knoll, or because the skulls of criminals who had been executed and buried there were frequently found in it. Tradition places it on the west of the Temple, where the “Church of the Holy Sepulchre” is at present situated. Professor Macalister (A Century of Excavation in Palestine, 1926, pp. 85-94) does not think that there is sufficient evidence to warrant us in rejecting this site.

34 vinegar. This was a weak acid wine (Mark xv. 23), the common drink of the soldiers; and was mixed with frankincense, myrrh, and other drugs (called “myrrh” in Mark xv. 23), to stupefy criminals before their execution. The words suggest Psa. lxix. 21. Our Lord refused the draught, choosing to retain His powers of consciousness and will unimpaired through all His sufferings.

35 they crucified Him. With a prayer for the soldiers on His lips: see Luke xxiii. 34. “Rede-misti crucem passus” (“Thou hast redeemed us by thy suffering on the cross”), Old Latin Hymn. casting lots. See note on John xix. 23.

36 they watched Him. It was usual for the soldiers to remain watching the cross, lest the friends of the crucified should take the body before death.

37. His accusation written. On this inscription see John xix. 19, and notes.

38 thieves. Rather, “robbers,” R.V.; who belonged to one of the bands with which the country was infested, and had been reserved, as usual, to one of the great feasts for execution. It was probably to mark our Lord with peculiar infamy that He was crucified between these two men: but it fulfilled (Mark xv. 28) the remarkable prophecy in Isa. liii. 12, which our Lord had applied to Himself (Luke xxii. 37).

40. Thou that destroyed the Temple, etc. Referring to words which our Lord had spoken at the commencement of His ministry (John ii. 19). These words, referred to by the “false witnesses” in ch. xxvi. 61, had evidently impressed themselves strongly on the popular mind.

43 if He will have Him. Derisively quoting the very words of a prophecy which they were unconsciously fulfilling: see Psa. xxii. 7, 8, and note.

44 cast the same in His teeth. Rather, “cast upon Him the same reproach,” R.V. For some interesting incidents not related here, see Luke xxiii. 39-43; John xix. 25-27.

45 unto the ninth hour. That is, from noon till three o’clock p.m. “It frequently happens thus in Syria, when the sirocco comes up from the desert; and though the phenomenon generally passes quietly, it is frequently the harbinger of an earthquake” (cp. Thomson: The Land and the Book, ch. xix.). “A natural phenomenon, yet the hand of God was in it” (David Smith). It has been often noted that during the three hours of darkness our Lord was silent. The following words were uttered as the darkness cleared away.

46. My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me? These are the opening words of Psa. xxii., in an Aramaic form. They show how fully our Lord took our place. He was “made a curse for us,” and “bore our sins”: see note on xxvi. 38. That He knew Himself to be bearing not His own sins, but those of others, is manifest from the filial confidence expressed in His appeal, “My God!” as well as in the words afterwards uttered with His expiring breath: see Luke xxiii. 46.

48 vinegar. “Sour wine,” but without the drugs mentioned in ver. 34. Our Lord had exclaimed, “I thirst” (John xix. 28). Thirst arising from fever was one of the greatest sufferings attending crucifixion. Our Lord drank of this sour wine, though He refused the narcotic draught (John xix. 30).

50 cried again with a loud voice. The words which Jesus uttered “with a loud voice” are found in Luke xxiii. 46; John xix. 30.

yielded up the ghost. The overwhelming

51 the veil of the Temple. This was the large and thick curtain which separated the holy place from the most holy. As our Lord expired at the ninth hour (three in the afternoon), when the evening sacrifice was offered in the Temple, the priest would be, at the very time, burning incense in the holy place, and the people praying without. The rending of the veil, which laid open the way into the most holy place, indicated the removal of previous restrictions, and the opening of a new and better way of access to God through Christ the great High Priest: see Heb. ix. 7-12, 24-26; x. 12-14, 19-22.

from top to bottom. “A proof that it was not done by human instrumentality” (Weymouth).

53 came out of the graves. (Only in Matthew.) The power of death and the grave was vanquished by the death of Christ, a victory completed in His Resurrection.

54 the centurion, etc. The Roman officer who superintended the crucifixion. He had just before heard the taunt, “If Thou be the Son of God”; and his words imply his conviction that the meek but dignified Sufferer is all that He claimed to be. The words as given by Luke (xxiii. 47), “Certainly this was a righteous man,” are to the same effect.

55 many women were there. The mother of Jesus had probably retired before the darkness came on, accompanied by the beloved disciple (John xix. 25-27), overpowered by the sufferings of her Son. The others lingered to the end; and two (61) of them watched His burial, intending to embalm the body of Him to whose wants they had largely “ministered” during the last year or two of His life.

56. Mary Magdalene. That is, “Mary of the town of Magdala”: see xv. 39; and Luke viii. 2, and notes. On “Mary the mother of James and Joses,” see x. 3; xiii. 55, and notes; and John xix. 25. The “mother of Zebedee’s children” was named Salome (Mark xv. 40).

57. When the even was come. Just before sunset, when the sabbath would begin. Some intervening events are related in John xix. 31-37.

a rich man. Matthew alone mentions that he was “rich”; indicating a fulfilment of Isa. liii. 9. Mark (xv. 43) calls him “an honourable counsellor,” referring to his rank as a member of the Sanhedrin, to whose “counsel and deed” he “had not consented,” being “a good man and a just” (Luke xxiii. 50, 51). John mentions that Joseph’s discipleship was secret, “for fear of the Jews” (xix. 38).

Arimathma. Formerly Ramathaim Zophim, the city of Samuel (1 Sam. i. 1), not far from Jerusalem.

58 begged the body of Jesus. The Romans generally left the bodies of crucified criminals upon the cross till they wasted away, or were devoured by birds. But they made an exception in favour of the Jews, on account of the law in Deut. xxi. 22, 23; and usually dispatched those who remained alive towards the close of the day, burying them at the place of execution. Our Lord, having in His death completed His sacrifice, was not to be subjected to this further indignity: see note on Isa. liii. 9.

60 he rolled a great stone. The rock-hewn tombs of the wealthy in Palestine had a carefully-finished portal, closed by a massive stone door, running in a groove. This required great strength to open it

(Mark xvi. 3), and it admitted of being fastened and “sealed” (66). The tomb of Joseph was in his garden (cp. 2 Kings xxi. 18), near the place of crucifixion (John xix. 41). It was “a new tomb”; no other burial had taken place in it; proving the identity of Him who rose.

62-66. This paragraph is peculiar to Matthew. 62 the next day, that followed [the day] of the preparation. The R.V. reads more exactly, “On the morrow, which is [the day] after the Preparation.” The day before the sabbath (Friday) was called “the preparation,” because everything requisite for the sabbath was then made ready: this “next day,” therefore, was the sabbath itself, and, as shown in the notes on St. John’s narrative, probably the day of the regular Paschal feast.

63. I will rise again. Our Lord’s sayings (xii. 40, etc.), imperfectly apprehended and believed by His attached disciples, were eagerly laid hold of by His enemies, whose perceptions were quickened by malice and fear.

64 until the third day. The same as “after three days” (63): see note on xii. 40.

the last error shall be worse. We shall have worse imposture than before.

65. Ye have a watch. Or, “take a guard” (R.V. marg.). The presence of the Roman soldiers at the sepulchre, as well as the other precautionary measures of the Jewish rulers, only served to strengthen the evidence of the resurrection.

66 setting a watch. Or (R.V.), “the guard being with them.” This guard was designed to prevent violence, the “seal” upon the fastening to prevent fraud: cp. Dan. vi. 17, and note. The sealing was effected by stretching a cord across the stone, securing the two ends to the rock out of which the sepulchre was hewn. The Jewish priests and rulers have now accomplished their design against the Lord’s Anointed; and one thing only is wanting to complete their triumph—to throw open the sepulchre upon the third day, and to find there the lifeless body.