Matthew 27

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made a plan against Jesus to have him put to death.

1When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

2They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.

2And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

NoteJudea was under direct Roman rule, and the governor (Pilate held the post from about AD 26 to 36) kept the sole power to pass a death sentence. Whatever the Jewish council decided, an execution had to be obtained from him, which is why they hand Jesus over rather than act themselves.

3Then Judas, who had handed Jesus over to them, saw that Jesus had been condemned. He was filled with regret and brought the thirty silver coins back to the chief priests and elders.

3Then 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,

NoteThirty silver coins, most likely Tyrian shekels, was the sum fixed in the law of Moses as compensation for a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32), and roughly four months' pay for a laborer. The KJV "repented himself" here means he was seized with remorse and changed his mind; it does not carry the later religious sense of repentance.

4He said, "I have sinned. I handed over an innocent man to be killed." They answered, "What is that to us? That is your problem."

4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

Note"Innocent blood" is a set Hebrew legal phrase for the killing of someone who did not deserve to die, and the guilt that clings to those responsible. "See thou to that" means: that is your affair, you deal with it.

5So he threw the silver coins down in the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

NoteThe word used for the place he threw the coins normally means the temple building itself, the sanctuary that only priests could enter, rather than the outer courts where ordinary people came. If that is the sense, Judas flings the money where only the priests can retrieve it.

6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against our law to put this money into the temple treasury, because it is payment for a man's death."

6And 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.

NoteThe temple treasury held money dedicated to God. Money that had bought a man's death was regarded as tainted and could not be mixed with it, so the priests spend it on a public burial ground instead.

7So they talked it over and used the money to buy the potter's field, to be a burial place for foreigners.

7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

NoteA potter's field was ground dug over for clay, left broken and useless for farming and therefore cheap. The "strangers" are foreigners or Jews from abroad who died in Jerusalem with no family plot of their own to be buried in.

8That is why that field has been called the Field of Blood, right up to this day.

8Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

9In this way the words spoken through Jeremiah the prophet came true: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel,

9Then 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;

NoteThe quotation that follows matches Zechariah 11:12-13 most closely, with wording drawn from Jeremiah's visits to the potter and his purchase of a field (Jeremiah 18, 19 and 32). Ancient writers often named the more prominent prophet when combining passages, and some early copies of Matthew leave the name out.

10and they gave the coins for the potter's field, just as the Lord had commanded me."

10And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

11Jesus stood in front of the governor. The governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "You have said it."

11And 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.

Note"King of the Jews" is a political charge rather than a religious one. Claiming a throne in a Roman province meant rebellion, the one accusation a governor could not ignore. Jesus' reply, "You have said it," is deliberately slanted: it does not deny the word, but it puts the word in Pilate's mouth rather than his own.

12When the chief priests and elders brought their charges against him, he gave no answer.

12And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13Then Pilate said to him, "Don't you hear how many things they are saying against you?"

13Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14But Jesus did not answer him, not even one charge, and this amazed the governor greatly.

14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

15Now at the feast the governor had a custom of setting free one prisoner, whichever one the crowd chose.

15Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

NoteThe feast is Passover, when Jerusalem filled with pilgrims and the risk of unrest was highest. A goodwill release of a prisoner at such a moment fits Roman practice of managing crowds, though no record of this particular custom survives outside the gospels.

16At that time they were holding a well-known prisoner named Barabbas.

16And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

NoteThe name Barabbas means "son of the father" in Aramaic. A number of early manuscripts call him "Jesus Barabbas," which would make Pilate's question a choice between two men named Jesus. Other gospels describe him as a rioter and killer, not a common criminal.

17So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

17Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

18He asked this because he knew they had handed Jesus over to him out of envy.

18For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

19While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him a message: "Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I have suffered terribly today in a dream because of him."

19When 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.

NoteThe judge's seat was a raised platform set up in public. A Roman governor's ruling counted as official once he gave it from that seat, so the detail marks the trial as formally under way.

20But the chief priests and elders talked the crowds into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.

20But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

21The governor asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to set free for you?" They said, "Barabbas."

21The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

22Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Nail him to a cross!"

22Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

NoteCrucifixion was a Roman punishment reserved for slaves, rebels and the lowest criminals, designed to be slow and public. Roman citizens were normally exempt from it. The crowd is calling for the death of a rebel against Rome, a sentence only Pilate could give.

23The governor said, "Why? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted even louder, "Nail him to a cross!"

23And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

24Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, and that a riot was starting instead. So he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am not guilty of this innocent man's death. That is your responsibility."

24When 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.

NoteWashing the hands in public was a recognized gesture of disclaiming responsibility for a death, set out in the law of Moses for a killing by an unknown hand (Deuteronomy 21:6-7). Pilate uses a Jewish sign to tell a Jewish crowd that the blood is not on him.

25Then all the people answered, "Let his death be counted against us and against our children."

25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

NoteThis is the form of words by which people accepted legal liability for a death: let the guilt for it fall on us. It echoes the language of Israelite law courts, where bloodguilt was said to rest on a household.

26So he set Barabbas free for them. He had Jesus whipped, and then handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

26Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

NoteRoman flogging was carried out with a whip of leather thongs weighted with bone or metal, and regularly preceded crucifixion. It was severe enough to be a punishment in its own right, and some prisoners died under it.

27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the governor's headquarters and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.

27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

NoteThe KJV's "common hall" is the praetorium, the governor's official residence and headquarters while he was in Jerusalem. The "band" is a cohort, on paper about six hundred men, though the word is often used loosely for whatever detachment was on duty.

28They took his clothes off him and put a scarlet robe on him.

28And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

NoteThe scarlet robe is most likely a soldier's cloak, pressed into service as a stand-in for the purple worn by kings and emperors. The whole scene that follows is a parody of a royal audience.

29They twisted thorn branches into a crown and set it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and made fun of him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

29And 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!

NoteEach item mocks a mark of kingship: a wreath for the victor's crown, a reed for the scepter, a kneeling salute, and "Hail, King of the Jews" in place of the soldiers' "Hail, Caesar."

30They spit on him, and they took the stick and hit him on the head with it.

30And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31After they had made fun of him, they took the robe off him, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to nail him to a cross.

31And 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.

32As they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.

32And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

NoteCyrene was a city on the North African coast, in what is now Libya, with a large Jewish population; Simon was probably in Jerusalem for the feast. The word behind "compelled" is the technical term for official requisition, the legal right of Roman soldiers to force a civilian to carry a load for them.

33They came to a place called Golgotha, which means "the place of a skull."

33And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

NoteGolgotha is the Aramaic word for skull, probably describing the shape of the outcrop. The familiar name Calvary comes from the Latin translation of the same word.

34There they gave him wine to drink, mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink it.

34They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

NoteThe drink is cheap sour wine. Gall is a bitter substance, and the mixture may have been offered to dull the pain. The wording also echoes Psalm 69:21, "they gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

35They nailed him to the cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots, a way of deciding by chance. This happened so that the words of the prophet would come true: "They divided my clothes among them, and cast lots for my clothing."

35And 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.

NoteThe clothes of a condemned man were the customary perquisite of the soldiers who executed him. The quotation is from Psalm 22:18.

36Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

36And sitting down they watched him there;

37Above his head they put up the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

37And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

NoteRoman executions carried a titulus, a board stating the crime, so that onlookers knew what the man was dying for. Here the charge is that he claimed a throne.

38Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside him, one on his right and one on his left.

38Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

NoteThe KJV "thieves" translates a word meaning armed bandit or brigand, the same term used for insurgents who robbed on the roads and fought the authorities. It is not the word for a petty thief.

39The people who passed by insulted him and shook their heads at him.

39And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

NoteShaking or wagging the head was a recognized gesture of scorn and gloating over someone's downfall. The picture comes from Psalm 22:7.

40They said, "You were going to tear down the temple and build it again in three days! Save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

40And 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.

NoteThis refers back to the charge brought at Jesus' hearing before the council, that he had said he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days (Matthew 26:61).

41In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, who were teachers of the law, and the elders made fun of him. They said,

41Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42"He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe him.

42He 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.

43He trusted in God. Let God rescue him now, if God wants him. After all, he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

44The robbers who were nailed to crosses beside him threw the same insults at him.

44The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

Note"Cast the same in his teeth" is an old English idiom meaning to throw the same insults back at someone, to taunt him with the same words.

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness covered the whole land.

45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

NoteHours were counted from sunrise, so the sixth hour is around noon and the ninth around three in the afternoon. The word translated "land" can mean the whole earth or one particular region, and the text leaves it open which is meant.

46About the ninth hour Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

46And 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?

NoteThe words are Aramaic, the everyday language of Galilee and Judea, with the first two words in a form close to Hebrew. They are the opening line of Psalm 22, which begins, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

47Some of the people standing there heard it and said, "This man is calling for Elijah."

47Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

NoteElias is the KJV's spelling of Elijah, the prophet who was taken up to heaven without dying. "Eli" sounds close enough to the start of his name to be misheard, and many expected Elijah to return and come to the aid of the righteous in distress.

48Right away one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and held it up for Jesus to drink.

48And 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.

NoteThe sour wine is posca, a cheap vinegary drink carried by Roman soldiers and laborers. It is not an insult but the only drink at hand, and the sponge on a stick is how it could be reached up to a man on a cross.

49But the rest said, "Leave him alone. Let's see whether Elijah will come to save him."

49The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

50Then Jesus shouted again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit and died.

50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Note"Yielded up the ghost" is old English for gave up his spirit, that is, died. "Ghost" here means breath or spirit, not an apparition.

51Just then the curtain inside the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The ground shook and the rocks split apart.

51And, 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;

NoteThe temple had heavy curtains: one across the entrance to the sanctuary and one before the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, which only the high priest entered and only once a year. The text does not say which curtain is meant. "Rent in twain" means torn in two.

52The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many of God's people who had died were raised to life.

52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Note"Saints" translates a word meaning holy ones, used for God's people generally rather than a special class of them. "Slept" is the ordinary ancient idiom for died.

53After Jesus was raised from the dead, they came out of the tombs and went into the holy city, and many people saw them.

53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

54The centurion, an officer over a hundred soldiers, and the men with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and everything that happened. They were terrified and said, "This really was the Son of God."

54Now 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.

NoteGreek has no word for "a," and the phrase here lacks the definite article, so the soldier's words can be read either as "the Son of God" or as "a son of God," which in Roman ears would mean a divine or godlike man. The wording is genuinely open.

55Many women were there as well, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and had taken care of his needs.

55And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

NoteThe word behind "ministering unto him" covers practical service and financial support. Luke 8:3 says such women paid for the group's needs out of their own money.

56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

56Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.

NoteMagdalene means she came from Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee. Joses is a shortened form of the name Joseph. Zebedee's sons are James and John, two of the twelve.

57When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph arrived. He himself was a follower of Jesus.

57When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:

NoteArimathea was a Judean town; its exact site is uncertain. Evening matters because the Jewish day ended at sunset, and this sunset began the Sabbath, when no burial work could be done. Everything had to be finished quickly.

58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that the body be given to him.

58He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

Note"Begged" here simply means asked for, as a formal request. Bodies of the crucified were normally left hanging or thrown into a common pit, and handing one over for burial was a favor the governor could grant or refuse.

59Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.

59And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

NoteJewish burial involved wrapping the body in linen, usually with spices laid in the folds. The cloth is described as clean, that is, fresh and unused.

60He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.

60And 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.

NoteTombs cut into rock were expensive, and belonged to wealthy families. Inside was a chamber with a shelf or niche for the body. A large disc or block of stone was rolled or levered across the low entrance to keep out animals and robbers.

61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting across from the tomb.

61And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62The next day, the day after Preparation Day, when people got ready for the Sabbath, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to see Pilate.

62Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

NotePreparation Day was Friday, the day for getting food and work finished before the Sabbath began at sunset. "The next day" is therefore the Sabbath itself, which makes this delegation's visit to Pilate unusual.

63They said, "Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, 'After three days I will rise again.'

63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

NoteThe KJV "deceiver" means one who leads people astray, a standard accusation against a false teacher. Days were counted inclusively, so "after three days" and "the third day" in the next verse mean the same stretch of time, not different ones.

64So give the order for the tomb to be guarded until the third day. If you don't, his disciples may come at night and steal the body, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.' Then this last lie would be worse than the first one."

64Command 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.

65Pilate said to them, "You have a guard. Go and make the tomb as secure as you know how."

65Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

NotePilate's words can be read two ways, and the Greek allows both: "you have a guard at your disposal, take it" (a detachment of his own soldiers), or "you have your own temple guard, use it." The text does not settle which.

66So they went and made the tomb secure. They sealed the stone and posted the guard.

66So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

NoteSealing meant stretching a cord across the stone and fixing each end with clay or wax stamped with an official mark. It did not hold the stone in place; it made it impossible to move the stone without the tampering being visible.