Matthew 27:37 | 1759
27:17 d ver 22; Mt 1:16
27:19 e Jn 19:13 f ver 24 g Ge 20:6; Nu 12:6;
1Ki 3:5; Job 33:14-16; Mt 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22
27:20 h Ac 3:14 27:22 i Mt 1:16
27:24 j Mt 26:5 k Ps 26:6 l Dt 21:6-8
m ver 4
27:25 n Jos 2:19; Ac 5:28
27:26 o Isa 53:5; Jn 19:1
27:27 p Jn 18:28, 33; 19:9
27:28 q Jn 19:2
27:29 r Isa 53:3; Jn 19:2, 3
27:30 s Mt 16:21; 26:67 27:31 t Isa 53:7
27:32 u Heb 13:12 v Ac 2:10; 6:9;
11:20; 13:1 w Mk 15:21;
Lk 23:26 27:33 x Jn 19:17
27:34 y ver 48; Ps 69:21
27:35 z Ps 22:18 27:36 a ver 54
17 So when the crowd had gath ered, Pi late asked them,“ Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Bar ab bas, or Jesus who is called the Mes siah?” d 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pi late was sit ting on the judge’ s seat, e his wife sent him this mes sage:“ Don’ t have any thing to do with that in no cent f man, for I have suf fered a great deal to day in a dream g be cause of him.” 20 But the chief priests and the el ders per suaded the crowd to ask for Bar ab bas and to have Jesus executed. h
21“ Which of the two do you want me to re lease to you?” asked the gov er nor.“ Barabbas,” they answered. 22“ What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Mes siah?” i Pilate asked. They all an swered,“ Cru cify him!” 23“ Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder,“ Cru cify him!” 24 When Pi late saw that he was get ting no where, but that in stead an up roar j was starting, he took wa ter and washed his hands k in front of the crowd.“ I am in no cent of this man’ s blood,” l he said.“ It is your responsibility!” m
25 All the peo ple an swered,“ His blood is on us and on our chil dren!” n
26 Then he re leased Bar ab bas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, o and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27:27-31pp— Mk 15:16-20
27 Then the gov er nor’ s sol diers took Jesus into the Prae to rium p and gath ered the whole com pany of sol diers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scar let robe on him, q 29 and then twisted to gether a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him.“ Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. r 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. s
31 Af ter they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to cru cify him. t
The Crucifixion of Jesus
27:33-44pp— Mk 15:22-32; Lk 23:33-43; Jn 19:17-24
32 As they were go ing out, u they met a man from Cy rene, v named Si mon, and they forced him to carry the cross. w 33 They came to a place called Gol go tha( which means“ the place of the skull”). x
34 There they of fered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; y but af ter tast ing it, he re fused to drink it. 35 When they had cru ci fied him, they di vided up his clothes by casting lots. z
36 And sit ting down, they kept watch a over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
27:19 dream. Roman rulers often put significant stock in a dream as an omen. This explains why Pilate keeps trying to release Jesus, but to no avail. 27:22 – 24 The authorities may well have stirred up the crowd to call for Jesus’ crucifixion, just as they persuaded the people to ask for Barabbas’ s release. 27:22 Crucify. Usually meant to affix a person to a cross-shaped pair of wooden beams, either with ropes or nails through palms and ankles, with arms outstretched until the person was so fatigued that they could no longer lift their head off their chest enough to breathe. It was a standard but very cruel form of execution the Romans used for slaves and the worst of criminals. 27:24 I am innocent... your responsibility! Pilate finally capitulates to the crowd’ s request but symbolically and verbally distances himself from any responsibility in the matter. 27:25 His blood is on us and on our children! Tragically, throughout church history this cry has too often been used to justify many forms of anti-Semitism. Yet only the individuals observing Pilate’ s proceedings are condemning themselves. our children. Refers to the next generation of offspring. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 could well be the fulfillment of this self-curse. So this verse does not refer to all Jewish people of all time; it does not even refer to all Jews in Jesus’ day. 27:26 flogged. Beating a person’ s back for however long the soldiers desired, with a whip embedded with bits of metal or bone on its end, tore the flesh and left searing wounds sufficient to kill some who were thus tortured, even without further punishment. Jesus would have been very weak after he was flogged. 27:27 – 31 The soldiers mock Jesus by dressing him as a pretend king, with a robe of royal color, a crown( but of thorns to further torture him), and a staff as a scepter. In a culture of honor and shame, the indignity of the mock allegiance to Jesus as king adds psychological torture to the physical abuse they continue to mete out. 27:27 the Praetorium. Housed Pilate’ s palace and the Roman guard. 27:32 – 44 The torment and shame that Jesus has repeatedly predicted would befall him now ensue, culminating in his excruciating death by crucifixion.
27:32 man from Cyrene. The Synoptics all describe the commandeering of Simon of Cyrene( in modern Libya) for this task. It is easy to imagine Jesus, weakened from the flogging, not going very far without collapsing under the heavy weight and needing the help afforded here. cross. Typically, this would have meant the crossbeam. Jesus started out for the site of his crucifixion carrying his own cross( John 19:17). 27:33 Golgotha( which means“ the place of the skull”). Probably called this because of the skull-like rock formations in the nearby hillside or the number of skulls of other victims that dotted the landscape. 27:34 wine. Functioned as a mild sedative and pain reliever, but Jesus refuses to alleviate the agony he has been called to endure. gall. Animal bile, but can refer to some bitter substance more generally. 27:35 divided up his clothes. The condemned were usually crucified naked, which heightened the shame. casting lots. Probably resembles modern dice-rolling. 27:37 The inscription on a cross advertised the crime for which someone was executed. Matthew draws attention to Jesus as king