Matthew 27

¹When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.[#Cf. Mk 15:1–20. Matthew’s account of the Roman trial before is introduced by a consultation of the Sanhedrin after which Jesus is (Mt 27:1–2). Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but adds some material that is peculiar to him, the death of (Mt 27:3–10), possibly the name as the name of also (Mt 27:16–17), the intervention of Pilate’s (Mt 27:19), Pilate’s washing in token of his disclaiming responsibility for Jesus’ death (Mt 27:24), and the assuming of that responsibility by (Mt 27:25).; #Mk 15:1; Lk 23:1; Jn 18:28.; #There is scholarly disagreement about the meaning of the Sanhedrin’s taking ( symboulion elabon ; cf. Mt 12:14; 22:15; 27:7; 28:12); see note on Mk 15:1. Some understand it as a discussion about the strategy for putting their death sentence against into effect since they lacked the right to do so themselves. Others see it as the occasion for their passing that sentence, holding that Matthew, unlike Mark (Mk 14:64), does not consider that it had been passed in the night session (Mt 26:66). Even in the latter interpretation, their handing is best explained on the hypothesis that they did not have competence to put their sentence into effect, as is stated in Jn 18:31.]

²They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

The Death of Judas.

³Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,[#Acts 1:18–19.; #: see Mt 26:15.; #26:15.]

⁴saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.”

⁵Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself.[#For another tradition about the death of Judas, cf. Acts 1:18–19. The two traditions agree only in the purchase of a field with paid to Judas for his betrayal of Jesus and the name given to the field, . In Acts Judas himself buys the field and its name comes from his own blood shed in his fatal accident on it. : this designation of the field is based on the fulfillment citation in Mt 27:10.]

⁶The chief priests gathered up the money, but said, “It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood.”

⁷After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.

⁸That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.

⁹Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites,[#Cf. Mt 26:15. Matthew’s attributing this text to Jeremiah is puzzling, for there is no such text in that book, and thrown by Judas “into the temple” (Mt 27:5) recall rather Zec 11:12–13. It is usually said that the attribution of the text to Jeremiah is due to Matthew’s combining the Zechariah text with texts from Jeremiah that speak of a (Jer 18:2–3), the buying of a (Jer 32:6–9), or the breaking of a potter’s flask at Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom with the prediction that it will become a burial place (Jer 19:1–13).]

¹⁰and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.”[#Zec 11:12–13.]

Jesus Questioned by Pilate.

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.”[#Mk 15:2–5; Lk 23:2–3; Jn 18:29–38.; #: this title is used of Jesus only by pagans. The Matthean instances are, besides this verse, Mt 2:2; 27:29, 37. Matthew equates it with “Messiah”; cf. Mt 2:2, 4 and Mt 27:17, 22 where he has changed “the king of the Jews” of his Marcan source (Mk 15:9, 12) to “(Jesus) called Messiah.” The normal political connotation of both titles would be of concern to the Roman . : see note on Mt 26:25. An unqualified affirmative response is not made because Jesus’ kingship is not what Pilate would understand it to be.]

¹²And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer.[#Is 53:7.; #Cf. Mt 26:62–63. As in the trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus’ silence may be meant to recall Is 53:7. : possibly an allusion to Is 52:14–15.]

¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?”

¹⁴But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Sentence of Death.

¹⁵Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished.[#The choice that Pilate offers between and is said to be in accordance with a custom of releasing at the Passover feast chosen by (Mt 27:15). This custom is mentioned also in Mk 15:6 and Jn 18:39 but not in Luke; see note on Lk 23:17. Outside of the gospels there is no direct attestation of it, and scholars are divided in their judgment of the historical reliability of the claim that there was such a practice.; #Mk 15:6–15; Lk 23:17–25; Jn 18:39–19:16.]

¹⁶And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called [Jesus] Barabbas.[#: it is possible that the double name is the original reading; was a common Jewish name; see note on Mt 1:21. This reading is found in only a few textual witnesses, although its absence in the majority can be explained as an omission of made for reverential reasons. That name is bracketed because of its uncertain textual attestation. The Aramaic name means “son of the father”; the irony of the choice offered between him and Jesus, the true son of the Father, would be evident to those addressees of Matthew who knew that.]

¹⁷So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, [Jesus] Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?”

¹⁸For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.[#Cf. Mk 14:10. This is an example of the tendency, found in varying degree in all the gospels, to present Pilate in a relatively favorable light and emphasize the hostility of the Jewish authorities and eventually of the people.]

¹⁹While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.”[#Jesus’ innocence is declared by a Gentile woman. : in Matthew’s infancy narrative, dreams are the means of divine communication; cf. Mt 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22.]

²⁰The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.[#Acts 3:14.]

²¹The governor said to them in reply, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas!”

²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”[#: incited by the chief priests and elders (Mt 27:20), the crowds demand that Jesus be executed by crucifixion, a peculiarly horrible form of Roman capital punishment. The Marcan parallel, “Crucify him” (Mk 15:3), addressed to Pilate, is changed by Matthew to the passive, probably to emphasize the responsibility of the crowds.]

²³But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.”[#Peculiar to Matthew. : cf. Dt 21:1–8, the handwashing prescribed in the case of a murder when the killer is unknown. The elders of the city nearest to where the corpse is found must wash their hands, declaring, “Our hands did not shed this blood.” : cf. Mt 27:4. : Matthew sees in those who speak these words entire (Greek laos ) of Israel. : cf. Jer 26:15. The responsibility for Jesus’ death is accepted by the nation that was God’s special possession (Ex 19:5), his own (Hos 2:25), and they thereby lose that high privilege; see Mt 21:43 and the note on that verse. The controversy between Matthew’s church and Pharisaic Judaism about which was the true people of God is reflected here. As the Second Vatican Council has pointed out, guilt for Jesus’ death is not attributable to all the Jews of his time or to any Jews of later times.; #Dt 21:1–8.]

²⁵And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”

²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.[#: the usual preliminary to crucifixion.]

Mockery by the Soldiers.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him.[#Mk 15:16–20; Jn 19:2–3.; #: the residence of the Roman governor. His usual place of residence was at Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast, but he went to Jerusalem during the great feasts, when the influx of pilgrims posed the danger of a nationalistic riot. It is disputed whether in Jerusalem was the old palace of Herod in the west of the city or the fortress of Antonia northwest of the temple area. : normally six hundred soldiers.]

²⁸They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.[#: so Matthew as against the royal purple of Mk 15:17 and Jn 19:2.]

²⁹Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”[#27:11.; #: probably of long that stood upright so that it resembled the “radiant” , a diadem with spikes worn by Hellenistic kings. The soldiers’ purpose was mockery, not torture. : peculiar to Matthew; a mock scepter.]

³⁰They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head.[#Is 50:6.; #: cf. Mt 26:67 where there also is a possible allusion to Is 50:6.]

³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.

The Way of the Cross.

³²As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.[#Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26.]

The Crucifixion.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull),[#Mk 15:22–32; Lk 23:32–38; Jn 19:17–19, 23–24.]

³⁴they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.[#Ps 69:21.; #: cf. Mk 15:23 where the drink is “wine drugged with myrrh,” a narcotic. Matthew’s text is probably an inexact allusion to Ps 69:22. That psalm belongs to the class called the individual lament, in which a persecuted just man prays for deliverance in the midst of great suffering and also expresses confidence that his prayer will be heard. That theme of the suffering Just One is frequently applied to the sufferings of Jesus in the passion narratives.]

³⁵After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots;[#Ps 22:19.; #The clothing of an executed criminal went to his executioner(s), but the description of that procedure in the case of Jesus, found in all the gospels, is plainly inspired by Ps 22:19. However, that psalm verse is quoted only in Jn 19:24.]

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

³⁷And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.[#The offense of a person condemned to death by crucifixion was written on a tablet that was displayed on his cross. The against was that he had claimed to be the (cf. Mt 27:11), i.e., the Messiah (cf. Mt 27:17, 22).]

³⁸Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.[#: see note on Jn 18:40 where the same Greek word as that found here is used for Barabbas.]

³⁹Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads[#: cf. Ps 22:8. ; cf. Mt 26:61. : the same words as those of the devil in the temptation of Jesus; cf. Mt 4:3, 6.; #Ps 22:8.]

⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!”[#4:3, 6; 26:61.]

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

⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.[#: in their mocking of Jesus the members of the Sanhedrin call themselves and their people not “the Jews” but .]

⁴³He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”[#Peculiar to Matthew. : cf. Ps 22:9. : probably an allusion to Wis 2:12–20 where the theme of the suffering Just One appears.; #Ps 22:9; Wis 2:12–20.]

⁴⁴The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus.

⁴⁵From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.[#Cf. Am 8:9 where on the day of the Lord “the sun will set at midday.”; #Mk 15:33–41; Lk 23:44–49; Jn 19:28–30.; #Am 8:9.]

⁴⁶And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? ” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[#Ps 22:2.; #Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? : Jesus cries out in the words of Ps 22:2a, a psalm of lament that is the Old Testament passage most frequently drawn upon in this narrative. In Mark the verse is cited entirely in Aramaic, which Matthew partially retains but changes the invocation of God to the Hebrew Eli , possibly because that is more easily related to the statement of the following verse about Jesus’ calling for Elijah.]

⁴⁷Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.”[#: see note on Mt 3:4. This prophet, taken up into heaven (2 Kgs 2:11), was believed to come to the help of those in distress, but the evidences of that belief are all later than the gospels.]

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink.[#Ps 69:21.]

⁴⁹But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.[#: cf. the Marcan parallel (Mk 15:37), “breathed his last.” Matthew’s alteration expresses both Jesus’ control over his destiny and his obedient giving up of his life to God.]

⁵¹And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split,[#Ex 26:31–36; Ps 68:9; 77:19.; #: cf. Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45. Luke puts this event immediately before the death of Jesus. There were two veils in the Mosaic tabernacle on the model of which the temple was constructed, the outer one before the entrance of the Holy Place and the inner one before the Holy of Holies (see Ex 26:31–36). Only the high priest could pass through the latter and that only on the Day of Atonement (see Lv 16:1–18). Probably the torn veil of the gospels is the inner one. The meaning of the scene may be that now, because of Jesus’ death, all people have access to the presence of God, or that the temple, its holiest part standing exposed, is now profaned and will soon be destroyed. : peculiar to Matthew. The earthquake, the splitting of the , and especially the resurrection of the dead indicate the coming of the final age. In the Old Testament the coming of God is frequently portrayed with the imagery of an earthquake (see Ps 68:9; 77:19), and Jesus speaks of the earthquakes that will accompany the “labor pains” that signify the beginning of the dissolution of the old world (Mt 24:7–8). For the expectation of the resurrection of the dead at the coming of the new and final age, see Dn 12:1–3. Matthew knows that the end of the old age has not yet come (Mt 28:20), but the new age has broken in with the death (and resurrection; cf. the earthquake in Mt 28:2) of Jesus; see note on Mt 16:28. : this qualification seems to be due to Matthew’s wish to assert the primacy of Jesus’ even though he has placed the resurrection of the dead immediately after Jesus’ death.]

⁵²tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.[#Dn 12:1–3.]

⁵³And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”[#Cf. Mk 15:39. The Christian confession of faith is made by Gentiles, not only , as in Mark, but the other soldiers (cf. Mt 27:36).]

⁵⁵There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.[#: cf. Ps 38:12. : these two women are mentioned again in Mt 27:61 and Mt 28:1 and are important as witnesses of the reality of the empty tomb. A and are referred to in Mt 13:55 as brothers of Jesus.]

⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.[#13:55.]

The Burial of Jesus.

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus.[#Mk 15:42–47; Lk 23:50–56; Jn 19:38–42.; #Is 53:9.]

⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.

⁵⁹Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen

⁶⁰and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.

⁶¹But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb.

⁶²The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate[#: the sabbath. According to the synoptic chronology, in that year (for the sabbath) was the Passover; cf. Mk 15:42. : the principal opponents of Jesus during his ministry and, in Matthew’s time, of the Christian church, join with to guarantee against a possible attempt of Jesus’ to steal his body.]

⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’[#12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19.]

⁶⁴Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This last imposture would be worse than the first.”[#: the claim that Jesus is clearly the may be either his claim that he would (Mt 27:63) or his claim that he was the one with whose ministry the kingdom of God had come (see Mt 12:28).]

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can.”[#: literally, “have a guard” or “you have a guard.” Either the imperative or the indicative could mean that Pilate granted the petitioners some Roman soldiers as guards, which is the sense of the present translation. However, if the verb is taken as an indicative it could also mean that Pilate told them to use their own Jewish guards.]

⁶⁶So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.