Matthew 27
27
Jesus Is Taken to Pilate
1Early the next morning, all the leading priests and elders of the people decided to kill Jesus. 2They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Kills Himself
3Judas saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Judas was the one who gave Jesus to his enemies. When Judas saw what happened, he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the 30 silver coins back to the priests and the leaders. 4Judas said, “I sinned. I gave you an innocent man to be killed.”
The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That’s your problem, not ours.”
5So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple. They said, “Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money. This money has paid for a man’s death.” 7So they decided to use the coins to buy a field called Potter’s Field. This field would be a place to bury strangers who died while visiting Jerusalem. 8That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. 9So the thing came true that Jeremiah the prophet had said: “They took 30 silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. 10They used those 30 silver coins to buy Potter’s Field, as the Lord commanded me.”# See Zechariah 11:12–13 and Jeremiah 32:6–9.
Pilate Questions Jesus
11Jesus stood before Pilate the governor. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”
12When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing.
13So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear these people accusing you of all these things?”
14But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate. Pilate was very surprised at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
15Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one person from prison. This was always a person the people wanted to be set free. 16At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.# Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.” 17All the people gathered at Pilate’s house. Pilate said, “Which man do you want me to free: Barabbas,# Some Greek copies read “Jesus Barabbas.” or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18Pilate knew that they gave Jesus to him because they were jealous.
19Pilate said these things while he was sitting on the judge’s seat. While he was sitting there, his wife sent a message to him. The message said, “Don’t do anything to that man. He is not guilty. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”
20But the leading priests and elders told the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.
21Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas!”
22Pilate asked, “What should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?”
They all answered, “Kill him on a cross!”
23Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
24Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this, and a riot was starting. So he took some water and washed his hands# He did this as a sign to show that he wanted no part in what the people did. in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”
25All the people answered, “We will be responsible. We accept for ourselves and for our children any punishment for his death.”
26Then Pilate freed Barabbas. Pilate told some of the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
27Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around Jesus. 28They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. 29Then the soldiers used thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him. They said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spit on Jesus. Then they took his stick and hit him on the head many times. 31After they finished making fun of Jesus, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus away to be killed on a cross.
Jesus Is Killed on a Cross
32The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They forced another man to carry the cross to be used for Jesus. This man was Simon, from Cyrene. 33They all came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) 34At Golgotha, the soldiers gave Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with gall.# Probably a drink of wine mixed with drugs to help a person feel less pain. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. They threw lots to decide who would get his clothes.# Some Greek copies continue, “So what God said through the prophet came true, ‘They divided my clothes among them, and they threw lots for my clothing.’” 36The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. 37They put a sign above Jesus’ head with the charge against him written on it. The sign read: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 38Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. 39People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, 40saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross, if you are really the Son of God!”
41The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also there. These men made fun of Jesus 42and said, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself! People say he is the King of Israel! If he is the King, then let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44And in the same way, the robbers who were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
45At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. 46About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”
47Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.”
48Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with vinegar and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to drink from it. 49But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50Again Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Then he died.
51Then the curtain in the Temple# A curtain divided the Most Holy Place from the other part of the Temple. That was the special building in Jerusalem where God commanded the Jews to worship him. split into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way down to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. 52The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. 53They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from death. They went into the holy city, and many people saw them.
54The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened. They were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55Many women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. These were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. 56Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.
Jesus Is Buried
57That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. He was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea. 58Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give it to Joseph. 59Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had cut in a wall of rock. He rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. Then Joseph went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.
The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded
62That day was the day called Preparation Day. The next day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from death.’ 64So give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. His followers might come and steal the body. Then they could tell the people that he has risen from death. That lie would be even worse than the first one.”
65Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” 66So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves. They did this by sealing the stone in the entrance and then putting soldiers there to guard it.
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Matthew 27: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 27
27
1Early in the morning all the chief priests and elders of the people consulted together and decided to have Jesus put to death. 2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, the one who'd betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus had been condemned to death, he regretted what he'd done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4“I've sinned! I've betrayed innocent blood!” he told them.
“What's that got to do with us?” they replied. “That's your problem!” 5Judas threw the silver coins into the sanctuary and left. He went away and hanged himself. 6The chief priests took the silver coins and said, “This is blood money, so it's not lawful to put this in the Temple treasury.” 7So they agreed to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. 8That's why the field is still called today the “Field of Blood.” 9This fulfilled the prophecy spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “They took thirty silver coins—the ‘value’ of the one who was bought at the price set by some of the children of Israel— 10and used them to pay for the potter's field, just as the Lord instructed me to do.”#27:10. See Zechariah 11:12-13, referencing Jeremiah 32:6-15.
11Jesus was brought before Pilate the governor who asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
“You said it,” Jesus replied. 12But when the chief priests and elders brought charges against him, Jesus did not answer.
13“Don't you hear how many charges they're bringing against you?” Pilate asked him. 14But Jesus didn't say anything, not a single word. This greatly surprised the governor.
15Now it was the custom of the governor to release to the crowd during the festival whichever prisoner they wanted. 16At that time a notorious prisoner was being held, a man named Barabbas. 17So Pilate asked the crowds that had gathered, “Who do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, called the Messiah?” 18(He had realized it was because of jealousy that they had handed Jesus over to him to be tried.) 19While he was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent a message to him that said, “Don't do anything to this innocent man, for I've suffered terribly today as a result of a dream about him.”
20But the chief priests and the elders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus put to death. 21When the governor asked them, “So which of the two do you want me to release to you?” they answered, “Barabbas.”
22“Then what shall I do with Jesus, called the Messiah?” he asked them.
They all shouted out, “Have him crucified!”
23“Why? What crime has he committed?” Pilate asked. But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
24When Pilate saw it was a lost cause, and that a riot was developing, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I'm innocent of this man's blood. It's on your heads!”#27:24. Literally, “see to it yourselves.” he told them. 25All the people answered, “His blood is on us, and on our children!” 26Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and sent to be crucified.
27The governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium#27:27. The military headquarters. and the whole battalion surrounded him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet cloak on him. 29They made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. They kneeled down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “We salute you, King of the Jews!” 30They spat on him, and took the stick and beat him over the head with it. 31When they'd finished mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 32On the way they found a man called Simon, from Cyrene, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
33When they arrived at Golgotha, meaning “Place of the Skull,” 34they gave him wine mixed with gall. But having tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35After they had crucified him, they rolled dice to divide his clothes between them.#27:35. See Psalms 22:18. 36Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37They placed a sign over his head with the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38They crucified two rebels with him, one on the right, and one on the left. 39Those who passed by shouted insults at him, shaking their heads, 40saying, “You who promised to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, why don't you save yourself! If you really are the Son of God, then come down from the cross.” 41The chief priests mocked him in the same way, along with the religious teachers and elders. 42“He saved other people, but he can't save himself!” they said. “If he really is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and then we'll believe him! 43He trusts God so confidently—well let God rescue him now if he wants him,#27:43. What makes this even worse is that they were quoting Scripture back at him: Psalms 22:8. because he claimed ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44The rebels who were crucified with him also insulted him in the same way.
45From noon until three o'clock darkness covered the whole country. 46At about three o'clock Jesus shouted out loud, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”#27:46. Quoting Psalms 22:1. 47When some of those standing there heard it, they said, “He's calling for Elijah!” 48Immediately one of them ran and grabbed a sponge, soaked it in vinegar, put it on a stick, and gave it to Jesus to drink.#27:48. See Psalms 69:21. 49But the others said, “Leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah will come and save him.”
50Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and breathed his last.#27:50. The expression is a Hebrew one meaning that he died. 51Right then the veil of the Temple was torn apart from top to bottom. The ground shook, the rocks split apart, 52and the graves were opened. Many of those who had lived good lives and had fallen asleep in death were raised to life. 53After the resurrection of Jesus they went out from the graveyards into the holy city#27:53. Referring to Jerusalem. where many people saw them.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what happened, they were terrified, and said, “This really was the Son of God!” 55Many women were also watching from a distance, those who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had supported him. 56These included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57When evening came, a rich man named Joseph, from Arimathea (who was also a disciple of Jesus), 58went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate ordered it to be handed over to him. 59Joseph took the body and wrapped it up in a fresh linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb, cut out of solid rock. He rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb, and left. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62The next day,#27:62. Referring to the Sabbath. after the Preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to see Pilate. 63They said to him, “Sir, we recall that the imposter said while he was still alive, ‘After three days, I'll rise again.’ 64Give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. That way his disciples can't come and steal his body and tell people that he was raised from the dead, and the deception in the end will become worse than it was at first.”
65“I'll give you a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Now go, and make it as secure as you possibly can.” 66So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the entrance stone and posting soldiers as guards.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com