Matthew 27
27
Jesus Handed Over to Pilate
1When daybreak came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death.#Mk 15:1; Lk 22:66; Jn 18:28 2After tying him up, they led him away and handed him over to Pilate,#27:2 Other mss read Pontius Pilate the governor.#Mt 20:19; Lk 13:1; Ac 3:13; 1Tm 6:13
Judas Hangs Himself
3Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.#Mt 21:29; 26:14–15 4“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
“What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!” 5So he threw the silver into the temple#2Sm 17:23; Lk 1:19,21; Ac 1:18 and departed. Then he went and hanged himself.
6The chief priests took the silver and said, “It’s not permitted#Mk 2:24; Jn 18:31 to put it into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” 7They conferred together and bought the potter’s field with it as a burial place for foreigners. 8Therefore that field has been called “Field of Blood” to this day. 9Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: They took#27:9 Or I took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him whose price was set by the Israelites, 10and they gave#27:10 Some mss read I gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.#27:9–10Jr 32:6–9; Zch 11:12–13#Jr 32:6–9; Zch 11:12–13; Mt 1:22
Jesus Faces the Governor
11Now Jesus stood before the governor.#Mk 15:2–5; Lk 23:2–3; Jn 18:29–38 “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
Jesus answered, “You say so.”#Mt 2:2; 1Tm 6:13 12While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he didn’t answer.#Mt 26:63; Jn 19:9
13Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how much they are testifying against you?” 14But he didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.#Mk 15:5; Lk 23:9
Jesus or Barabbas
15At the festival#Mk 15:6–15; Lk 23:16–25; Jn 18:39–40; 19:16 the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.#27:16 Other mss read Jesus Barabbas, also in v. 17 17So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you — Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” #Mt 1:16; 27:22 18For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over.
19While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of him.”#Gn 20:6; Nm 12:6; Jb 33:14–16; Mt 2:12; Jn 19:13
20The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. 21The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”
“Barabbas!” they answered.
22Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
They all answered, “Crucify him!” #Mt 1:16; Ac 13:28
23Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!” #Lk 23:41; Jn 8:46
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.#27:24 Other mss read this righteous man’s blood See to it yourselves!” #Dt 21:6–8; Ps 26:6; Mt 26:5; 27:4,19
25All the people answered, “His blood be on us#Jos 2:19; Ac 5:28 and on our children!” 26Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.#Is 53:5; Mk 15:15; Lk 23:16; Jn 19:1
Mocked by the Military
27Then#Mk 15:16–20; Jn 19:2–3 the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company#27:27 Lit cohort around him.#Jn 18:28,33; 19:9; Ac 10:1 28They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe.#Lk 23:11; Jn 19:2 29They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. 31After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.#Is 53:7; Mt 26:67
Crucified Between Two Criminals
32As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.#Nm 15:35; Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26; Heb 13:12 33When they came to a place called Golgotha#Mk 15:22–32; Lk 23:33–43; Jn 19:17–24 (which means Place of the Skull), 34they gave him wine#27:34 Other mss read sour wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots.#27:35 Other mss add that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: “They divided my clothes among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”#Ps 22:17; 69:21 36Then they sat down and were guarding him there. 37Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
38Then two criminals#27:38 Or revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.#Is 53:12; Mt 20:21; Jn 18:40 39Those who passed by were yelling insults at#27:39 Lit passed by blasphemed, or were blaspheming him, shaking their heads#Jb 16:4; Ps 22:7; 109:25; Lm 2:15; Mk 15:29 40and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” #Mt 4:3,6; 26:61,63; Jn 2:19 41In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders,#27:41 Other mss add and Pharisees mocked him and said, 42“He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel!#Jn 1:49; 12:13 Let him#27:42 Other mss read If he ... Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God; let God rescue him now — if he takes pleasure in him!#27:43 Or if he wants him For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.#Ps 22:8; Lk 23:39–43
The Death of Jesus
45From noon until three in the afternoon,#27:45 Lit From the sixth hour to the ninth hour darkness came over the whole land.#27:45 Or whole earth#Mk 15:33–41; Lk 23:44–49; Jn 19:28–30 46About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá#27:46 Some mss read lama; other mss read lima sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”#27:46Ps 22:1#Ps 22:1; Heb 5:7
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink.#Ps 69:21; Mk 15:36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:29 49But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.#Mk 15:37; Lk 23:46; Jn 10:18; 19:30 51Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary#Ex 26:31–33; 2Ch 3:14; Heb 9:3 was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs were also opened#Ezk 37:12 and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
54When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” #Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2
55Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him were there, watching from a distance.#Ps 38:11; Lk 8:2–3; Jn 19:25 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.#Mt 20:20; Mk 15:40; Jn 19:25
The Burial of Jesus
57When it was evening,#Mk 15:42–47; Lk 23:50–56; Jn 19:38–42 a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple#Mt 10:42; 28:19; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31; 13:35; 15:8; Ac 6:1 of Jesus. 58He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it#27:58 Other mss read that the body be released. 59So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.#Is 53:9; Mt 27:66; 28:2; Mk 16:4 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb.
The Closely Guarded Tomb
62The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate#Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54; Jn 19:14,31,42 63and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’#Mt 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:19; Mk 8:31; 10:34; Lk 9:22; 18:33 64So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65“Take#27:65 Or “You have guards,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.#Dn 6:17; Mt 28:2,11
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Matthew 27: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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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