Matthew 27
27
Judah’s Remorse
1When daybreak came, the ruling kohanim and elders of the people conspired against Yeshua to put Him to death.
2And they tied Him up, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor.
3Then Judah, His betrayer, saw that Yeshua had been condemned. Feeling remorse, he brought the thirty silver pieces back to the ruling kohanim and elders,
4saying, “I’ve sinned, betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What’s that to us? You see to it yourself!”
5After tossing the silver into the Temple sanctuary, he left. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6But the ruling kohanim took the silver pieces and said, “It is not permitted to put these in the treasury, since it is blood money.”
7So after they conferred, they bought with them the potter’s field, as a cemetery for strangers.
8For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day.
9Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty silver pieces, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by Bnei-Yisrael;
10and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as Adonai arranged for me.”
“Kill the King!”
11Now Yeshua stood before the governor. The governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You say so,” Yeshua said.
12And while He was accused by the ruling kohanim and elders, He did not answer.
13Then Pilate said to Him, “Don’t You hear how many things they testify against you?”
14Yeshua did not answer, not even one word, so the governor was greatly amazed.
15Now during the feast, the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner, anyone they wanted.
16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Yeshua Bar-Abba.
17So when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release for you? Yeshua who is Bar-Abba, or Yeshua who is called Messiah?”
18For he knew that they had handed Him over out of envy.
19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Don’t have anything to do with that righteous Man, for today I’ve suffered many things in a dream because of Him.”
20Now the ruling kohanim and elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Bar-Abba and destroy Yeshua.
21But the governor responded, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Bar-Abba!”
22Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Yeshua, who is called Messiah?” “Execute Him!” all of them say.
23But Pilate said, “Why? What evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Let Him be executed!”
24When Pilate saw he was accomplishing nothing, but instead a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this blood,” he said. “You see to it yourselves!”
25All the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26Then he released to them Bar-Abba. And after he had Yeshua scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Nailed to a Stake
27Then the governor’s soldiers took Yeshua into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around Him.
28They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe around Him.
29And after braiding a crown of thorns, they placed it on His head and put a staff in His right hand. And falling on their knees before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
30They spat on Him, and they took the staff and beat Him over and over on the head.
31When they finished mocking Him, they stripped the robe off Him and put His own clothes back on Him. And they led Him away to crucify Him.
32As they came out, they found a man from Cyrene, Simon by name. They forced him into service, to carry Yeshua’s cross-beam.
33And when they came to a place called Golgotha (that is to say, Place of a Skull),
34they offered Him wine mixed with gall to drink; but after tasting, He was unwilling to drink it.
35And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothing among themselves by casting lots.
36And they sat down and kept guard over Him there.
37Over His head they put the charge against Him, which read: “THIS IS YESHUA, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38Then two outlaws were executed with Him, one on the right and one on the left.
39Those passing by were jeering at Him, shaking their heads
40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are Ben-Elohim, come down from the stake!”
41Likewise the ruling kohanim, along with the Torah scholars and elders, were also mocking Him.
42“He saved others,” they were saying, “but He can’t save Himself? He’s the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the stake, and we’ll believe in Him!
43He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim.’”
44Even the outlaws who were executed with Him were ridiculing Him in the same way.
Yeshua Lays Down His Life
45Now from the sixth hour, darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
46About the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”
47When some of those standing there heard it, they began saying, “This Man is calling for Elijah.”
48Right away one of them ran and took a sponge. He filled it with sour wine and put it on a stick, and was offering it to Yeshua to drink.
49But the rest were saying, “Leave Him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
50And Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.
51And behold, the curtain of the Temple was split in two, from top to bottom. And the earth quaked and rocks were split apart.
52And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the kedoshim who were sleeping were raised to life.
53And coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54Now the centurion, and those with him keeping guard over Yeshua, when they saw the earthquake and what was happening, they became terribly frightened and said, “This really was the Son of God!”
The Tomb Is Sealed
55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Yeshua from the Galilee, serving Him.
56Among them were Miriam from Magdala, Miriam the mother of Jacob and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
57Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had also become a disciple of Yeshua.
58This man went to Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. Then Pilate ordered it to be given up.
59And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.
60And he laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone up to the door of the tomb and went away.
61Now Miriam from Magdala was there, and the other Miriam, sitting opposite the tomb.
Guarding the Tomb
62Now on the next day, which is after the preparation, the ruling kohanim and Pharisees were gathered before Pilate.
63“Sir,” they said, “we remember how that deceiver said while He was still alive, ‘After three days I’m to be raised.’
64Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, so His disciples do not come and steal Him away. They will tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first!”
65“You have a guard,” Pilate said to them. “Go, make it as secure as you know how.”
66So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone along with the soldiers of the guard.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Matthew 27
27
Thirty Silver Coins
1-2In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.
3-4Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”
They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”
5Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.
6-10The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.” They decided to get rid of it by buying the “Potter’s Field” and use it as a burial place for the homeless. That’s how the field got called “Murder Meadow,” a name that has stuck to this day. Then Jeremiah’s words became history:
They took the thirty silver pieces,
The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel,
And they purchased the potter’s field.
And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.
Pilate
11Jesus was placed before the governor, who questioned him: “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
Jesus said, “If you say so.”
12-14But when the accusations rained down hot and heavy from the high priests and religious leaders, he said nothing. Pilate asked him, “Do you hear that long list of accusations? Aren’t you going to say something?” Jesus kept silence—not a word from his mouth. The governor was impressed, really impressed.
15-18It was an old custom during the Feast for the governor to pardon a single prisoner named by the crowd. At the time, they had the infamous Jesus Barabbas in prison. With the crowd before him, Pilate said, “Which prisoner do you want me to pardon: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Christ?” He knew it was through sheer spite that they had turned Jesus over to him.
19While court was still in session, Pilate’s wife sent him a message: “Don’t get mixed up in judging this noble man. I’ve just been through a long and troubled night because of a dream about him.”
20Meanwhile, the high priests and religious leaders had talked the crowd into asking for the pardon of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.
21The governor asked, “Which of the two do you want me to pardon?”
They said, “Barabbas!”
22“Then what do I do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?”
They all shouted, “Nail him to a cross!”
23He objected, “But for what crime?”
But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was imminent, he took a basin of water and washed his hands in full sight of the crowd, saying, “I’m washing my hands of responsibility for this man’s death. From now on, it’s in your hands. You’re judge and jury.”
25The crowd answered, “We’ll take the blame, we and our children after us.”
26Then he pardoned Barabbas. But he had Jesus whipped, and then handed over for crucifixion.
The Crucifixion
27-31The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red robe. They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion.
32-34Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus’ cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call “Skull Hill,” they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn’t drink it.
35-40After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they killed time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
41-44The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—he can’t save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his ‘Son’ now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God’s Son, didn’t he?” Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.
45-46From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47-49Some bystanders who heard him said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him.”
50But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
54The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
55-56There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.
The Tomb
57-61Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.
62-64After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, “Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ We’ve got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There’s a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, ‘He’s risen from the dead.’ Then we’ll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first.”
65-66Pilate told them, “You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can.” So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.