Matthew 27

1 – 2
Early the next morning, all the leading priests and elders of the people decided to kill Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.

People who hate the Bible used to say there was no such person as Pilate. In 1961 a stone tablet was discovered which said, “Pontius Pilate…governor of Judea.”

3 – 5

Judas 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 sorry for what he had done. So he took the 30 silver coins back to the priests and the leaders. Judas said, “I sinned. I gave you an innocent man to be killed.”

The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That is your problem, not ours.” So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.

We see that Judas is not sorry for what he had done but he just felt bad that it did not work the way he thought it would.

Judas, Pilate and the thief on the cross all said that Jesus was innocent. This was written so that those who read the story can see that the people who lived at the time knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was dying for our sins and not for anything that He had done.

6 – 10

The 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.”

So 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. That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood.

So the thing came true that the prophet had said [in the section of Jeremiah]: “They took 30 silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. They used those 30 silver coins to buy Potter’s Field, as the Lord commanded me.”

The Jewish Bible has a section for prophets under the heading of Jeremiah. Zechariah is part of that section of their Bible.
And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter —this large sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the LORD. Zechariah 11:13

11. Jesus stood before Pilate the governor. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”

Jesus is saying, “You are saying this because I am a King. You are the one acting as a witness in this trial.”

12 – 14

When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing. So Pilate said to Jesus, “Do you not hear these people accusing you of all these things?” But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate. Pilate was very surprised at this.
This was one of the devil’s ideas in the book of Job. He says, “Come on, you must have done something wrong. I am going to tell everyone about you! Not even God can help you now! God is angry at you and has turned you over to me.” Lies!

15 – 18

Every 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. At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.

All the people gathered at Pilate’s house. Pilate said, “Which man do you want me to free: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?” Pilate knew that they gave Jesus to him because they were jealous.

They want a man named Barabbas who is rebelling against Rome after accusing Jesus of rebelling against Rome! Luke 23:19

Barabbas knew what it was like to have somebody die in his place. We wonder if Barabbas later heard the Gospel and understood what had happened. It is amazing how there are police officers and firefighters and soldiers dying for us almost every day and we rarely think about it.

19. Pilate 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, “Do not do anything to that man. He is not guilty. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”

Pilate went back and forth several times trying to work out a way to keep from killing Jesus. One reason was because his wife warned him not to.

20 – 21

But the leading priests and elders told the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed. Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?” The people answered, “Barabbas!”

Every man should ask himself what he will do with Jesus who has done nothing wrong to us. The cross would mean that they cannot stone Jesus because Psalm 22 says the Messiah would not have any broken bones.

22. Pilate asked, “What should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?” They all answered, “Kill him on a cross!”

Pilate had no peace of mind about this and was looking for a way to let Jesus go. Unbelievers have no peace of mind about Jesus and are always looking for a way to get rid of him.

23 – 25

Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this, and a riot was starting.

So he took some water and washed his hands 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!”

All the people answered, “We will be responsible. We accept for ourselves and for our children any punishment for his death.”

God is holy and no sin can come into His presence. All men have sinned so there was no way for us to come to God. Jesus death paid the penalty for all of our sin. We cannot look down on these Jews who did not really know what they were doing. History shows that the Jews did bring a curse on themselves. But all of us have lived under the curse of sin so we cannot think of ourselves as any better!

26 – 31

Then 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.

Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around Jesus. They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. Then 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!” They spit on Jesus. Then they took his stick and hit him on the head many times. After 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.

Can you see that God said all these things would happen to Jesus and there is no one else in history who has lived through all these things?

They were mocking God’s right to be king over men. Isaiah said these things would happen:
I offered My back to those who beat Me and My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard. I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting. Isaiah 50:6

32. The 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 [Libya].
This family was known by the early Christians. Romans 16:13, Acts 13:1

33. They all came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.)

Some teachers disagree, but it is very interesting that there is a small hill still standing in Jerusalem with holes in the rocks and it looks like a skull. Hebrews 13:12, Genesis 22:6
34. At Golgotha, the soldiers gave Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with gall. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it.

Jesus refused to take any medicine to help His pain. He was willing to suffer for every evil thing we have done without complaining.

35. The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. They threw dice to decide who would get his clothes.

They divide My clothes among themselves and throw dice for My clothing. Psalm 22:18

36 – 37

The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. They 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.”

Paul says something like this which shows that the devil would like to put a sign over our heads to condemn us and accuse us as sinners to the world. Colossians 2:14

38 – 40

Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, saying, “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!”

He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal. Isaiah 53:9

41 – 44

The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also there. These men made fun of Jesus and 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. He trusts in God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And in the same way, the robbers who were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.

No man will save himself if he has made up his mind to save someone else from death. They would not believe even if He did come down from the cross. They agree that He saved other people. Some of those people could have been in the crowd.

45 – 46

At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. About 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?”

God turned away from Jesus because of our sin that He took onto Himself. Pray that you never get yourself into a place where God has to turn away from you because of your sin.

47 – 49

Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.” Quickly 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. But the others said, “Do not bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

Jesus refused to take any medicine to help His pain. He was willing to suffer for every evil thing we have done without complaining.

50. Again Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Then he died.

No one can take My life away from Me, but I lay it down Myself. John 10:18

51 – 54

Then the curtain in the Temple 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. The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from death. They went into the holy city, and many people saw them.

The 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!”

This curtain was very thick and was very high up. The priests would see this and know that no man could have done this. The way is now open for us to come before God without a priest or a curtain between us.

55 – 56

Many women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. These were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.

These women had done the cooking and other things so that the ministry could keep going.

57 – 61

That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. He was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea. Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give it to Joseph. Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. He 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. Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.

Joseph from Arimathea was a rich man and would not want to be buried next to a place where criminals were hung on crosses.

He bought this tomb because it was close by and it was time to get ready for the Sabbath. Some teachers do not agree but there is a tomb exactly like the one shown to us in the Gospels still there in Jerusalem. Next to the hill that looks like a skull. It is an empty tomb, just as the Bible said it was.

62 – 64

That day was the day called Preparation Day. The next day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from death.’

So 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.”

The Jews come to do business with Pilate on the Sabbath. We see how they made a big thing about Jesus doing some things on the Sabbath but they have no problem doing what they want. This is how evil people live: “Do as I say not how I do!”

65 – 66

Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” So 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.

It sounds like Pilate is saying that all they can do is try to guard the tomb. Maybe Pilate was waiting to see if Jesus would come back from the dead.

This reminds us of men today who try to say that Jesus did not come back from the dead. All they can do is try but they will not be able to hold back the truth and God will keep showing it to them.

The penalty for the Roman soldiers would be death if they did not do their job.