THE DATE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. The point of difficult is _the day of the month._ Our Lord died on Friday, but from very early times there has been a dispute whether this Friday was the 15 th of Nisan, or the 14 th. The former view places the institution of the Lord's Supper at the regular time of ea... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:1. NOW WHEN MORNING WAS COME. Luke: ‘as soon as it was day;' comp. John 18:28. Probably about sunrise, since the twilight is short in that latitude. ALL THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE. The detailed statement of Mark (comp. Luke 22:66) shows that this was a formal meeting... [ Continue Reading ]
This morning meeting of the Sanhedrin is mentioned more particularly by Luke (Luke 22:66-71). They must apply to the Roman governor to have their formal sentence against Jesus executed. They first decide how to proceed (Matthew 27:1), and then the actual delivery took place (Matthew 27:2). The accou... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:2. AND THEY BOUND HIM. The bonds put on Him in the garden seem to have been removed sometime during the night. AND LED HIM AWAY. Probably in a solemn procession, with a view of influencing both the people and the governor. DELIVERED HIM UP. The same word often translated ‘betrayed.'... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:3. THEN JUDAS. Probably on Friday morning. WHEN HE SAW. This he could see from the procession to Pilate's judgment-hall. THAT HE WAS CONDEMNED. That Judas did not expect this issue, seems contrary to the words of his confession (Matthew 27:4). This circumstance shows that his object w... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:4. I SINNED. _‘_ Erred' is too weak. Although Judas had no real conception of the sinfulness of sin, his feeling was intense. All notions that he tried to make his guilt appear small seem to come from wrong views of his motives and of his remorse. Fearful sorrow for the consequences of si... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:5. FLUNG DOWN, with violence. IN THE SANCTUARY, _i.e.,_ ‘the holy place.' Either he stood just outside and spoke to the priests, who were in the holy place, or in his despair had even entered this forbidden place. In God's temple lay the money for which God's Son had been sold to death,... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:6. IT IS NOT LAWFUL, etc. Based upon Deuteronomy 23:18. What was put in the treasury was deemed an offering to God. SINCE IT IS THE PRICE OF BLOOD. They thus stigmatized the crime of their tool, but not their own. Too conscientious to defile the treasury, they were not afraid to defile... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:7. AND THEY TOOK COUNSEL. Probably soon after the crucifixion. THE POTTER'S FIELD. Some well known spot, of little value, because unfit for tillage. TO BURY STRANGERS IN. Not heathen, but either foreign Jews, or, as is more likely, proselytes of the gate. ‘The field of blood' would be... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:8. THE FIELD OF BLOOD. ‘Akeldama,' Acts 1:19. The stain of the blood money remained in the name. It belonged to the Latins until the fourteenth century and afterwards became the property of the Armenians. Until the present century it was used as a burial place. UNTO THIS DAY, _i.e.,_ wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:9. THEN WAS FULFILLED. The action of the Sanhedrin undesignedly fulfilled prophecy. JEREMIAH THE PROPHET. No such words can be found in the book of Jeremiah, but something very similar occurs in Zechariah 11:12. Explanations: (1) Zechariah was changed into Jeremiah. Of this there is no p... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:10. AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER'S FIELD. In the prophecy we read: ‘ _to_ the potter,' a phrase of which many fanciful explanations have been given. The thirty pieces were paid to the potter for the field, and we have here a simple expansion, showing the full symbolical meaning of th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:11. HOW JESUS STOOD BEFORE THE GOVERNOR. In ‘the judgment hall' (John 18:28), which the Sanhedrin did not enter for the fear of defilement. Failing to get Pilate's consent without inquiry, they charge Jesus with ‘saying, that he himself is Christ a king' (Luke 23:2). ART THOU THE KING O... [ Continue Reading ]
The account of Matthew is least detailed, but contains two incidents (Matthew 27:19; Matthew 27:24) peculiar to itself. The Jews first attempted to obtain Pilate's consent to the death of Jesus, without formal accusation (John 18:28-32). Failing in this they make the political charge (Luke 23:2). Th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:12. ACCUSED. When they sought to establish their charge. HE ANSWERED NOTHING, as before Caiaphas. An answer would not have convinced them, nor furthered Pilate's wish to release Him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:13. HOW MANY THINGS! Comp. Luke 22:5, as a specimen of the testimony, or accusations, they brought. The main charge was true in form, but false in fact: His claim to be a king was not a political offence. So as to the evidence: He had stirred up the people, etc., but not to mutiny or for... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:14. AND HE GAVE HIM NO ANSWER, not even to one word. This is the emphatic force of the original. MARVELLED GREATLY. The silence of our Lord continued until just before the final decision (see John 19:10-11). Those accused are not often silent, and Pilate had probably found the Jews trie... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:15. NOW AT THE FEAST, or ‘a feast' Annually at the Passover. WAS WONT. Expressly mentioned by three Evangelists. When the custom arose is unknown, but it was undoubtedly designed to soften the Roman yoke. A turbulent people always sympathizes with criminals condemned by hated rulers. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:16. A NOTABLE PRISONER. A leader in an insurrection in which he had committed murder (Mark and Luke). John calls him ‘a robber.' Probably one of the Zealots, of whom Josephus speaks. His crime was really political. BARABBAS, ‘Barabbas,' _i.e._, ‘the son of his father;' although other me... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:17. WHEN THEREFORE THEY WERE GATHERED TOGETHER. The Sanhedrin was gathered by Pilate himself, after Jesus had been sent back by Herod (Luke 23:7). As the morning wore on, there would be a greater crowd of others. JESUS WHO IS CALLED CHRIST. Pilate seems to have known of the Messianic cla... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:18. FOR ENVY, of His popularity. This implies that Pilate knew something of Jesus before; but it shows his injustice, in not protecting Him as innocent. Still Pilate, while not wishing to directly oppose the rulers, really desired to thwart them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:19. WHILE HE WAS SITTING. Probably while the people were considering the matter. THE JUDGMENT SEAT. A lofty seat of authority, usually on a stone pavement; comp. John 19:13. On this occasion he ascended the seat of judgment to receive the decision of the people, in the other case (in Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:20. NOW THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE ELDERS PERSUADED THE MULTITUDES. Probably while Pilate was receiving the message from his wife. The leaders ‘would say, Jesus had been condemned by the orthodox court. Barabbas was, on the contrary a champion of freedom; that Pilate wished to overthrow th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:21. BUT THE GOVERNOR ANSWERED. He may have tried to obtain a decision before the arguments of the rulers produced an effect, or simply to end the matter. BARABBAS. Pilate's cunning recoiled on himself. From this point he was committed against Jesus. When questions of justice are entrust... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:22. WHAT THEN SHALL I DO UNTO JESUS? An effort to escape the consequences of his previous false step by appealing to the people, perhaps also an expression of surprise. LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED. Pilate did not expect this. Their own law would have punished Jesus by stoning. But Pilate had p... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:23. WHAT EVIL HATH HE DONE? Pilate repeated this question three times, joining with it the proposal to chastise Him and let Him go (Luke 23:22). The only answer is a more excited demand, leading to an uproar. The persistence of Pilate shows his real desire to release Jesus. But the multit... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:24. WHEN PILATE SAW THAT HE PREVAILED NOTHING. The mob triumphed (see Luke 23:23). It was a dangerous time for an insurrection and Pilate would have been called to account for it, since the Jews were constantly presenting complaints at Rome. He could not have made a defence to his superio... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:25. HIS BLOOD, _i.e._, the guilt of the punishment, if He be innocent, BE UPON US. Pilate formally puts the responsibility upon them; but in a fanatical hate they assume it themselves, even adding, AND ON OUR CHILDREN. Peculiar to Matthew, who wrote mainly for Jewish Christians. The impre... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:26. AND JESUS HE SCOURGED. The guilty one was released, and the innocent one entered upon his punishment. Scourging usually preceded crucifixion. As Pilate made further attempts to release Jesus (John 19:4-15), some have thought that this scourging was not the one which usually preceded c... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:27. INTO THE PALACE, or, ‘praetorium.' The scourging had taken place outside. From Mark (Mark 15:16) we learn that it was into the court (comp. chap. Matthew 26:68). The word _praetorium_ was applied first to the general's tent in the Roman camp, then to the residence of the provincial go... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:28. AND THEY STRIPPED HIM. Some ancient authorities read ‘clothed him.' His clothing was replaced after the scourging, and probably also the robe which Herod had put on Him to mock Him (Luke 23:11), usually supposed to have been white, marking Him as a _candidate_ for royal honors. This r... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:29. A CROWN OF THORNS. This would wound as well as mock Him, though the latter was the chief design. It is difficult to determine what kind of thorns was used. Alford says: ‘Hasselquist, a Swedish naturalist, supposes a very common plant, _naba_ or _nubka_ of the Arabs, with many small an... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:30. AND THEY SPAT UPON HIM. The sport of wicked men wounds; if they are rough, it becomes brutality. Yet the Jews had done this (chap. Matthew 26:67); Herod had taught these rude soldiers how to mock, and Pilate invited them to do it. THE REED. The mock sceptre. There was an alternation... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:31. AND WHEN THEY HAD MOCKED HIM. After this occurred the presentation to the people (John 19:5) and Pilate's last attempt to release Him. But his previous permission of the mockery shows a great lack of moral earnestness. ‘The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.' Though Pilate was ne... [ Continue Reading ]
This section describes the _central fact of the world's history_. The accounts of the four Evangelists agree perfectly as to the main points; but each mentions circumstances omitted by the others. Matthew gives ‘the fullest statement of the blasphemy against Christ's Messianic dignity; and he alone... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:32. CAME OUT. From the city. Executions took place outside of the camp, here outside of the holy city. Numbers 15:35; 1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:56. This may have been the Roman custom also. As Pilate had no lictors, soldiers led our Lord forth; a centurion (Matthew 27:54) as usual headed the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:33. GOLGOTHA, that is to say, Place of a Skull. The name is the form then used, for the Hebrew word ‘skull' (comp. Luke 23:33, where ‘Calvary' means simply _skull)._ It is very unlikely that it was the place of execution, and that the name arose from the skulls of the criminals lying ther... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:34. WINE, according to the best authorities; but the sour wine used might be called ‘vinegar.' See Luke 23:36, where the ‘vinegar' offered Him by the soldiers must have been their ordinary drinking wine; comp. Matthew 27:49; Psalms 69:21. MINGLED WITH GALL. Mark: ‘myrrh.' The term ‘gall... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:35. A ND WHEN THEY HAD CRUCIFIED HIM. Here occurs His touching prayer for the soldiers (Luke 23:34). To all the physical torture described in the note on ‘the cross,' we must in this case add the result of these upon a soul sensitive and capable of suffering beyond all human comparison: t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:36. AND THEY SAT AND WATCHED HIM THERE. This was usual, to prevent the condemned from being taken down. ‘In this case they had a peaceful bivouac which assumed a significant meaning.'... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:37. AND THEY SET UP OVER HIS HEAD. Not necessarily the soldiers. It was customary for the person to be crucified to carry ‘a title,' suspended from his neck, to the place of execution. Pilate had written this title, in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and it was undoubtedly intended mainly to mo... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:38. THEN. Luke (Luke 23:32) tells us that the two robbers were led out with Him. TWO ROBBERS. Probably associates of Barabbas, and hence placed on either side of Jesus, who had taken the punishment due to Barabbas. This proceeding carries out the mockery implied in the title; these two... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:39. THEY THAT PASSED BY. People walking about, probably coming that way, for the purpose of seeing the execution. The morbid taste for horrors no doubt existed then, and popular hatred was aroused. Besides, the dignitaries were there (Matthew 27:41)! The elevation seems to have formed a n... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:40. THOU THAT DESTROYEST THE TEMPLE, etc. The testimony before the Sanhedrin (chap. Matthew 26:61) was taken up by the citizens of Jerusalem, who were proud of their temple. Such taunting of one executed has been repeated often enough, and does not, in itself, show that these spectators w... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:41. IN LIKE MANNER ALSO THE CHIEF PRIESTS, etc. All classes of the Sanhedrin were represented, probably in large numbers, and their taunt is of a public, national character. Thus the chief ecclesiastical personages acted on the great festival day of their religion. The language is differe... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:42. HE SAVED OTHERS. This may be ironical, or it is a recognition of His miracles of mercy, to taunt Him with a supposed loss of power just when He needed it most for Himself. His very mercy is used in mockery. HE IS THE KING OF ISRAEL, etc. Ironical, with a mocking suggestion of still... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:43. HE TRUSTETH ON GOD. In their mockery they repeat almost the very language of Psalms 22:8. Their Pharisaical scrupulousness made them substitute ‘God' for ‘Jehovah,' which occurs in the Psalm, and which the Jews would not utter. Yet that Psalm was now finding its fulfilment, and the ve... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:44. THE ROBBERS ALSO EAST THE SAME IN HIS TEETH, or ‘cast on him the same reproaches.' Luke alone tells of the penitence of one (see Luke 23:30-43). Both probably at first reproach Him, out one was afterwards converted, during the three hours they hung side by side. It is not satisfactory... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:45. N OW FROM THE SIXTH HOUR. Twelve o'clock. The nailing to the cross took place at nine o'clock (Mark 15:25: ‘It was the third hour'). John (John 19:14) says that it was' about the sixth hour,' when Pilate presented our Lord to the people for the last time. Whatever be the explanation o... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:46. AND ABOUT THE NINTH HOUR. During the three hours of darkness, our Lord was silent. He seems not to have become gradually exhausted, for after nearly six hours on the cross, according to three Evangelists, Jesus cried out with a loud voice (comp. Matthew 27:50). The agony resembles tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:47. THIS MAN CALLETH ELIJAH. The resemblance between the word ‘Eli' and the name Elijah is very close in the original. There is here an allusion to the belief that Elijah would come before the Messiah, and hence a sarcastic denial of His Messiahship. A real misapprehension of His language... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:48. STRAIGHTWAY ONE OF THEM. This was occasioned by our Lord's cry: ‘I thirst' (John 19:28), but all occurred in quick succession. TOOK A SPONGE. It would be impossible to use a cup. VINEGAR. The sour wine (without the ‘myrrh') used by the soldiers, and placed there in a vessel for th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:49. AND THE REST SAID, WAIT, etc. According to Mark, the man himself says this; giving Him the vinegar, in mingled pity and contempt, he probably responded in the same mocking tone to the jest of the others. The latter say, Wait, do not thus sustain Him; for He is expecting Elijah to help... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:50. CRIED AGAIN WITH A LOUD VOICE. The last words were those recorded in Luke 23:46: ‘Father, into thy hands,' etc., immediately preceded by the triumphant cry: ‘It is finished' (John 19:30). The order of the Seven Words (as they are called) is: Before the darkness: 1. The prayer of Chris... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:51. THE VAIL OF THE TEMPLE, etc. The vail before the Holy of Holies, separating it from the Holy Place. This may have been a result of the convulsion mentioned in the next clause, but the accounts do not indicate this. Supernatural agency is more than probable in view of the significance... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:52-53. THE TOMBS WERE OPENED. The Jewish tombs, unlike our own, were natural or artificial excavations in rocks, the entrance being closed by a door or a large stone. These, the stone doors of the tombs, were removed, probably by the force of the earthquake, to testify that Christ's death... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:54. THE CENTURION, who superintended the execution. AND THEY THAT WARE WITH HIM. The soldiers, as is evident from the phrase: watching him. Mark and Luke speak of the centurion only, the latter adding the general consternation of other spectators. THE THINGS THAT WERE DONE, _i.e_. _,_... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:55. MANY WOMEN. Luke (Luke 23:49) speaks of ‘all His acquaintance' before these women. John was certainly present, probably some of the other disciples. BEHOLDING FROM AFAR. At one time a few ventured near the cross (John 19:25-27), but not ‘many.' WHO HAD FOLLOWED. For some time, sin... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:56. AMONG WHOM, the ministering women, who stood there. MARY MAGDALENE. Mentioned first here and in Luke 8:2 (among those who ministered to Him). Comp. chap. Matthew 28:2; John 20:1; John 20:11-18. There is no evidence that she was the sinful woman who anointed our Lord's feet in the hou... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:57. WHEN EVENING WAS COME. The first evening before sundown, at which time the bodies must be removed (Deuteronomy 21:23). Our Lord's death took place at three in the afternoon. THERE CAME A RICH MAN. Probably, to the company of women standing on Golgotha (Matthew 27:56). His going to P... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR LORD'S INTENSE AGONY OF MIND no doubt hastened death, although viewed in another aspect, it may be said, that the Saviour hastened His death by a voluntary self-surrender which the Father accepted (comp. Luke 23:46). The evidence of His death to the soldiers was the incident mentioned John 19:34... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:58. THIS MAN WENT TO PILATE. To the palace. ‘He went in boldly' (Mark 15:43). Although it was the Jewish custom to bury the bodies of the crucified before sunset, Pilate's consent was necessary. On Pilate's surprise, see Mark 15:44. THEN PILATE COMMANDED. The ready consent may have been... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:59. AND JOSEPH TOOK IT. The body was taken down by Joseph (Mark, Luke, and John). WRAPPED IT IN A CLEAN LINEN CLOTH. A winding sheet. This would enclose the spices used in the temporary embalming, which now took place, Nicodemus having brought the spices (John 19:39-40). There was not t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:60. IN HIS OWN NEW TOMB. Peculiar to Matthew, but implied in the other accounts. The fact that it was ‘new' (comp. Luke 23:53; John 19:41), seems designed to overcome any suspicion as to the identity of Him who rose. The location was in a ‘garden' (John 19:41), near the spot of the crucif... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:61. WAS THERE, at the tomb. THE OTHER MARY. ‘The mother of Joses' (Mark 15:47 _),_ already mentioned in Matthew 27:56. According to Luke the female disciples from Galilee all beheld the sepulchre, and returned to prepare spices and ointments, resting on the Sabbath, which began that eve... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:62. THE MORROW, WHICH IS THE DAY AFTER THE PREPARATION. The day of the preparation was Friday, as is plain from Mark 15:45. ‘The morrow' was therefore the Jewish Sabbath, though it is not called so here. The first day of the Passover (Friday) was in one sense a Sabbath, hence this designa... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:63. WE REMEMBER, etc. Comp. chap. Matthew 12:40 _; John 2:19. Even if the meaning of the saving was hid from the disciples; enmity was quick to apprehend it_ THAT DECEIVER. The language of triumph, despite their request. Friends and foes were both busied about the dead Christ.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:64. UNTIL THE THIRD DAY, from His death, the third after and including Friday. The best authorities omit ‘by night _.'_ WORSE THAN THE FIRST. The claim to be the Messiah, etc., was in their view the first deceit. As regards the effects of a belief in the resurrection, they judged rightl... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:65. YE HAVE A GUARD, or, ‘have a guard,' _i.e._, I permit you to take one. The Roman soldiers, who certainly composed the guard (chap. Matthew 28:14), were not under their command. MAKE IT SURE AS YE KNOW HOW. Not ‘as sure as ye can,' nor is it at all ironical. He gives them the guard,... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 27:66. SEALING THE STONE. A string was stretched across the stone, and sealed to the rock at either end, with wax or sealing-clay. After these precautions, the body could not disappear, except through the miracle of the resurrection.... [ Continue Reading ]