Matthew 27:47

They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof he would not drink They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. For the exposition, see the notes at John 19:18....

47._He calleth Elijah. _Those who consider this as spoken by the soldiers, ignorant and unskilled in the Syriac language, and unacquainted with the Jewish religion, and who imagine that the soldiers blundered through a resemblance of the words, are, in my opinion, mistaken. I do not think it at all probable that they erred through ignorance, but rather that they deliberately intended to mock Christ, and to turn his prayer into an occasion of slander. For Satan has no method more effectual for ruining the salvation of the godly, than by dissuading them from calling on God. For this reason, he employs his agents to drive off from us, as far as he can, the desire to pray. Thus he impelled the wicked enemies of Christ basely to turn his prayer into derision, intending by this stratagem to strip him of his chief armor. And certainly it is a very grievous temptation, when prayer appears to be...

45-50 During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's displeasure against the sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an offering. Never were there three such hours since the day God created man upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene; it was the turning point of that great affair, man's redemption and salvation. Jesus uttered a complaint from Psalms 22:1. Hereby he teaches of what use the word of God is to direct us in prayer, and recommends the use of Scripture expressions in prayer. The believer may have tasted some drops of bitterness, but he can only form a very feeble idea of the greatness of Christ's sufferings. Yet, hence he learns something of the Saviour's love to sinners; hence he gets deeper conviction of the vileness and evil of sin, and of what he owes to Christ, w...

Verse 47. _THIS_ MAN _CALLETH FOR ELIAS._] Probably these were _Hellenistic_ Jews, who did not fully understand the meaning of our Lord's words. Elijah was daily expected to appear as the forerunner of the Messiah, whose arrival, under the character of a mighty prince, was generally supposed to be at hand throughout the east. See Malachi 4:5; Matthew 2:2; Matthew 17:10....

THIS MAN CALLETH FOR ELIAS - This was done purposely to deride him and his pretensions to be the Messiah. The words “Eli, Eli,” they might easily pretend that they understood to mean Elias, or so pervert them. The taunt would be more cutting, because it was the universal belief of the Jews, as well as the doctrine of Christ, that “Elias” would come before the Messiah. They derided him now, as calling upon “Elias” when God would not help him; still keeping up the pretensions to being the Messiah, and invoking “Elijah” to come from the dead to aid him. Or it is possible that this might have been said by some bystanders who did not understand the language in which he spoke, or who might not have been near enough to hear him distinctly....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 27:1, MATTHEW 27:2 _Jesus brought to Pilate. _(Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66; Luke 23:1; John 18:28.) MATTHEW 27:1 WHEN THE MORNING WAS COME. This is the early morning of Good Friday, the 14th of Nisan. If the rulers had had special regard to legality, they could not have co

SOME OF THEM THAT STOOD THERE,.... Near the cross, looking on, and mocking at him, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT; the words, "Eli, Eli", spoken by Christ, SAID, THIS MAN CALLETH FOR ELIAS. These could not be the Roman soldiers that said so, who had no notion of Elias; rather the Hellenistic Jews, who not so well understanding the Hebrew language, hearing the above words, and having some notion of the prophet Elias, fancied he was calling for him; though it seems most likely to be the Jews, who either through the nearness of the sound of the words, and mistake of them, and not near enough to hear and distinguish them, really thought he called for that prophet; or rather wilfully mistook him, with an intent to banter and ridicule him....

We are now to read about our Lord before Pontius Pilate. Matthew 27:15. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus wh

CHAPTER 27 1. Delivered unto Pilate.(Matthew 27:1 .) 2. The Suicide of Judas.(Matthew 27:3 .) 3. Before Pilate. (Matthew 27:11 .) 4. The Awful Choice.(Matthew 27:15 .) 5. Crowned with Thorns and Crucified.(Matthew 27:27 .) 6. The Death of the King. (Matthew 27:45 .) 7. The Rent Veil and the Earthquake.(Matthew 27:51 .) 8. The Burial. ...

THE DEATH OF JESUS (Mark 15:33 *, Luke 23:44). Matthew 27:48 f. is to be preferred to Mark 15:36. vv. Matthew 27:51 is found only in Mt., and may have as its basis Ezekiel 37:12. AFTER HIS RESURRECTION: a still later insertion to fit the statement that Christ was the first fruits of them that sleep. We can hardly suppose that the original account of the miracle represented them as staying alive in their tombs from Friday afternoon till Sunday morn