Matthew 27:45-49

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

sixth hour = noon

ninth hour = 3 p.m.

darkness - supernatural

In Matthew, Jesus' cry (v 46) is partly in Hebrew (Eli = "My God") and the rest in Aramaic. The words are a quote from Psalm 22:1.

"These words mark the climax of the suffering of Christ for a lost world. Here He drank to the dregs the cup of sorrow, grief, and pain on our behalf. In these hours when the sun refused to shine upon suffering deity, Jesus found fitting expression to His feeling of desolation in the words of the Psalmist. Isaiah had given a vivid portrayal of the suffering Servant who was to be 'wounded for our transgressions.' John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as 'the Lamb of God that taketh away the collective sin of a world of sinners.' Christ gave Himself a 'ransom for many.' Him who knew no sin God 'made sin' for us. On the cross Christ became a 'curse for us' and so redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are 'redeemed by the precious blood of Christ' shed on Calvary. He gave Himself a 'ransom for all.' The writers of the Gospels make it plain that Jesus 'had a baptism to be baptized with' and a 'cup to drink.' Paul and other writers of the epistles lay out clearly the same plan of redemption. Jesus had to pay the price alone and tasted death — spiritual death — for every man. Spiritual death is broken communion. Jesus had a taste of such a broken communion, the first and last He ever experienced — in those desolate hours when darkness lay upon the earth and upon His soul. That is the reason He used the words of distressed astonishment: Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani (Hebrew) — 'My God, My God, to what end or purpose hast Thou forsaken Me?' Christ’s cry, 'Why have you forsaken me?' testified to the fact that He had here entered into spiritual death — separation from God as the sinner's Substitute. His physical death would soon follow as He fully tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9)." (Pentecost)

Elijah - "Some listeners made a poor guess as to what Christ was saying and mistook 'Eli' for 'Elijah.'" (Ryrie)

put it on a reed - "To raise it to His lips." (Ryrie)

Matthew 27:35-44

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and 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.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

divided his garments among them - "The victim's clothes were spoils for his executions." (Ryrie)

casting lots - prophesied in Psalm 22:18

kept watch - stood guard

over His head - "A board on which the crime of the condemned was written was generally carried before the criminal, who was led forth to the place of execution through the crowded streets. This custom was most likely followed with our Lord. Pilate himself had the superscription drawn up and it was written in three languages: Latin, Greek and the Aramaean dialect of Hebrew. The one here in Matthew was undoubtedly the Latin inscription, while the fullest, as reported by John 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews' was written in Arameaen and the one in Mark 'The King of the Jews' is the Greek inscription. Pilate could not help himself, he had to write as he did, though he may have had the thought in mind to avenge himself and to mock the Jews." (Gaebelein)

"To the soldiers, the charge would be considered insurrection.  His cross was in the traditional shape pictured in Christian art, with room over the crossbeam for this sign." (Ryrie)

two robbers - prophesied in Isaiah 53:12

wagging their heads - A Near Eastern gesture of scorn - prophesied in Psalm 22:7-8

You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days - "See Matthew 26:61, where this accusation was made at Jesus' trial.  Jesus' statement is recorded in John 2:19." (Ryrie)

let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him - "On the Jews requiring a miraculous sign to believe, see Matthew 12:38; 16:1." (Ryrie)

Matthew 27:27-34

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 

The scarlet robe, crown and reed (vs 28-29) were to mock His claims to be a king.

Praetorium (the word some translations use in vs 27, but probably better translated "governor's headquarters") - "Pilate's residence in Jerusalem.  This was probably in the Castle of Antonia, near the Temple, though it may have been located near Herod's palace." (Ryrie)

whole battalion - "One-tenth of a legion, about 300-600 men." (Ryrie)

struck Him on the head - As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—(Isaiah 52:14).

to crucify him - "A painful and slow means of execution that the Romans adopted from the Phoenicians.  The victim usually died after two or three days.  The process of dying included thirst, exhaustion, exposure, and, finally asphyxiation.  The hands were often nailed to the crossbeam, which was then hoisted up and affixed to the up-right, to which the feet were then nailed.  A peg, astride which the victim sat, supported the main weight of the body.  Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs, but not in Christ's case (John 19:33)." (Ryrie)

Cyrene - A Roman province in North Africa, the capital of Cyrenaica; home to many Jews.

to carry his cross - "The crossbeam was carried to the place of execution usually by the victim, but Jesus was too weakened by the tortures that had already been inflicted on Him." (Ryrie)

Golgotha - "Aramaic for 'skull,' indicating either that the place of crucifixion looked like a skull or that it was a place of execution where skulls accumulated.  Its location is uncertain." (Ryrie)

It was probably about two-and-a-half hours from when Jesus first appeared before Pilate until He arrived at Golgotha (6:30 am to 9:00 am).

wine...mixed with gall - prophesied in Psalm 69:21 — given to prisoners as an anesthetic to reduce suffering. Jesus refused it.

Matthew 27:15-26

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Barabbas = son of Abba, son of the father - We know from Mark 15:7 and John 18:40 that Barabbas was a thief and a murderer who had been involved in a rebellion of some sort. A few manuscripts give him the name "Jesus Barabbas." It’s possible he had portrayed himself as the messiah.

envy - Pilate knew the priests were jealous of Jesus because of His popularity with the people, so he appealed to the people to have Him released. But the priests convinced the people to call for His crucifixion.

"Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" - "Pilate, hoping he could release Jesus, miscalculated the intensity of the Jewish leaders' campaign to have Jesus crucified." (Ryrie)

Although Pilate was, in a sense, a victim of circumstances because he knew his career would probably be over if he acted on his, and his wife’s, conviction he was also a coward who, in the end, not only gave Jesus over to die, but had him scourged (perhaps in a last-ditch effort to appease the crowd with a lesser punishment for Jesus than death).

And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" - (See Acts 3:12-26 —And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

washed his hands before the crowd - "A Jewish custom, which when used legitimately (though not so in Pilate's case) was a symbol of absolution of an innocent man from implication in a wrongful death." (Ryrie)

this man's blood - "Pilate found no political or military threat to Rome in Christ, and this was his only concern." (Ryrie)

all the people - "I.e., all those present, which was only a fractional part of the nation. Some of the leaders opposed the Crucifixion (Luke 23:51). See also Luke 23:34; Acts 5:28; 1 Cor 2:8." (Ryrie)

scourged - "Better, flogged by means of a leather whip that had pieces of bone or metal imbedded in its thongs. It was used by the Romans only on murderers and traitors." (Ryrie)

Matthew 27:11-14

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Jesus' appearance before Pilate is also in Mark 15:1-2; Luke 23:1-5 and John 18:28-38.

"The other gospels, in their description of the trial before Pilate, include some details not given by Matthew. Pilate, after a preliminary hearing of the case and on learning that Jesus was of Galilee, as a friendly gesture, sent Him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time. Herod, after encountering complete silence from Jesus, sent Him back to Pilate to be judge. Jesus had three Roman trials, first before Pilate, then before Herod, and then again before Pilate. Matthew, Mark and John combine the two trials before Pilate. According to Luke 23:1-2, the trial began with various accusations being leveled against Jesus, including that He perverted the nation, forbade to give tribute to Caesar and claimed that He was a king. It is at this point that Matthew begins his record because of the special interest in the gospel of Matthew in Jesus Christ as King." (Walvoord)

"The Roman governor had absolute legal authority to deal with noncitizens, such as Christ, and to prescribe the death penalty, without fear of having his authority challenged. Several observations may be made concerning Pilate and the legality of the trial of Christ. First, since Pilate was governor of Judea, and this was to be a capital offense, he was the proper person to conduct the trial of Christ. Second, he was quite correct in initially declining to hear the case, since the first charge was so vague (see John 18:30). Third he acted in accordance with Roman law when there was an indictment for treason leveled against Christ (Luke 23:1), and he questioned Christ privately concerning this matter, deciding He was innocent. At this point Pilate had the legal authority to release Christ, but he did not." (Pentecost)

Pilate was in a tough spot. He apparently found Jesus to be guiltless and wanted nothing to do with the trial. But he had been in repeated difficulties with the Jews because of rulings he had made in the past and his superiors in Rome weren’t happy with the state of unrest. If Pilate had acted on his inclination and foiled the plot of the Jews, things would have been upset again and he may well have been recalled to Rome. This doesn’t excuse his behavior, but it does help explain it.

Matthew 27:1-10

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

took counsel against - Also found in Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1 and John 18:28.

Pontius Pilate - The Roman procurator of Judea from A.D. 26-37 under the Prefect of Syria. He was based in Caesarea but was in Jerusalem at this time for the Passover festival in case of trouble.

"Pilate was the Roman prefect, or governor, of Judea (usually referred to as a procurator), to which position he was appointed by Tiberius in A.D. 26.  He was in charge of the army of occupation, kept the taxes flowing to Rome, had power of life and death over his subjects, appointed the high priests, and decided cases involving capital punishment.  He was a capricious, weak governor who let personal and political considerations out-weigh his awareness that justice was not being done in Jesus' case.  He did not want another report to get to Rome that he had offended Jewish customs or could not control a situation—charges against him made to Tiberius earlier...His headquarters were in Caesarea, the city Herod built on the Mediterranean in honor of Caesar Augustus.  He had a palace in Jerusalem and was in the city at Passover time, when crowds would be huge and trouble always possible." (Ryrie)

saw that Jesus was condemned - "Perhaps Judas had only wanted to force Jesus to do something to confound His enemies, not to get Himself condemned." (Ryrie)

changed his mind = regret, remorse - not the same as the usual one meaning "change of mind"

temple = sanctuary - the entrance to the holy place

The death of Judas (v 5) is also mentioned in Acts 1:18-19.

"'He burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out' was probably due to Judas's ineptness in trying to hang himself (See Acts 1:18-19)." (Ryrie)

potter's field - a piece of waste land from which the clay has been removed for use by a potter.

"A field where potters dug clay for making pottery vessels.  It may have been full of holes so as to make it easy to bury people there who had not family tombs." (Ryrie)

spoken by the prophet Jeremiah - "These words are found in Zech 11:12-13 with allusions to Jer 18:1-4; 19:1-3.  They are ascribed to Jeremiah since, in Jesus' day, the books of the prophets were headed by Jeremiah, not Isaiah as now, and the quotation is identified by the name of the first book of the group, rather than by the name of the specific book within the group  Similarly in Luke 24:44, 'Psalms' includes all the books known as the 'Writings,' because it is the first book of the group." (Ryrie)

"The words 'the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced' are to be understood as a parenthesis. A similar explanatory parenthesis, had the price been twenty pieces of silver instead of thirty, might have been thus interjected: 'And they took the twenty pieces of silver (the price of him whom his brethren sold into Egypt) and they gave them' etc; Or, the verse might read: 'They took the thirty pieces of silver (the price given in Israel for an injured servant' and they gave them,' etc.)" (Williams)

Matthew 26:1-75

What is the theme of this chapter?

The Passion of the King: the preparation, the Passover, the betrayal, and the hearing before the high priest.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verse 39

"And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'"

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?