Matthew 27

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

¹ Now when it became early all the chief priests and elders of the people took council against Jesus so as to put him to death. ² And when they bound him they brought him forth and delivered him up to Pilate¹ the governor.

Judas' Suicide

³ Then when Judas the [one] having delivered him up saw that he was condemned, having regretted it he returned the thirty silver pieces to the chief priests and elders ⁴ saying: I sinned delivering up innocent blood. But they said: What [is] that to us? You see [to it]. ⁵ And having thrown the silver-pieces into the temple he withdrew and having departed he hanged himself. ⁶ Now when the chief priests took the silver pieces they said: It is not allowed to put them in the treasury, since it is the price of blood. ⁷ So having taken council they bought with it the potter's field for burial of strangers². ⁸ Therefore that field was called "[the] field of blood" until today. ⁹ Then was fulfilled what was said through Jeremiah the prophet when he says:

And they took the thirty silver pieces
The price of him that was valued
Who they of the sons of Israel valued
¹⁰ And gave³ them for the potter's field
Just as the Lord directed me.

Jesus and Pilate

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him saying: Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus said: You said [it]. ¹² And while he was accused by the chief priests and elders he answered nothing. ¹³ Then Pilate says to him: Don't you hear how many things they accuse of you? ¹⁴ And he did not answer him with even one word, so that the ruler marveled greatly.

¹⁵ Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to the crowd that they wished. ¹⁶ And they were then holding [a] notorious prisoner being called Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore when they gathered, Pilate said to them: Who do you wish that I release to you, Barabbas or Jesus the [one] being called Christ? ¹⁸ For he knew that they delivered him up because of jealousy. ¹⁹ Now while he sat on the judgment seat his wife sent to him saying: Have nothing to do with⁴ that just [one], for I suffered greatly in [a] dream because of him. ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should request⁵ Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ So the governor answering said to them: Who do you wish from the two that I should release to you? But they said: Barabbas. ²² Pilate says to them: What therefore should I do with Jesus the [one] being called Christ? They all say: Let him be crucified⁶ . ²³ And he said: But what evil did he do? And they screamed all the more: Let him be crucified⁶!

Jesus is Condemned and Mocked

²⁴ Now Pilate seeing that he accomplished nothing but [that] rather [a] riot comes to pass, taking water he washed his hands before the crowd saying: I am innocent of this blood⁷. You see [to it]. ²⁵ And answering all the people said: His blood [be] upon us and upon our children. ²⁶ Then he released to them Barabbas, but having been flogged he delivered Jesus up to be crucified. ²⁷ Then when the soldiers of the governor took Jesus to the Praetorium they gathered to him the whole cohort. ²⁸ and having stripped him they put [a] scarlet cloak around him. ²⁹ and having woven [a] crown from thorns they put [it] upon his head and [a] reed in his right hand, and having fallen on their knees before him they mocked him saying: Hail, King of the Jews. ³⁰ And having spat upon him they took the reed and were hitting it on his head. ³¹ And then they mocked him, and took off him the cloak and clothed him with his robe, and led him away to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

³² Now coming out they found [a] Cyrenian man, by name Simon. This [one] they compelled that he should take up his cross. ³³ And having come to the place being called Golgotha, that is to say: Place of [the] Skull, ³⁴ they gave to him wine mixed with gall to drink, and when he tasted it he would not drink. ³⁵ So having crucified him they divided his robe throwing lots, ³⁶ And sitting down they were watching him there. ³⁷ And they put above his head his charge⁸ written: This is Jesus the king of the Jews. ³⁸ Then they crucified with him two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ But those passing by were slandering him shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying: You destroying the temple and in three days building [it], save yourself, if you are the son of God, and come down from the cross. ⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests were mocking [him] with the scribes and elders saying: ⁴² He saved others, but he is unable to save himself. He is king of Israel, let him now come⁶ down from the cross and we will believe on him. ⁴³ He has believed in God, let⁶ him not deliver [him] if he wants him. For he said that he is the son of God. ⁴⁴ And the thieves also who were being crucified with him mocked him [saying] the same.

Jesus's Death

⁴⁵ Now from the seventh hour it became dark on all the land until the ninth. ⁴⁶ And around the ninth hour Jesus cried out with [a] great voice saying: Eli Eli Lema Sabachthani? which is: My God my God why have you forsaken me? ⁴⁷ And when some of those having stood there heard they were saying that: This [one] cried out for Elijah. ⁴⁸ And straightway one of them having run and having taken [a] sponge filled with vinegar and putting [it] around [a] reed gave him to drink. [^{49 9} But another having taken a spear pierced his side, and there came out blood and water.] ⁵⁰ But Jesus again having cried out in [a] great voice he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ And behold the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom in two, and the land was shaken, and the rocks were rent, ⁵² and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints having fallen asleep arose. ⁵³ And having come out of their graves after the resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ But the centurion and those with him watching Jesus having seen the earthquake and the [things] coming to pass, they feared greatly, saying: Truly this was [the] son of God. ⁵⁵ Now may women were there beholding from afar, who followed Jesus from Galilee serving him, ⁵⁶ among whom were Mary the Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and John, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus's Burial

⁵⁷ Now it having become late [a] rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself also had become [a] disciple of Jesus, ⁵⁸ when this [one] went to Pilate he requested⁵ the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given. ⁵⁹ And having taken the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen, ⁶⁰ And placed it in his new grave that he hewed out in the rock, and having rolled [a] great stone to the door of the grave he left. ⁶¹ And Mary the Magdalene was there and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² Now on the next day, which is after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered to Pilate ⁶³ saying: Lord, we remember that this deceiver said while zoe-living¹⁰ : After three days I arise. ⁶⁴ Order therefore the tomb to be secured until the third day, lest having come the disciples steal him and say to the people: He arose from the dead, and the last deceit will be worse than the first. ⁶⁴ Pilate said to them: You have [a] guard, Go secure [it] as you think [best]. ⁶⁶ So having departed they secured the tomb sealing it along with [posting] the guard.

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¹"Pilate"ℵB; "Pontius Pilate" W vg K

²or "foreigners"

³"gave" B vg KH; "I gave" ℵW

⁴literally: "Let there be nothing with you and"

⁵AITEO "ay-TEH-oh" (αιτεω) "request", "demand", "beg" something for oneself. Far from humbly requesting—it's more like 'demanding'. Jesus uses AITEO only of the prayer of others, not of His own (cf. John.16:26)—and not requesting things for Himself, only for others. AITEO seems to suppose a lesser degree of intimacy than EROTAO (ερωταω), hence AITEO is used of the requests of the disciples to God, but EROTAO of the requests of the disciples to Jesus, and of those of Jesus to the Father ( John.14:16). AITEO is demanding/begging/pleading, EROTAO is polite and friendlier. Both AITEO and EROTAO occur in John.16:26.

⁶imperative

⁷"this blood" BD few, "the blood of this just man": KH

⁸i.e. his crime

⁹insert vs.49: ℵBH; omit vs.49: DWK vg most

¹⁰from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.