About Matthew

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of Israel, demonstrating through His teachings and miracles that He fulfills Old Testament prophecies.

Author: Matthew (Levi)Written: c. AD 50-70Reading time: ~8 minVerses: 66
Kingdom of HeavenJesus as MessiahFulfillment of ProphecyDiscipleshipChurch

King James Version

Matthew 27

66 verses with commentary

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When the morning was come</strong> (πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης)—The Sanhedrin reconvened at daybreak to give their condemnation legal legitimacy, as capital trials conducted at night were prohibited under Jewish law (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:1). Their nocturnal examination was illegal; this morning session was a façade of due process.<br><br><strong>All the chief priests and elders</strong> formed the...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XXVII. (1) **Took counsel.**—Better, *held a council.* (Comp. the use of the word in Acts 25:12.) Another formal meeting was held (according to the Jewish rule that the sentence of the judges was not to be given at the same sitting as the trial) to confirm the previous decision, and probably to determine on the next step to be taken. It ended, as the next verse shows, in sending our Lord to Pilate...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When they had bound him</strong> (δήσαντες αὐτόν, <em>dēsantes auton</em>)—the binding of Jesus is theologically significant beyond mere restraint. This innocent Lamb is <em>bound</em> so that guilty sinners might go free (John 18:8). The Greek <em>deō</em> (to bind) ironically reverses Satan's bondage; Christ is bound that we might be loosed from sin's chains.<br><br><strong>Delivered him...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **Pontius Pilate.**—It may be well to bring together the chief known facts as to the previous history of the Governor, or more accurately, the Procurator, of Judæa, whose name is conspicuous as occupying a solitary prominence in the creeds of Christendom. He must have belonged, by birth or adoption, to the *gens* of the Pontii, one of whom, C. Pontius Telesinus, had been the leader of the Samn...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Judas Hangs Himself

Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself</strong> (μεταμεληθείς, <em>metameletheis</em>)—critically, this is NOT <em>metanoeo</em> (true repentance), but <em>metamellomai</em>, meaning regret or remorse. Judas experienced emotional distress over consequences, not godly sorrow leading to life-change (2 Cor 7:10). He regretted <em>what happened<...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **Then Judas, which had betrayed him.**—Better, *the betrayer.* The Greek participle is in the present tense. The narrative which follows is found only in St. Matthew, but another version of the same facts is given in Acts 1:18. Here, too, as in the case of Peter, we have to guess at motives. Had he looked for any other result than this? Was he hoping that his Lord, when forced to a decision, ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood</strong> (ἥμαρτον παραδοὺς αἷμα ἀθῷον)—Judas's confession uses <em>hēmarton</em> ("I sinned"), the aorist tense indicating a completed, irreversible act. His recognition of Christ as <em>haima athōon</em> ("innocent blood") unwittingly fulfills Isaiah 53:9 ("he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth"). Yet this is ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **I have sinned in that I have betrayed.**—More accurately, *I sinned in betraying.* **What is that to us**?—We instinctively feel, as we read these words, that deep as was the guilt of Judas, that of those who thus mocked him was deeper still. Speaking after the manner of men, we may say that a word of sympathy and true counsel might have saved him even then. His confession was as the germ of...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple</strong> (ἔρριψεν τὰ ἀργύρια)—Judas hurled (ἔρριψεν, <em>erripsen</em>, violent throwing) the thirty pieces of silver into the sanctuary (<em>naos</em>, the inner temple building, not merely the temple courts). This desperate act reveals the unbearable torment of a guilty conscience confronting the irreversibility of betrayal.<br><br><str...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **He cast down the pieces of silver in the temple.**—The Greek word for “Temple” is that which specially denotes (as in Matthew 23:16; Matthew 26:61; John 2:19), not the whole building, but the “*s*anctuary,” which only the priests could enter. They had stood, it would seem, talking with Judas before the veil or curtain which screened it from the outer court, and he hurled or flung it into the...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>It is not lawful for us to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood</strong>—The supreme irony: the chief priests who orchestrated an illegal trial and murder now display scrupulous concern for ritual purity. The Greek <em>korbanas</em> (κορβανᾶς, "temple treasury") could not receive <em>timē haimatos</em> (τιμὴ αἵματος, "blood money") according to Deuteronomy 23:18, wh...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury.**—The Greek for the last word is the Corban, or sacred treasure-chest of the Temple, into which no foreign coins were admitted, and from which the Law (Deuteronomy 23:18) excluded the unclean offerings of the price of shame, which entered largely into the ritual of many heathen nations. By parity of reasoning, the priests seem to have thoug...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.</strong><br><br>The chief priests' dilemma with Judas's blood money (thirty silver pieces) reveals their hypocritical legalism. The Greek <em>symboulion lambanō</em> ("took counsel") indicates deliberation - they couldn't return blood money to the treasury (<em>korban</em>, dedicated to God) yet had no qu...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(7) **And they took counsel.**—As before, *they held a council.* **The potter’s** **field.**—In Jeremiah 18:2 we read of the “potter’s house” as being outside the city, probably, from Jeremiah 19:2, in the Valley of Hinnom (*Gehenna*)*,* on the south side of Jerusalem. It is probable that it had been worked out in course of time, and was now in the state of a disused quarry. It was necessary, now ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood</strong> (Ἀγρὸς Αἵματος, <em>Agros Haimatos</em>)—known in Aramaic as <strong>Akeldama</strong> (Acts 1:19, אֲחֵל דְּמָא, <em>Akel Dama</em>). The field purchased with Judas's betrayal money became a permanent monument to bloodguilt—both Christ's innocent blood and Judas's self-inflicted death. The chief priests unwittingly created a prop...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **The field of blood.**—St. Luke (Acts 1:19) gives the Aramaic form, *Akeldama,* but assigns the death of Judas in a field which he had bought as the origin of the name. It is possible that two spots may have been known by the same name for distinct reasons, and the fact that two places have been shown as the Field of Blood from the time of Jerome downwards, is, as far as it goes, in favour of...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; whom: or, whom they bought of the children of Israel

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet</strong>—Matthew attributes the prophecy to Jeremiah (Ἰερεμίου), yet the cited text primarily comes from Zechariah 11:12-13, creating one of Scripture's most discussed attribution questions. Ancient solutions include: (1) Jeremiah's prominence gave his name to the prophetic collection, (2) an oral tradition from Jeremiah was la...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **Then** **was fulfilled.**—Three questions present themselves, more or less difficult:—(1) The words cited are found in our present Old Testament, not in Jeremiah, but in Zechariah 11:13, and there is no trace of their ever having occupied any other place in the Hebrew Canon. How is this discrepancy to be explained? (*a*) Are we to assume an early error in transcription? Against this, there i...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me</strong> (ἔδωκαν αὐτὰ εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ κεραμέως)—Matthew quotes Zechariah 11:13, showing Judas's betrayal money purchased a burial ground for foreigners, fulfilling prophecy. The Greek <em>kerameus</em> (potter) connects to Jeremiah 18-19's imagery of God as potter, Israel as clay. This field became <em>Akeldama</em>, 'Field o...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Jesus Before Pilate

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest</strong> (Σὺ λέγεις)—Pilate's question addressed the political charge: sedition against Caesar. Jesus's enigmatic response (<em>su legeis</em>, 'you say') neither denies nor affirms in Pilate's terms, for Christ's kingdom is 'not of this world' (John 18:36).<br><br>This was Rome's <em>cognitio</em> procedure—a magistrate's...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(11) **And Jesus stood before the governor.**—We may infer from the greater fulness with which St. John relates what passed between our Lord and Pilate, that here, too, his acquaintance with the high priest gave him access to knowledge which others did not possess. We learn from him (1) that in his first conversation with the accusers, Pilate endeavoured to throw the *onus* of judging upon them, a...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing</strong> (κατηγορεῖτο... οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο)—Jesus's silence fulfilled Isaiah 53:7: 'as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.' The Greek <em>kategoreo</em> (to accuse) is legal terminology; Christ faced formal prosecution.<br><br>This was not passive weakness but sovereign self-control. J...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(12) **He answered nothing.**—Here, as before in Matthew 26:63, we have to realise the contrast between the vehement clamour of the accusers, the calm, imperturbable, patient silence of the accused, and the wonder of the judge at what was so different from anything that had previously come within the range of his experience.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?</strong> (οὐκ ἀκούεις πόσα σου καταμαρτυροῦσιν;)—Pilate's astonishment at Jesus's silence shows he expected <em>defensio</em>. The Greek <em>katamartyreo</em> (testify against) indicates formal witness testimony, multiple accusations demanding response.<br><br>Yet Jesus needed no defense. He came precisely to die (Mark 10:45). Eve...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly</strong> (ἐθαύμασεν λίαν)—The Greek <em>ethaumasen lian</em> (marveled exceedingly) shows Pilate's amazement. No defendant remained silent when facing crucifixion—Rome's most horrific execution, reserved for slaves and rebels.<br><br>Pilate sensed something transcendent. This was no ordinary prisoner. Jesus's...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner</strong> (κατὰ δὲ ἑορτὴν εἰώθει ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἀπολύειν)—The Greek <em>eiothen</em> (was accustomed) describes an established custom, though no Roman legal code records this <em>privilegium paschale</em> (Passover privilege). Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all mention it, suggesting a local Judean practice.<br><br>Pilat...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(15) **The governor was wont to release.**—It is not known when the practice began, nor whether it was primarily a Jewish or a Roman one. The fact that the release of criminals was a common incident of a Latin *lectisternium,* or feast in honour of the gods, makes the latter the more probable. If introduced by Pilate (and this is the only recorded instance of the practice) it was, we may believe, ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas</strong> (δέσμιον ἐπίσημον... Βαραββᾶν)—The Greek <em>episemon</em> (notable, notorious) marks Barabbas as infamous. His name means 'son of the father' (Aramaic: <em>bar</em> = son, <em>abba</em> = father), creating profound irony: the crowd chose the false 'son of the father' over God's true Son.<br><br>Mark 15:7 identifies Barabbas as...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **A notable prisoner, called Barabbas.**—There is considerable, though not quite decisive, evidence in favour of the reading which gives “Jesus Barabbas” as the name of the prisoner. The name Bar-abbas (=son of Abbas, or of “a father”), like Bar-timseus and Bartholomew, was a patronymic, and it would be natural enough that the man who bore it should have another more personal name. We can eas...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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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?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?</strong> (Βαραββᾶν ἢ Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν;)—Pilate forced the choice into stark relief: the rebel or the Christ (<em>Christos</em>, Messiah/Anointed One). Some manuscripts read 'Jesus Barabbas,' making the choice between two men named Jesus—'son of the father' versus Son of the Father.<br><br>This was ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(17) **Whom will ye that I release unto you?**—This, we must remember, was all but the last attempt of Pilate to shift off from himself the dreaded burden of responsibility.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For he knew that for envy they had delivered him</strong> (διὰ φθόνον παρέδωκαν αὐτόν)—The Greek <em>phthonon</em> (envy, jealousy) reveals the true motive behind Jesus's execution. Pilate, pagan though he was, perceived what many miss: religious persecution often stems from envy of another's spiritual authority and following.<br><br>The chief priests envied Jesus's popularity (Matthew 21:...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(18) **He knew that for envy.**—Pilate knew enough of the accusers to see through the hollowness of their pretended zeal for their own religion, or for the authority of the emperor. He found their real motive in “envy”—fear of the loss of influence and power, if the work of the new Teacher was to continue.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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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.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him</strong> (μηδὲν σοὶ καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ ἐκείνῳ)—Pilate's wife (traditionally named Claudia Procula) called Jesus <em>dikaios</em> (righteous, just), the same term used of Joseph (Matthew 1:19) and Jesus Himself (1 John 2:1). God sent warning through an unlikely source—a pagan woman's dr...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(19) **The judgment seat.**—The chair of judgment was placed upon a Mosaic pavement, and was indispensable to the official action of any provincial ruler. (Comp. Note on John 19:13.) **His wife sent unto him.**—Under the old regime of the Republic provincial governors were not allowed to take their wives with them; but the rule had been relaxed under the Empire, and Tacitus records (*Ann.* iii. 33...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus</strong> (ἔπεισαν... ἵνα αἰτήσωνται... ἀπολέσωσιν)—The Greek <em>epeisan</em> (persuaded) and <em>apolesōsin</em> (destroy) show deliberate manipulation toward murder. Religious leaders used their authority to incite judicial murder of the innocent.<br><br>This reversal from Sunday's '...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(20) **The chief priests and elders.**—Brief as the statement is it implies much; the members of the Sanhedrin standing before Pilate’s palace, mingling with the crowd, whispering—now to this man, now to that—praises of the robber, scoffs and slander against the Christ. As the next verse shows, they did their work effectively.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas</strong> (Τὸν Βαραββᾶν)—The stark, unelaborated response shows mob mentality's power. No deliberation, no debate—just the demand for the rebel. The Greek article <em>ton</em> (the) emphasizes decisiveness: THE Barabbas, not the Christ.<br><br>This choice epitomizes humanity's rebellion: choosing sin over salvation, d...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified</strong> (Σταυρωθήτω)—The Greek imperative <em>staurōthētō</em> (let him be crucified) demands the most shameful, agonizing death Rome inflicted. Crucifixion was so horrific that Roman citizens were exempt; it was for slaves and rebels.<br><br>Pilate's question hangs over history: 'What shal...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(22) **Let him be crucified.**—It may be noted that this was the first direct intimation of the mode of death to which the priests destined their prisoner. It was implied, indeed, in their fixed resolve to make the Roman governor the executioner of their sentence, as shown in the dialogue recorded by St. John (John 18:31); but now the cry came from the multitude, as the result, we may believe, of ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified</strong> (περισσῶς ἔκραζον)—Pilate's third declaration of innocence (see Luke 23:22, John 19:4, 6) met with intensified mob frenzy. The Greek <em>perissōs ekrazon</em> (cried out exceedingly) shows escalating irrationality—they couldn't name a crime, yet demanded execution.<br><br>This is injustice perso...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(23) **Why, what evil hath he done?**—The question attested the judge’s conviction of the innocence of the accused, but it attested also the cowardice of the judge. He was startled at the passionate malignity of the cry of the multitude and the priests, but had not the courage to resist it. We find from Luke 23:22. that he had recourse to the desperate expedient of suggesting a milder punishment—“...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person</strong> (ἀθῷός εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τούτου)—Pilate's handwashing invoked Jewish ritual (Deuteronomy 21:6-7), a symbolic declaration of non-culpability. Yet the act condemned him—he proclaimed Chri...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(24) **He took water, and washed his hands.**—The act belonged to an obvious and almost universal symbolism. So in Deuteronomy 21:6 the elders of a city in which an undiscovered murder had been committed were to wash their hands over the sin-offering, and to say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.” (Comp. also Psalm 26:6.) Pilate probably chose it, partly as a reli...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children</strong> (Τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν)—This self-imprecation invoked covenant curse language (Deuteronomy 27-28). They accepted full responsibility for Christ's death, unknowingly pronouncing judgment on themselves. Jerusalem's destruction (AD 70) came forty years later.<br><br>Yet this stateme...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(25) **His blood be on us, and on our children.**—The passionate hate of the people leads them, as if remembering the words of their own Law, to invert the prayer—which Pilate’s act had, it may be, brought to their remembrance—“Lay not innocent blood to Thy people of Israel’s charge” (Deuteronomy 21:8), into a defiant imprecation. No more fearful prayer is recorded in the history of mankind; and a...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-25** Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God has many ways of giving checks to sinners, in their sinful pursuits, and it is a great mercy to have such checks from Providence, from faithful friends, and from our own consciences. O do not this abominable thing which the Lord ha...
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Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified</strong> (φραγελλώσας... παρέδωκεν ἵνα σταυρωθῇ)—Roman scourging (<em>phragellōsas</em>, flogging) used a <em>flagrum</em>—leather whips embedded with bone/metal that shredded flesh. Many died from scourging alone. This fulfilled Isaiah 53:5: 'with his stripes we are healed.'<br><br>The in...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(26) **When he had scourged Jesus.**—The word used by St. Matthew, derived from the Latin *flagellum,* shows that it was the Roman punishment with knotted thongs of leather (like the Russian “knout” or the English “cat”), not the Jewish beating with rods (2Corinthians 11:24-25). The pictures of the Stations, so widely used throughout Latin Christendom, have made other nations more familiar with th...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 26-30** Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the...
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Jesus Is Mocked

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. common hall: or, governor's house

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall</strong> (πραιτώριον, <em>praitōrion</em>)—the Roman praetorium, Pilate's official residence where military justice was dispensed. <strong>The whole band</strong> (σπεῖρα, <em>speira</em>) refers to a cohort of 200-600 soldiers, though likely only a century (100) actually assembled.<br><br>Roman soldiers relished humiliating cond...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(27) **The common hall.**—Literally, the *Prætorium,* a word which, applied originally to the tent of the prætor, or general, and so to the head-quarters of the camp. had come to be used, with a somewhat wide range of meaning, (1) for the residence of a prince or governor; or (2) for the barracks attached to such a residence (as in Philippians 1:13); or (3) for any house as stately. Here (as in Ac...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 26-30** Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the...
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And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>They stripped him</strong> (ἐκδύσαντες, <em>ekdysantes</em>)—complete public humiliation, exposing Jesus naked before soldiers. <strong>A scarlet robe</strong> (χλαμύδα κοκκίνην, <em>chlamyda kokkinēn</em>)—a military cloak, likely a worn-out soldier's cape, mimicking royal purple.<br><br>This stripping fulfills Psalm 22:18 (<strong>they part my garments among them</strong>) and anticipate...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(28) **A scarlet robe.**—Here again we have a technical word, the *chlamys* or *paludamentum,* used for the military cloak worn by emperors in their character as generals, and by other officers of high rank (Pliny, xxii. 2, 3). St. Mark and St. John call it purple (Mark 15:17; John 19:2); but the “purple “of the ancients was “crimson,” and the same colour might easily be called by either name. It ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 26-30** Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the...
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And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>A crown of thorns</strong> (στέφανον ἐξ ἀκανθῶν, <em>stephanon ex akanthōn</em>)—likely fashioned from the Syrian Christ-thorn (<em>Ziziphus spina-christi</em>) with long, sharp spikes. This is the anti-crown, fulfilling Genesis 3:18's curse (<strong>thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth</strong>)—Jesus wears creation's curse upon his head.<br><br><strong>A reed in his right hand</...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(29) **A crown of thorns.**—The word is too vague to enable us to identify the plant with certainty, but most writers have fixed on the *Zizyphus Spina Christi,* known locally as the *Nebk,* a shrub growing plentifully in the valley of the Jordan, with branches pliant and flexible, and leaves of a dark glossy green, like ivy, and sharp prickly thorns. The likeness of the crown or garland thus made...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 26-30** Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the...
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And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>They spit upon him</strong> (ἐνέπτυσαν, <em>enéptysan</em>)—the ultimate ancient Near Eastern gesture of contempt (Numbers 12:14, Deuteronomy 25:9). Jesus receives the spittle of soldiers, fulfilling Isaiah 50:6: <strong>I hid not my face from shame and spitting</strong>.<br><br><strong>Took the reed, and smote him on the head</strong>—the mock scepter becomes an instrument of torture, dri...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(30) **They spit upon him.**—See Note on Matthew 26:67.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 26-30** Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the...
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And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>They took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him</strong>—the mock coronation concludes. Jesus is re-dressed in his own clothing, which will soon be gambled away (v. 35). <strong>Led him away to crucify him</strong> (ἀπήγαγον ἀπήγαγον εἰς τὸ σταυρῶσαι, <em>apēgagon...staurōsai</em>)—the journey to Golgotha begins.<br><br>The transition from theatrical mockery to judicial exe...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(31) **They took the robe** ***off*** **from him.**—At this point we have to insert the account which St. John gives (John 19:4-5) of Pilate’s last attempt to rescue the “just Man” whom he had unjustly condemned. He showed the silent Sufferer in the mock insignia of royalty, as if asking them, Is not this enough? The cries of “Crucify Him!” were but redoubled, and once again the cowardly judge too...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 31-34** Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner o...
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The Crucifixion

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>A man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross</strong> (ἠγγάρευσαν, <em>ēngareusan</em>)—the technical term for Roman impressment, forcing civilians to perform labor (cf. Matthew 5:41). Jesus, weakened by scourging and blood loss, cannot carry the crossbeam the full distance.<br><br>Simon from Cyrene (North Africa, modern Libya) becomes the literal fulfillment of <st...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(32) **They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.**—There seems at that time to have been a flourishing settlement of Jews in Cyrene, and members of that community appear as prominent in the crowd of the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), among the disputants who opposed Stephen (Acts 6:9), and among the active preachers of the Word (Acts 11:20). Why, we ask, out of the whole crowd that was streaming t...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 31-34** Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner o...
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And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>A place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull</strong> (Γολγοθᾶ, ὅ ἐστιν Κρανίου Τόπος, <em>Golgotha, ho estin Kraniou Topos</em>)—Aramaic <em>gulgalta</em>, Hebrew <em>gulgoleth</em>, Latin <em>Calvaria</em>. The name likely derives from the skull-like appearance of the rocky hill, though later tradition held that Adam's skull was buried there.<br><br>Death's place receives ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(33) **A place called Golgotha.**—The other Gospels give the name with the definite article, as though it were a well-known locality. It is not mentioned, however, by any Jewish writer, and its position is matter of conjecture. It was “nigh unto the city” (John 19:20), and therefore outside the walls (comp. Hebrews 13:12). There was a garden in it (John 19:41), and in the garden a tomb, which was ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 27 Mt 27:1-10. Jesus Led Away to Pilate--Remorse and Suicide of Judas. ( = Mr 15:1; Lu 23:1; Joh 18:28). Jesus Led Away to Pilate (Mt 27:1, 2). For the exposition of this portion, see on Joh 18:28, &amp;c. Remorse and Suicide of Judas (Mt 27:3-10). This portion is peculiar to Matthew. On the progress of guilt in the traitor, see on Mr 14:1-11; Joh 13:21-30. **3. Then Judas,...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 31-34** Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner o...
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They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Vinegar to drink mingled with gall</strong> (ὄξος μετὰ χολῆς, <em>oxos meta cholēs</em>)—Mark 15:23 specifies <strong>wine mingled with myrrh</strong>, a narcotic painkiller offered by charitable Jewish women to condemned men. <strong>Gall</strong> (χολή) may translate the myrrh, or Matthew may allude to Psalm 69:21: <strong>They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(34) **Vinegar to drink mingled with gall.**—In Mark 15:23, “wine mingled with myrrh.” The animal secretion known as “gall” is clearly out of the question, and the meaning of the word is determined by its use in the Greek version of the Old Testament, where it stands for the “wormwood” of Proverbs 5:4, for the poisonous herb joined with “wormwood” in Deuteronomy 29:18. It was clearly something at ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**4. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood--**What a testimony this to Jesus! Judas had been with Him in all circumstances for three years; his post, as treasurer to Him and the Twelve (Joh 12:6), gave him peculiar opportunity of watching the spirit, disposition, and habits of his Master; while his covetous nature and thievish practices would incline him to dark and susp...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 31-34** Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner o...
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And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>They crucified him</strong> (σταυρώσαντες, <em>staurōsantes</em>)—Matthew gives no details of the crucifixion itself, the horror too well-known to describe. Nails through wrists and feet, body suspended, suffocation setting in. <strong>Parted his garments, casting lots</strong> (διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια...βάλλοντες κλῆρον, <em>diemerisanto...ballontes klēron</em>)—fulfilling Psalm 22:18 prec...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(35) **They crucified him.**—The cross employed in capital punishment varied in its form, being sometimes simply a stake on which the sufferer was impaled, sometimes consisting of two pieces of timber put together in the form of a T or an X (as in what we know as the St. Andrew’s cross); sometimes in that familiar to us in Christian art as the Latin cross. In this instance, the fact that the title...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**5. And he cast down the pieces of silver--**The sarcastic, diabolical reply which he had got, in place of the sympathy which perhaps he expected, would deepen his remorse into an agony. **in the temple--**the temple proper, commonly called "the sanctuary," or "the holy place," into which only the priests might enter. How is this to be explained? Perhaps he flung the money in after them. But th...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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And sitting down they watched him there;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Sitting down they watched him there</strong> (καθήμενοι ἐτήρουν, <em>kathēmenoi etēroun</em>)—the guard detail ensures the condemned dies and no one attempts rescue. <em>Etēroun</em> means to watch carefully, to keep under surveillance. Pilate assigned guards because of potential unrest during Passover.<br><br>The irony: guards watch the God-man die to prevent interference, yet their watch...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury--**"the Corban," or chest containing the money dedicated to sacred purposes (see on Mt 15:5). **because it is the price of blood--**How scrupulous now! But those punctilious scruples made them unconsciously fulfil the Scripture.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS</strong> (ἡ αἰτία αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένη, <em>hē aitia autou gegrammenē</em>)—the <em>titulus</em> or placard stating the crime. Pilate's inscription, written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (John 19:19-20), proclaims ironic truth: Jesus IS King.<br><br>The chief priests protested (John 19:21): <strong>Write not, The Kin...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(37) **THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.**—This was what was technically known as the *titulus*—the bill, or placard, showing who the condemned person was, and why he was punished. Each Gospel gives it in a slightly different form—Mark (Mark 15:26), “The King of the Jews;” Luke (Luke 23:38), “This is the King of the Jews;” John (John 19:19), “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The variati...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left</strong> (δύο λῃσταί, <em>dyo lēstai</em>)—not petty thieves but <em>lēstai</em>, bandits or insurrectionists (same word for Barabbas, John 18:40). Jesus is numbered with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12), literally between them.<br><br>The positioning fulfills the request of James and John's mother: <strong>Grant th...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(38) **Then were there two thieves crucified with him.**—Better, *robbers,* the word being the same as that used of Barabbas (John 18:40). It would seem, as there is no record of their trial, as if they were already under sentence of death; and it is probable enough that they were members of the same band, and had been sharers in the same insurrection. The legends of the Apocryphal *Gospel of Nico...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>They that passed by reviled him</strong> (ἐβλασφήμουν, <em>eblasphēmoun</em>)—literally blasphemed, hurled insults at him. <strong>Wagging their heads</strong> (κινοῦντες τὰς κεφαλὰς, <em>kinountes tas kephalas</em>)—the ancient gesture of mockery and contempt, fulfilling Psalm 22:7: <strong>All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head</strong>.<br><b...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(39) **They that passed by.**—The words bring before us the picture of a lounging crowd, strolling from one cross to the other, and mocking the central sufferer of the three. Rulers and chief priests were not ashamed to take part in the brutal mockery of a dying man. The spoken taunts were doubtless often repeated, and not always in the same form, but their burden is always the same.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying--**(Zec 11:12, 13). Never was a complicated prophecy, otherwise hopelessly dark, more marvellously fulfilled. Various conjectures have been formed to account for Matthew's ascribing to Jeremiah a prophecy found in the book of Zechariah. But since with this book he was plainly familiar, having quoted one of its most remarka...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself</strong>—they twist Jesus's words about raising the temple of his body (John 2:19-21). <strong>If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross</strong>—echoing Satan's temptation: <strong>If thou be the Son of God</strong> (Matthew 4:3, 6). Both tempt Jesus to prove deity through self-preservation.<br><br>The ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(40) **Thou that destroyest the temple.**—Our Lord had not been formally condemned on this charge, the evidence being insufficient, but it had clearly impressed itself on the minds of the people, and was probably that which most worked upon them to demand His death. The other words, “If thou be the Son of God,” referred to the actual condemnation on the ground of blasphemy (Matthew 26:64-65). We m...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders</strong>—the Sanhedrin members who condemned Jesus now gloat at his execution. <strong>Mocking</strong> (ἐμπαίζοντες, <em>empaizontes</em>)—the same word used when they mocked him after the trial (Matthew 27:29). Their presence is calculated cruelty—ensuring their enemy's destruction.<br><br>These religious leaders, who should shep...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(41) **The chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders.**—It would seem as if all, or nearly all, the members of the Sanhedrin—those, at least, who had taken part in the condemnation—had come to feast their eyes with the sight of their Victim’s sufferings.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>He saved others; himself he cannot save</strong>—the mockers speak prophetic truth. <em>Cannot</em> (οὐ δύναται, <em>ou dynatai</em>) is theologically accurate: Jesus cannot save himself AND save us. The Sinless One must die for the sinful. <strong>If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him</strong>—a lying condition. They would not believe.<...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(42) **He saved others.**—The mockers, as before (comp. John 11:50-51), bear unconscious witness to the truth. They referred, it may be, to the works of healing and the raising of the dead which had been wrought in Galilee and Jerusalem, but their words were true in a yet higher sense. He had come into the world to save others, regardless of Himself.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him</strong>—quoting Psalm 22:8 almost verbatim, yet blind to its prophetic nature. <strong>For he said, I am the Son of God</strong>—they accurately report Jesus's claim (Matthew 26:63-64) while mocking it.<br><br>The darkest irony: God WILL deliver him—through death into resurrection. The Father's silence (soon to be broken by e...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(43) **Let him deliver him now.**—It seems at first hardly conceivable that priests and scribes could thus have quoted the very words of Psalm 22:8, and so have fulfilled one of the great Messianic prophecies. But (1) we must remember that they, ignoring the idea of a suffering Christ, would not look on the Psalm as Messianic at all, and (2) that their very familiarity with the words of the Psalm ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth</strong> (ὠνείδιζον, <em>ōneidizon</em>)—reproached him. Initially both criminals mocked Jesus (contrast Luke 23:39-43, where one repents). Even the dying, themselves under judgment, revile the Sinless One.<br><br>This detail emphasizes Jesus's total isolation: abandoned by disciples, rejected by Israel's leaders, ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(44) **The thieves also . . . cast the same in his teeth.**—Literally, *reviled Him.* On the change which afterwards came over one of them, see Note on Luke 23:40.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 35-44** It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our...
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The Death of Jesus

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour</strong>—From noon to 3 PM, supernatural darkness (σκότος, <em>skotos</em>) enveloped the land (γῆ, <em>gē</em>), likely Judea though possibly wider. This was not a solar eclipse (impossible during Passover's full moon) but divine intervention marking cosmic horror at God's wrath being poured out on His Son.<b...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(45) **From the sixth hour.**—The first three Gospels agree as to time and fact. Assuming them to follow the usual Jewish reckoning (as in Acts 2:15; Acts 3:1; Acts 10:3; Acts 10:9) this would be noon, the fixing to the cross having been at the third hour, 9 A.M. (Mark 15:25), and the darkness lasting till 3 P.M. St. John names the “sixth hour” as the time of our Lord’s final condemnation by Pilat...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?</strong> This cry from the cross represents the deepest mystery of the atonement. 'The ninth hour' (ὥραν ἐνάτην/<em>hōran enatēn</em>) was approximately 3:00 PM, three hours after darkness fell upon the land (Matthew 27:45). Jesus had hung o...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(46) **Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.**—The cry is recorded only by St. Matthew and St. Mark. The very syllables or tones dwelt in the memory of those who heard and understood it, and its absence from St. John’s narrative was probably due to the fact that he had before this taken the Virgin-Mother from the scene of the crucifixion as from that which was more than she could bear (John 19:27). To the R...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said , This man calleth for Elias.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>This man calleth for Elias</strong> (Ἠλίαν φωνεῖ)—the crowd misheard Jesus' Aramaic cry 'Eli, Eli' (v. 46) as an invocation to Elijah, whose eschatological return was anticipated in Malachi 4:5-6. This tragic misunderstanding deepened Christ's isolation even in his final words of dereliction.<br><br>The confusion between <em>Eli</em> (My God) and <em>Elias</em> (Greek for Elijah) reflects ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(47) **This man calleth for Elias.**—There is no ground for looking on this as a wilful, derisive misinterpretation. The words may have been imperfectly understood, or some of those who listened may have been Hellenistic Jews. The dominant expectation of the coming of Elijah (see Notes on Matthew 16:14; Matthew 17:10) would predispose men to fasten on the similarity of sound, and the strange unear...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>One of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar</strong> (ὄξος)—this fulfills Psalm 69:21, 'in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.' The Greek <em>oxos</em> refers to <em>posca</em>, the sour wine Roman soldiers drank. The gesture appears merciful—offering drink to the dying—yet Matthew presents it as part of the mockery.<br><br><strong>Put it on a reed</strong> (κάλαμον...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(48) **Took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar.**—The “vinegar” was the sour wine, or wine and water, which was the common drink of the Roman soldiers. and which they at an earlier stage, and as in derision (Luke 23:36), had offered to the Sufferer. The sponge had probably served instead of a cork to the jar in which the soldiers had brought the drink that was to sustain them in their long day’s...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him</strong>—the Greek <em>ἄφες</em> (let alone) shows the crowd treated Jesus' dying moments as entertainment, a test of prophetic claims. Their mocking 'wait and see' attitude echoes the taunt in verse 42: 'let him save himself.' They demanded miraculous rescue while missing that Christ's refusal to save himself <em>was</em> salvation.<b...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(49) **Let us see whether Elias will come.**—Here again we have eager expectation rather than derision. Was the “great and dreadful day” (Malachi 4:5) about to burst on them? Would the long-expected prophet at last appear? The sponge and vinegar would seem to minds thus on the stretch an unworthy interruption of the catastrophe of the great drama of which they were spectators.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.</strong> Jesus's death is described with unique language. After His cry (likely 'It is finished,' John 19:30, and 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,' Luke 23:46), He 'yielded up the ghost' (ἀφῆκεν τὸ πνεῦμα/<em>aphēken to pneuma</em>)—literally 'dismissed' or 'sent away' His spirit. This word choice indicates...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(50) **When he had cried again with a loud voice.**—It is well that we should remember what the words were which immediately preceded the last death cry; the “It is finished” of John 19:30, the “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” of Luke 23:46, expressing as they did, the fulness of peace and trust, the sense of a completed work. It was seldom that crucifixion, as a punishment, ended so r...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 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 ...
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And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.</strong> At Jesus's death, supernatural signs manifested God's response. 'Behold' (ἰδού/<em>idou</em>) calls attention to the extraordinary events. These were not coincidental natural phenomena but divine validation of Christ's atoning death.<br><br>'The veil of th...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(51) **The veil of the temple was rent in twain.**—Better, *the veil of the sanctuary,* or, if we do not alter the word, we must remember that it is the veil that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies that is here meant. The fact, which the high priests would naturally have wished to conceal, and which in the nature of the case could not have been seen by any but the sons of Aaron, may ha...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.</strong> This extraordinary sign accompanied Jesus's death. 'The graves were opened' (τὰ μνημεῖα ἀνεῴχθησαν/<em>ta mnēmeia aneōchthēsan</em>)—tombs split open in the earthquake. But more remarkably, 'many bodies of the saints which slept arose' (πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων ἠγέρθησαν/<em>polla sōmata tōn ke...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(52) **Many bodies of the saints which slept arose.**—It is scarcely, perhaps, surprising that a narrative so exceptional in its marvellousness, and standing, as it does, without any collateral testimony in any other part of the New Testament, should have presented to many minds difficulties which have seemed almost insuperable. They have accordingly either viewed it as a mythical addition, or, wh...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.</strong> The raised saints emerged 'after his resurrection' (μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ/<em>meta tēn egersin autou</em>), establishing Christ's priority as 'firstfruits from the dead' (1 Corinthians 15:20, Colossians 1:18). Though their tombs opened at His death, they appeared after He rose,...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.</strong> The Roman centurion supervising the crucifixion witnessed supernatural events and declared faith. 'Saw the earthquake, and those things that were done' (ἰδόντες τὸν σεισμὸν καὶ τὰ γενόμενα/<em>idontes ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(54) **Truly this was the Son of God.**—St. Luke’s report softens down the witness thus borne into “Truly this Man was righteous.” As reported by St. Matthew and St. Mark (Mark 15:39), the words probably meant little more than that. We must interpret them from the stand-point of the centurion’s knowledge, not from that of Christian faith, and to him the words “Son of God” would convey the idea of ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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And many women were there beholding afar off , which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Many women were there beholding afar off</strong> (ἀπὸ μακρόθεν θεωροῦσαι)—while the eleven disciples fled (except John), faithful women remained. The Greek <em>theorousai</em> (beholding) means sustained, careful watching, not casual glancing. These women had <strong>followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him</strong> (διακονοῦσαι)—the same word for 'deacon' service.<br><br>Their p...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(55) **Many women were there beholding.**—The group was obviously distinct from that of “the daughters of Jerusalem,” of Luke 23:28, but was probably identical with that mentioned in Luke 8:2-3, as accompanying our Lord in many of His journeyings.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Mary Magdalene</strong>—from Magdala, delivered from seven demons (Luke 8:2), she became Jesus' devoted follower and would be the first resurrection witness (John 20:11-18). <strong>Mary the mother of James and Joses</strong>—likely the wife of Clopas (John 19:25), possibly Jesus' aunt, making James and Joses his cousins. <strong>The mother of Zebedee's children</strong>—Salome (Mark 15:40...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(56) **Mary Magdalene.**—This is the first mention of the name in St. Matthew. The most natural explanation of it is that she came from the town of Magdala, or Magadan (the reading of the chief MSS.), not far from Tiberias, on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. The two prominent facts in her history prior to her connection with the Resurrection are, (1) that our Lord had cast “seven devils ou...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 51-56** The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not ...
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The Burial of Jesus

When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When the even was come</strong> (ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης)—the evening before Sabbath began at sundown, creating urgency to complete burial. <strong>A rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph</strong>—fulfilling Isaiah 53:9, 'with the rich in his death.' Joseph was a Sanhedrin member (Luke 23:50-51) who had not consented to Jesus' condemnation, and secretly a <strong>disciple</strong> (μαθητής) of J...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(57) **A rich man of Arimathæa.**—The place so named was probably identical with the Ramah of 1Samuel 1:19, the birth-place of the prophet. In 1Samuel 1:1 the name is given in its uncontracted form as Ramathaim-zophim, and in the LXX. version it appears throughout as Armathaim, in Josephus as Armatha, in 1 Maccabees 11:34 as Ramathem. It was a city of the Jews, in the narrower sense in which that ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus</strong> (ᾐτήσατο τὸ σῶμα)—the Greek <em>aitesato</em> means earnestly requested, even demanded as a favor. Roman law allowed family or advocates to claim executed bodies. Joseph's boldness contrasts with the disciples' fear and hiding. <strong>Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered</strong>—only after confirming death with the centur...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(58) **He went to Pilate.**—Assuming the death of our Lord to have been soon after the ninth hour (3 P.M.), Joseph would seem to have hastened at once to the Prætorium, and asked Pilate’s permission to inter the body. St. Mark records Pilate’s wonder that death should have come so soon (Mark 15:44). In his compliance with the petition we trace, as before, a lingering reverence and admiration. As f...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Wrapped it in a clean linen cloth</strong> (ἐντυλίξας αὐτὸ σινδόνι καθαρᾷ)—the Greek <em>sindon</em> refers to expensive fine linen, and <em>kathara</em> emphasizes purity/cleanness. Jewish burial customs required washing the body and wrapping in linen strips with aromatic spices (John 19:40). Joseph's care contrasts with the criminal's normal disposal—no washing, no fine cloth, mass buria...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(59) **A clean linen cloth.**—The word for “linen cloth,” *Sindôn,* points, according to different derivations, to a Sidonian or an Indian fabric. It was probably of the nature of muslin rather than linen, and seems to have been specially used by the Egyptians for folding round their mummies, but sometimes also for the sheet in which a man slept (Herod. ii. 82, 95). In the New Testament it appears...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock</strong>—Joseph gave Jesus his personal burial plot, a costly sacrifice as tombs took months to carve and represented family inheritance. The <strong>new tomb</strong> meant no other body had occupied it, emphasizing Christ's uniqueness and ensuring no confusion about whose body rose. <strong>He rolled a great stone to the door...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(60) **Laid it in his own new tomb.**—The garden, or orchard, was therefore the property of Joseph (see Note on Matthew 27:33). All the first three Gospels dwell on the fact of its not being, as so many graves were, a natural cavern, but cut, and, as St. Luke’s word implies. to some extent, smoothed and polished. Like almost all Eastern graves, it was an opening made in the vertical face of the ro...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre</strong> (καθήμεναι ἀπέναντι τοῦ τάφου)—the Greek <em>kathemenai</em> indicates extended sitting, not brief observation. These faithful women remained while others left, their grief expressed through presence. Their <strong>sitting over against</strong> suggests they faced the tomb directly, keeping vigil.<br><br>This d...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(61) **And there was Mary Magdalene.**—The words imply that they remained by the cross while the body was taken down, and watched its entombment: then returning to the house where they lodged, they prepared their spices and ointment before the Sabbath began, for a more complete embalmment, so that they might be ready by the earliest hour of dawn on the first day of the week (Luke 23:56).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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The Guard at the Tomb

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The next day, that followed the day of the preparation</strong>—this phrases the Sabbath respectfully without naming it, emphasizing the holy day. Yet the chief priests and Pharisees violated Sabbath by conducting business with Pilate. Their religious scruples (they wouldn't enter Pilate's hall during Passover, John 18:28) evaporated when protecting their position. <strong>Came together un...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(62) **The next day, that followed the day of the preparation.**—The narrative that follows is peculiar to St. Matthew, and, like the report of the rending of the veil of the Temple, may, perhaps, be traced to the converted priests of Acts 6:7. This was, as we find from what follows, the Sabbath. The “preparation” (*Paraskeuè*) was a technical term, not, as is sometimes said, in reference to prepa...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Sir, we remember that that deceiver said</strong> (ἐκεῖνος ὁ πλάνος)—calling Jesus <em>ho planos</em> (the deceiver/imposter) fulfilled Jesus' own prediction of persecution (John 15:20). The Greek definite article emphasizes 'that notorious deceiver,' showing their contempt continued beyond death. Yet they quoted him accurately: <strong>After three days I will rise again</strong>—referenci...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(63) **We remember that that deceiver said . . .**—It appears, then, that though they had deliberately stirred up the passions of the people by representing the mysterious words of John 2:14 as threatening a literal destruction of the Temple (Matthew 26:61; Matthew 27:40), they themselves had understood, wholly or in part, their true meaning. We are, perhaps, surprised that they should in this res...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day</strong> (ἀσφαλισθῆναι τὸν τάφον)—<em>asphalisthēnai</em> means secured, made infallibly safe. They requested military guard precisely until the resurrection deadline. <strong>Lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away</strong>—proposing the very conspiracy theory they'd later spread (28:13). Their fear drove t...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(64) **Until the third day.**—The phrase is worth noting as indicating the meaning which the priests attached to the words “after three days.” They were looking for the fraud which they anticipated as likely to be attempted at the beginning of the third day from the death. **The last error.**—Better, *deceit,* to connect the word, in English as in the Greek, with the “deceiver” of Matthew 27:63.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Ye have a watch</strong> (ἔχετε κουστωδίαν)—Pilate granted their request, assigning Roman temple guards (<em>koustodia</em>, a Latin loanword). His dismissive <strong>go your way, make it as sure as ye can</strong> (ὑπάγετε ἀσφαλίσασθε ὡς οἴδατε) drips with irony: 'secure it as best you know how.' Pilate saw through their fear—a dead man needs no guard.<br><br>The phrase 'as ye can' acknow...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(65) **Ye have a watch.**—Better, *Take ye a guard.* The Greek verb may be either imperative or indicative. The former gives the better meaning. The “watch,” or “guard,” was a body of Roman soldiers (St. Matthew uses the Latin term *custodia*)*,* who could not be set to such a task without Pilate’s permission. If the priests had had such a “guard” at their disposal before, there would have been no...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch</strong> (ἐσφαλίσαντο τὸν τάφον σφραγίσαντες τὸν λίθον)—The religious authorities took unprecedented precautions against resurrection. The verb <em>esphalisanto</em> (ἐσφαλίσαντο) means 'they secured/made safe,' while <em>sphragisantes</em> (σφραγίσαντες) indicates official sealing, likely with wax and the Ro...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(66) **Sealing the stone.**—The opening of the tomb had been already closed by the stone which had been rolled so as to fill, or nearly fill, it. The sealing was probably effected by drawing one or more ropes across the stone and fastening either end to the rock with wax or cement of some kind. **And setting a watch.**—Better, *with the guard.* What is meant is that the priests were not content to...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 27 Chapter Outline Christ delivered to Pilate, The despair of Judas.(1-10) Christ before Pilate.(11-25) Barabbas loosed, Christ mocked.(26-30) Christ led to be crucified.(31-34) He is crucified.(35-44) The death of Christ.(45-50) Events at the crucifixion.(51-56) The burial of Christ.(57-61) The sepulchre secured.(62-66) **Verses 1-10** Wicked ...
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