Matthew 27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jesus Handed Over to Pilate
27 When daybreak came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.(A) 2 After tying Him up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate,[a] the governor.(B)
Judas Hangs Himself
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.(C) 4 “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
“What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!”
5 So he threw the silver into the sanctuary(D) and departed. Then he went and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests took the silver and said, “It’s not lawful(E) to put it into the temple treasury,[b] since it is blood money.”[c] 7 So they conferred together and bought the potter’s field with it as a burial place for foreigners. 8 Therefore that field has been called “Blood Field” to this day. 9 Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
They took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of Him whose price was set by the Israelites, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.(F)[d]
Jesus Faces the Governor
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor.(G) “Are You the King of the Jews?” the governor asked Him.
Jesus answered, “You have said it.”[e](H) 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He didn’t answer.(I)
13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Don’t You hear how much they are testifying against You?” 14 But He didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.(J)
Jesus or Barabbas
15 At the festival(K) the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.[f] 17 So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you—Barabbas,[g] or Jesus who is called Messiah?”(L) 18 For he knew they had handed Him over because of envy.
19 While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of Him!”(M)
20 The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. 21 The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”
“Barabbas!” they answered.
22 Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Messiah?”
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”[h](N)
23 Then he said, “Why? What has He done wrong?”
But they kept shouting, “Crucify Him!” all the more.(O)
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere,[i] but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.[j] See to it yourselves!”(P)
25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us(Q) and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But after having Jesus flogged,[k] he handed Him over to be crucified.(R)
Mocked by the Military
27 Then(S) the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into headquarters and gathered the whole company around Him.(T) 28 They stripped Him and dressed Him in a scarlet military robe.(U) 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and placed a reed in His right hand. And they knelt down before Him and mocked Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spit on Him, took the reed, and kept hitting Him on the head. 31 When they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.(V)
Crucified Between Two Criminals
32 As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced this man to carry His cross.(W) 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha(X) (which means Skull Place), 34 they gave Him wine[l] mixed with gall to drink. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. 35 After crucifying Him they divided His clothes by casting lots.[m](Y) 36 Then they sat down and were guarding Him there. 37 Above His head they put up the charge against Him in writing:
THIS IS JESUS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Then two criminals[n] were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.(Z) 39 Those who passed by were yelling insults at[o] Him, shaking their heads(AA) 40 and saying, “The One who would demolish the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”(AB) 41 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders,[p] mocked Him and said, 42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel!(AC) Let Him[q] come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him![r] For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with Him kept taunting Him.(AD)
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon[s] darkness came over the whole land.[t](AE) 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá[u] sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken[v] Me?”(AF)[w]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah!”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, fixed it on a reed, and offered Him a drink.(AG) 49 But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him!”
50 Jesus shouted again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.(AH) 51 Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary[x](AI) was split in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were also opened(AJ) and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And they came out of the tombs after His resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
54 When the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “This man really was God’s Son!”[y](AK)
55 Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to Him were there, looking on from a distance.(AL) 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.(AM)
The Burial of Jesus
57 When it was evening,(AN) a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple(AO) of Jesus. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate ordered that it[z] be released. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60 and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.(AP) 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb.
The Closely Guarded Tomb
62 The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate(AQ) 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive He said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’(AR) 64 Therefore give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples(AS) may come, steal Him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “You have[aa] a guard of soldiers,”[ab] Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 Then they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting the guard.[ac](AT)
Footnotes
- Matthew 27:2 Other mss read Pontius Pilate
- Matthew 27:6 See Mk 7:11 where the same Gk word (Corban) means a gift pledged to the temple.
- Matthew 27:6 Lit the price of blood
- Matthew 27:10 Jr 32:6-9; Zch 11:12-13
- Matthew 27:11 Or That is true, an affirmative oath; Mt 26:64; Mk 15:2
- Matthew 27:16 Other mss read Jesus Barabbas
- Matthew 27:17 Other mss read Jesus Barabbas
- Matthew 27:22 Lit “Him—be crucified!”
- Matthew 27:24 Lit that it availed nothing
- Matthew 27:24 Other mss read this righteous man’s blood
- Matthew 27:26 Roman flogging was done with a whip made of leather strips embedded with pieces of bone or metal that brutally tore the flesh.
- Matthew 27:34 Other mss read sour wine
- Matthew 27:35 Other mss add that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: “They divided My clothes among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
- Matthew 27:38 Or revolutionaries
- Matthew 27:39 Lit passed by blasphemed or were blaspheming
- Matthew 27:41 Other mss add and Pharisees
- Matthew 27:42 Other mss read If He . . . Israel, let Him
- Matthew 27:43 Or if He takes pleasure in Him
- Matthew 27:45 Lit From the sixth hour to the ninth hour
- Matthew 27:45 Or whole earth
- Matthew 27:46 Some mss read lama; other mss read lima
- Matthew 27:46 Or abandoned
- Matthew 27:46 Ps 22:1
- Matthew 27:51 A heavy curtain separated the inner room of the temple from the outer.
- Matthew 27:54 Or the Son of God
- Matthew 27:58 Other mss read that the body
- Matthew 27:65 Or “Take
- Matthew 27:65 It is uncertain whether this guard consisted of temple police or Roman soldiers.
- Matthew 27:66 Lit stone with the guard
Matthew 27
New Testament for Everyone
The death of Judas
27 When dawn broke, all the chief priests and elders of the people held a council meeting about Jesus, in order to have him put to death. 2 They tied him up, took him off, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3 Meanwhile Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned, and was filled with remorse. He took the thirty pieces of silver back to the high priests and elders.
4 “I’ve sinned!” he said. “I betrayed an innocent man, and now I’ve got his blood on my hands!”
“See if we care!” they replied. “Deal with it yourself.”
5 And he threw down the money in the Temple, and left, and went and hanged himself.
6 “Well now,” said the chief priests, picking up the money. “According to the law, we can’t put it into the Temple treasury. It’s the price of someone’s blood.”
7 So they had a discussion, and used it to buy the Potter’s Field, as a burial place for foreigners. 8 (That’s why that field is called Blood Field, to this day.) 9 Then the word that was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet came true:
They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of the one who was valued,
valued by the children of Israel;
10 and they gave them for the potter’s field,
as the Lord instructed me.
Jesus and Barabbas before Pilate
11 So Jesus stood in front of the governor.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
“If you say so,” replied Jesus.
12 The chief priests and elders poured out their accusations against him, but he made no answer.
13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all this evidence they’re bringing against you?”
14 He gave him no answer, not even a word, which quite astonished the governor.
15 Now the governor had a custom. At festival time he used to release one prisoner for the crowd, whoever they chose. 16 Just then they had a famous prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the people were all gathered there, Pilate said to them, “Who do you want me to release for you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Messiah?” 18 (He knew that they’d handed him over out of sheer envy.)
19 While he was presiding in the court, his wife sent a message to him.
“Don’t have anything to do with that man,” she said. “He’s innocent! I’ve had a really bad time today in a dream, all because of him.”
20 The high priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus killed. 21 So when the governor came back to them again, and asked, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” they said, “Barabbas!”
22 “So what shall I do with Jesus the so-called Messiah?” asked Pilate.
“Let him be crucified!” they all said.
23 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What’s he done wrong?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24 Pilate saw that it was no good. In fact, there was a riot brewing. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.
“I’m not guilty of this man’s blood,” he said. “It’s your problem.”
25 “Let his blood be on us!” answered all the people. “And on our children!”
26 Then Pilate released Barabbas for them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Jesus mocked and crucified
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the barracks, and gathered the whole regiment together. 28 They took off his clothes and dressed him up in a scarlet military cloak. 29 They wove a crown out of thorns and stuck it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt down in front of him.
“Greetings, King of the Jews!” they said, making fun of him.
30 They spat on him. Then they took the reed and beat him about the head. 31 When they had finished mocking him, they took off the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes again, and led him off to crucify him.
32 As they were going out they found a man from Cyrene, called Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.
33 When they came to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place, 34 they gave him a drink of wine mixed with bitter herbs. When he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 So then they crucified him. They divided up his clothes by casting lots, 36 and they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And they placed the written charge above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 Then they crucified two brigands alongside him, one on his right and one on his left.
Jesus mocked on the cross
39 The people who were going by shouted blasphemies at Jesus. They shook their heads at him.
40 “So!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, were you? Save yourself, if you’re God’s son! Come down from the cross!”
41 The chief priests, too, and the scribes and the elders, mocked him.
42 “He rescued others,” they said, “but he can’t rescue himself! All right, so he’s the King of Israel!—well, let him come down from the cross right now, and then we’ll really believe that he is! 43 He trusted in God; let God deliver him now, if he’s so keen on him—after all, he did say he was God’s son!”
44 The brigands who were crucified alongside him heaped insults on him as well.
The death of God’s son
45 From noon until mid-afternoon there was darkness over the whole land. 46 About the middle of the afternoon Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!”—which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
47 Some of the people who were standing there heard it and said, “This fellow’s calling Elijah!”
48 One of them ran at once and got a sponge. He filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him a drink.
49 The others said, “Wait a bit. Let’s see if Elijah is going to come and rescue him!”
50 But Jesus shouted out loudly one more time, and then breathed his last gasp.
51 At that instant the Temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs burst open. Many bodies of the sleeping holy ones were raised. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection, and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and the others with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that happened, they were scared out of their wits.
“He really was God’s son!” they said.
55 There were several women there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, helping to look after his needs. 56 They included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
The burial of Jesus
57 When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea arrived. He was called Joseph, and he, too, was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. Pilate gave the order that it should be given to him.
59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the doorway of the tomb, and went away.
61 Mary Magdalene was there, and so was the other Mary. They were sitting opposite the tomb.
62 On the next day (that is, the day after Preparation Day), the chief priests and the Pharisees went as a group to Pilate.
63 “Sir,” they said, “when that deceiver was still alive, we recall that he said, ‘After three days, I’ll rise again.’ 64 So please give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples might come and steal him away, and then tell the people, ‘He’s been raised from the dead!’ and so the last deception would be worse than the first.”
65 “You can have a guard,” said Pilate; “go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and putting a guard on watch.
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Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
