Matthew 27:27-56
New American Standard Bible
Jesus Is Mocked
27 (A)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into (B)the [a]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman [b](C)cohort to Him. 28 And they stripped Him and (D)put a red [c]cloak on Him. 29 (E)And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a [d]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “(F)Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And (G)they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. 31 (H)And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
32 (I)As they were coming out, they found a man of (J)Cyrene named Simon, [e]whom they compelled to carry His [f]cross.
The Crucifixion
33 (K)And when they came to a place called (L)Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 (M)they gave Him (N)wine mixed with [g]bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.
35 And when they had crucified Him, (O)they divided His garments among themselves by casting [h]lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to (P)keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him [i]which read, “(Q)THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38 At that time two [j]rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were [k]speaking abusively to Him, (R)shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “(S)You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! (T)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “(U)He saved others; [l]He cannot save Himself! (V)He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 (W)He has trusted in God; let God rescue Him now, if He [m]takes pleasure in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 (X)And the [n]rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.
45 (Y)Now from the [o]sixth hour darkness [p]fell upon all the land until the [q]ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(Z)Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 And (AA)immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “[r]Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him[s].” 50 And Jesus (AB)cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 (AC)And behold, (AD)the [t]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and (AE)the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the [u]saints who had (AF)fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered (AG)the holy city and appeared to many. 54 (AH)Now as for the centurion and those who were with him (AI)keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw (AJ)the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was [v](AK)the Son of God!”
55 (AL)And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while (AM)caring for Him. 56 Among them were (AN)Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and (AO)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 27:27 I.e., the governor’s official residence
- Matthew 27:27 Normally 600 men (the number varied)
- Matthew 27:28 I.e., a Roman soldier’s cloak
- Matthew 27:29 Or staff; i.e., to mimic a king’s scepter
- Matthew 27:32 Lit this one
- Matthew 27:32 I.e., the crossbeam for a cross
- Matthew 27:34 Prob. referring to the taste of myrrh, added to lessen pain
- Matthew 27:35 Lit a lot
- Matthew 27:37 Lit written
- Matthew 27:38 Or robbers
- Matthew 27:39 Or blaspheming
- Matthew 27:42 Or can He not save Himself?
- Matthew 27:43 Or desires;
- Matthew 27:44 Or robbers
- Matthew 27:45 I.e., noon
- Matthew 27:45 Lit occurred
- Matthew 27:45 I.e., 3 p.m.
- Matthew 27:49 Lit Allow that we see
- Matthew 27:49 Some early mss And another took a spear and pierced His side, and there came out water and blood (cf. John 19:34)
- Matthew 27:51 Or curtain
- Matthew 27:52 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Matthew 27:54 Or a son of God; or a son of a god
Matthew 27:27-56
The Message
The Crucifixion
27-31 The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red robe. They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion.
32-34 Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus’ cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call “Skull Hill,” they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn’t drink it.
35-40 After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they killed time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
41-44 The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—he can’t save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his ‘Son’ now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God’s Son, didn’t he?” Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.
45-46 From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47-49 Some bystanders who heard him said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him.”
50 But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
51-53 At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
54 The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
55-56 There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.
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Matthew 27:27-56
King James Version
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 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!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
31 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.
32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35 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.
36 And sitting down they watched him there;
37 And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.
38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 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.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 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.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 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?
47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48 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.
49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 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;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54 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.
55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson