Study Content

The chapter opens early in the morning as the chief priests and elders finalize their decision against Jesus.

Although they had already condemned Him during the night, they bring Him before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Under Roman occupation, Jewish leaders did not possess authority to carry out executions, so they needed Rome’s approval.

At this point Matthew turns briefly to Judas Iscariot.

When Judas sees that Jesus has been condemned, he experiences deep remorse. He returns the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, admitting that he betrayed innocent blood.

The religious leaders dismiss his confession, telling him that his guilt is his own responsibility.

Judas throws the silver into the temple and leaves, eventually taking his own life.

The priests then debate what to do with the returned money. Because it was associated with blood money, they decide not to place it in the temple treasury. Instead they use it to purchase a field used for burying strangers.

Matthew connects this moment with prophetic language, emphasizing again that the unfolding events align with Scripture.

Jesus is then brought before Pilate.

Pilate asks Him directly, “Art thou the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answers, “Thou sayest.”

The statement neither denies nor expands upon the accusation, leaving Pilate puzzled by Jesus’ calm demeanor.

The chief priests and elders continue presenting accusations, yet Jesus remains mostly silent.

Pilate marvels at this silence. In Roman trials, defendants normally argued fiercely for their innocence. Jesus’ composure reveals that He understands the deeper purpose unfolding.

During the Passover festival it had become customary for the governor to release one prisoner chosen by the crowd.

At that time a notorious prisoner named Barabbas was being held.

Pilate offers the crowd a choice: Jesus, called Christ, or Barabbas.

Barabbas was associated with rebellion and violence. The contrast between the two men is striking. One is guilty yet set free. The other is innocent yet condemned.

While Pilate considers the situation, his wife sends him a message warning him not to harm Jesus because she suffered troubling dreams about Him.

Yet the chief priests stir up the crowd to demand Barabbas instead.

Pilate asks what he should do with Jesus.

The crowd cries out, “Let him be crucified.”

Pilate asks what evil Jesus has done, but the crowd only grows louder.

Finally Pilate performs a symbolic act by washing his hands before the crowd, declaring that he is innocent of Jesus’ blood.

The people respond with a chilling statement, accepting responsibility for the outcome.

Pilate releases Barabbas and orders Jesus to be scourged and crucified.

Roman scourging was brutal. It involved a whip embedded with sharp pieces of metal or bone designed to tear the skin. Many victims died during the beating itself.

After the scourging, the Roman soldiers mock Jesus.

They place a scarlet robe on Him, twist together a crown of thorns, and place it on His head. They put a reed in His hand like a scepter and kneel before Him in mock worship, calling Him “King of the Jews.”

They spit on Him and strike Him with the reed.

The mockery ironically proclaims a truth they do not understand.

Jesus is indeed a King, but His Kingdom is not established through violence or domination.

As they lead Him to the place of execution, they compel a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross.

The execution site is called Golgotha, meaning “place of the skull.”

Before crucifixion the soldiers offer Jesus wine mixed with gall, possibly intended as a numbing agent, but He refuses to drink it.

Crucifixion was one of the most painful forms of execution used by the Romans. Victims were nailed or tied to wooden beams and left to die slowly through exhaustion and suffocation.

Above Jesus’ head the soldiers place a sign stating the charge against Him: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.”

Two criminals are crucified beside Him, one on each side.

Passersby mock Him, challenging Him to save Himself if He truly is the Son of God.

The chief priests and scribes join in the ridicule, saying that if He comes down from the cross they will believe Him.

Their words reveal a misunderstanding of His mission.

The power of Christ is not shown by escaping the cross but by enduring it.

At noon darkness covers the land for three hours.

Around the ninth hour Jesus cries out in Aramaic, quoting the opening line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

The cry reflects both the depth of His suffering and the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture describing the suffering of the righteous.

Soon afterward Jesus yields up His spirit.

At that moment several extraordinary events occur.

The veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom. This veil separated the Holy of Holies, the most sacred space in the temple.

Its tearing symbolizes that the barrier between God and humanity has been removed.

An earthquake shakes the ground, rocks split, and tombs open. Matthew describes righteous people being raised and appearing to many in Jerusalem.

Even the Roman centurion overseeing the execution recognizes the significance of the moment, declaring, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Several women who had followed Jesus from Galilee watch from a distance. Among them are Mary Magdalene and others who had supported His ministry.

As evening approaches, a wealthy disciple named Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for Jesus’ body.

Joseph places the body in a new tomb he had prepared, wrapping it in linen cloth.

A large stone is rolled across the entrance.

The chief priests then ask Pilate to secure the tomb because they remember Jesus predicting that He would rise after three days.

A guard is posted and the tomb is sealed.

Matthew 27 ends with the world believing the story is finished.

Yet what appears to be the end is actually the moment just before the greatest victory in history.