1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Jesus had been taken from the Garden to the house of Annas, where He was grilled by some of the chief priests until the Sanhedrin could be hastily assembled in the middle of the night at the house of Caiaphas, the official high priest. There, He was cruelly treated and mocked by the Jews, but the official vote apparently did not take place until early morning as they led Him to Pilate (Mark 15:1).
Some scholars think that the Sanhedrin was required to meet at the temple, which would make this night court illegal. They propose that the Jews met briefly at the temple and then led Him bound to Pilate. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were either not present during these councils, or were silent in the face of overwhelming opposition. Probably the latter is true.
2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
At this time, Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea under Emperor Tiberius and Herod Antipas was in charge of the Galilean region (Luke 3:1). The fact that his soldiers had killed some Galilean Jews while they were offering sacrifices (Luke 13:1) hints that Pilate was a cruel governor, and cared little for the Jews’ religion (see note John 18:29). While the Jews delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, they would not enter his court to avoid being defiled and so disqualified to eat the Passover that evening (John 18:28).
Determined to force a trial of Jesus in the Roman courts, the chief priest’s initial complaint to Pilate was that He was perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar (Luke 23:2). Pilate however, did not take the bait. He was wise to their lying tactics by this time and immediately he suspected sinister motives and hypocrisy. After all, the Pharisees themselves were highly critical of Rome and detested paying taxes; why the sudden loyalty? Pilate quickly understood that Jesus was being unjustly accused because they were envious of Him (Mat 27:18). He had no intention of being an accessory to their crimes and so attempted to have Him freed.
Notice that the Sanhedrin had condemned Him to death for blasphemy, but before Pilate they manufactured a charge of plotting against Caesar. They knew Pilate would never receive a charge of religious blasphemy to be tried in his court. Above all, the Jewish rulers wanted to see Jesus crucified by the Romans, for nothing would so dishonor Him before the people (see John 18:31-32).
3 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, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
Perhaps this hints that Judas did not expect Jesus to be arrested. After all, for 3 years now Jesus had easily escaped their clutches, often by miraculous means. The alternate view is that Judas, in a petulant moment of bitterness, took offense at Christ’s reprimand and sought revenge by betraying him. Now he suddenly saw his actions in their full sinfulness and was sorry (see note Mat 26:25). Matthew alone records Judas’ regret and following suicide, although it is mentioned by Luke in the book of Acts (Act 1:16-19).
The Jewish leaders refused to help Judas with his guilty conscience. What miserable guides they were! While the text says Judas repented himself, that does not mean he sought forgiveness for his actions. He was sorry for what he had done and recognized that he had sinned, but he was not repentant unto redemptive action. His suicide shows that to be true.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 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. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
This is an interesting detail. The Greek word for temple here is naos, which refers to the inner sanctuary. Another word, hieron, is used for the temple buildings. Did Judas throw the money into the very temple itself? Only priests were allowed there. Scholars have wrestled with the language, with many believing it means he threw the money towards the temple, or perhaps into the outer court. I’m not so sure. Judas was very distraught, as his immediate suicide shows. A person of that mind would have no qualms to break another rule.
Peter’s sin was great; he denied Christ three times. Judas’ sin was also great; he betrayed Christ to the Jews. Judas’ greater sin though, was that he did not seek forgiveness as Peter did. Instead, he gave up the relationship and went and hanged himself. Some see a contradiction between the two descriptions of Judas’ death (see Act 1:16-18). Maybe his attempt at hanging resulted in disembowelment. A popular and convenient resolution is that Judas hung himself on a tree overlooking the valley of Hinnom (the origin of the word Gehenna – Hell). The rope or tree broke, causing him to fall onto the rocks below.
Luke says that Judas bought the field, but Matthew says the chief priests bought it. Perhaps Judas had made a deal for this field before, but didn’t have enough money to complete the purchase. The thirty pieces of silver (a sum equal to just one month’s work) seemed to him “easy money” to finish the deal. However, when Judas saw that Jesus was dead, he was overcome with remorse and threw his ill-gotten gain into the temple. Ever the picture of righteousness and piety, the priests did not know what to do with this blood money. Then they discovered that it had been destined to a particular seller. Seeing an easy way out, they completed the sale and assigned the property to be used as a graveyard for strangers (an unknown person who happened to die in Jerusalem). It became known to all as the field of blood (Act 1:19).
The very money which delivered Jesus to death was used to buy a place of rest for strangers (including Gentiles). It is surely a prophecy by types of that momentous spiritual event.
- Thirty pieces of silver was the price fixed by the Law that a man must pay for the wrongful death of a slave (Ex 21:32).
- In the Old Testament, the typological meaning of silver is redemption.
- The silver was cast into the temple sanctuary, where the atonement is pre-figured in the rites and ceremonies of the Law.
- The silver provided a place of soul-rest for the unwanted and unknown.
9 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; 10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.
This prophetic detail is found only in the book of Matthew. “And taking the thirty pieces of silver, for that was the value the children of Israel had esteemed for Him, they bought the potter’s field just as the Lord had told me to do.” The quote is a paraphrase of the Masoretic text of Zechariah 11:12-13, which is notable for three reasons: first, because the Septuagint is the preferred Old Testament source of the Gospel writers; second, because the passage is attributed to Jeremiah instead of Zechariah and third, because the quotation does not closely match the base text.
The view of some scholars is that Matthew refers to the section of Scriptures called “the latter Prophets,” which was often called “Jeremiah” because that was the title of its first book. Others however, believe that Jeremy was a later insertion in the text or an early copy error, for the spelling of the two words is fairly similar.
I favor the first option for an additional reason. While the prophecy is generally based on Zechariah 11:12-13, that passage is only vaguely understood without the input of two other key passages, both found in the book of Jeremiah. The first describes Jeremiah’s visit to a potter, where we learn that the potter is actually God (Jer 18:1-10). The second describes Jeremiah redeeming a field just before the city of Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians (Jer 32). The following paragraphs show that incorporating these meaningful details into Zechariah’s report will bring clarity to the meaning of the prophecy and also to its fulfillment. This also gives reason for Matthew’s rough quotation of the base text.
As for Zechariah, God had instructed him to become a shepherd in order to develop an object lesson whose meaning would remain obscure until the coming of the Messiah. The flock of the slaughter (Zec 11:4) represents the scattered multitudes at the first coming of Christ (Mat 9:26) who were so cruelly treated and oppressed by their own shepherds (Zech 11:5, compare Mat 23:13-14). At that time there would be a great proving in the land. Those who were found worthy would take root and become the new people of God under a better Covenant with all Israel (Zech 11:6-11). By the word of the Lord, Zechariah suddenly broke his staff, Beauty, and quit his job as shepherd. So the people payed him what they valued his labor to be worth, thirty pieces of silver, which Zechariah took and cast to the potter in the house of the Lord (Zec 11:12-13). Then he broke the second staff, Bands, which signified the end of the house of Israel (Zec 11:14).
There is a wealth of typological meaning in this passage. Thirty pieces (three is the number of the Trinity) of silver (an OT symbol for salvation), point to that unfathomable act of Christ in dying to redeem sinful man. In life He was lowly esteemed by mankind, for the thirty pieces were thrown away – but directly into the naos of the Lord. There it was esteemed of priceless value, accepted by God as the appropriate price to buy back Mankind. The blood money was given to the Potter, an apparent term for God the Father (Is 64:8), for throughout the Bible the Creator is likened to a potter who fashions and forms vessels in the way that pleases him (Is 45:9; Jer 18:1-6; Lam 4:2; Rom 9:20-21).
The Potter takes a lump of clay and begins to work, forming it carefully into the shape that He desires. At first only His great mind knows the work that He has planned, but slowly His creation begins to take shape under His forming hand. Before the God-seekers marvelling eyes, His creation is at last finished, a work of beauty, goodness, wisdom and promise. How true of the salvation events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Tantalizing details and prophetic hints are scattered all through the prophets and in the teaching of Jesus’ ministry, but it was not until all was finished that the whole purpose of God was revealed, to be forever admired and discussed. Like Esau before him, Judas threw his salvation away (as did all Mankind), but the Potter in the house of the Lord made something new from the same piece of rejected clay. That stone so lightly esteemed and rejected by the builders has become the chief corner stone, elect and precious (1Pet 2:6-7).
The above ideas only scratch the surface of the many levels of this prophecy and the typological details of Christ’s death and resurrection. The son of Man goeth as it is written of Him (Mat 26:24). Many times the prophets did not understand what God told them to do or write, but they were faithful and obedient to record the words as the Spirit’s direction (2Pet 1:21).
11 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.
All four Gospels record Pilate asking this question (Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:33), which sprang from the Jewish elders’ accusation that Jesus was perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar (Luke 23:2). Their plan was to have Rome crucify Him in order to make a spectacle of His death, thereby discrediting Him in the eyes of the people. While all the Gospels have full accounts of Jesus before Pilate, the fourth Gospel is the most detailed (John 18:28-19:16). It particularly reveals Pilate’s personal struggle about what to do with Jesus; three times he told the Jewish mob, I find no fault in Him (John 18:38; 19:4; 19:6; Luke 23:22). Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, just and honest, and that His accusers were jealous hypocrites. However, he was not strong enough to withstand the Jews’ rabid cry for crucifixion. History says that Pilate never recovered; a few years later, like Judas, he took his own life. See note John 18:39.
Thou sayest. Three times Jesus answered with these words. He had responded similarly to Judas (Mat 26:25) and the high priest (Mat 26:64). Pontius Pilate was impressed by Jesus’ bearing and simple quietness. Upon learning His supposed crime was that He made himself the Son of God (John 19:7), he tried very hard to free Him (Acts 3:13). It even seems that Pilate believed Jesus was the son of God, for he became more and more afraid (John 19:8). Reading the accounts, Jesus appears before Pilate as the One in control of the unfolding events and that bothered Pilate (John 19:11-12). After finally giving in to the mob and condemning Jesus to death, Pilate did manage a minor win – he irked the Jewish elders by writing their very accusation as a title over Jesus’ head while He hung on the cross: the King of the Jews (John 19:19-22; Luke 23:38).
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? 14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
Jesus’ silence before His accusers was a fulfillment of messianic prophecies such as Is 53:7 and Ps 38:12-14. The final, great part of His mission was to die, not defend Himself against their lies. His silence won Pilate’s admiration and support. He saw right through the Jews’ feigned allegiance to Rome and knew that they had brought Him on account of envy. How was Jesus’ countenance before the accusations? Did He look at His accusers, or keep His eyes on the ground? Was His face marked by pain and suffering, or unfathomable tranquility?
Luke records that Pilate at this time sent Jesus to Herod, who interviewed Him and then returned Him to Pilate (Luke 23:6-12). It seems that Pilate tried to push a difficult situation onto Herod, but it did not work. Both Pilate and Herod were in Jerusalem over the Passover gathering for peacekeeping reasons. Pilate normally lived in the Roman port city of Caesarea, while Herod Antipas ruled from Tiberias, a Roman-developed city on the shores of lake Galilee (see note John 18:29). Jesus had lived most of His life in the region of Galilee and Herod had for a long time wished to interrogate Him and watch Him work some miracles (Luke 13:1-2; 23:8). Ever since he had put John the Baptist to death Herod had worried about Jesus, who he thought might be John come back to life (Mat 14:1-12). While Jesus did answer some of Pilate’s questions, He refused to respond to Herod, perhaps because Pilate’s motives were nobler than Herod’s. Nevertheless, Herod did not find fault with Jesus either and sent Him back to Pilate as an act of courtesy. The two rulers became friends by this episode (Luke 23:12).
15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 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? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
Evidently the Romans, in an effort to create goodwill with the Jewish populace, had released a Jewish prisoner at a previous Passover. The Jews had come to expect it as a yearly action (Mark 15:8). With the Jewish multitude already gathered in the Roman hall, Pilate apparently saw an opportunity to have Jesus released. Speaking directly to the crowds, he offered them a choice of prisoners to set free (Mark 15:9-10). Jesus the Nazarene or Barabbas the robber. Barabbas was a thief and murderer who was in jail for inciting an insurrection in Jerusalem (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19; John 18:40). Not only did Pilate’s plan fail, it made the situation even more precarious. The chief priests moved quickly, inciting the multitude to demand Barabbas’ release and Jesus’ immediate crucifixion (Mat 27:20; Mark 15:11-13). Pilate, needing to content the people and avoid escalating into a full-blown tumult, gave in and delivered Him up to be crucified (Mark 15:15). Luke’s parallel account gives a very similar record of events (Luke 23:16-25).
When they were gathered together. According to John’s Gospel, the Jews would not enter the praetorium because they did not want to be defiled and consequently barred from eating the Passover (John 18:28). So Pilate had to come out of the Hall to hear their complaint in the open air (John 18:29). He initially tried to defuse the situation by telling the chief priests and elders to take care of the matter themselves (John 18:31), but the Jews wanted Jesus to be publicly executed and insisted that Pilate do so immediately, if not sooner. So Jesus was taken into the judgment hall, where Pilate questioned Him without His accusers being present (John 18:33-37).
It was at this time that Pilate uttered his famous and cynical question, What is truth? Then he went out to the Jews and gave them his verdict of “not guilty” (John 18:38). Continuing through John’s account, it appears that during the trial, Pilate went out to talk to the Jews several times. Each time he appeared the mob began to yell and shout. Then, when Jesus Himself appeared wearing a crown of thorns and a kingly robe, the chief priests and elders began shouting, Crucify Him, crucify Him (John 19:5-6). Once more Pilate took Jesus back into the judgment hall, this time questioning His origin and purpose. Jesus’ answers made Pilate afraid and even more convinced that He was innocent (John 19:9-11). He took Jesus out to the Jews again, to a place called the Pavement (John 19:13). Upon seeing Him, the Jewish leaders lost all restraint, Away with Him, crucify Him (Joh 19:15), they shouted again and again. The gathered Jewish mob, ever ready to provoke and aggravate their Roman rulers, joined in and threatened such a tumult that Pilate agreed to their demands (John 19:16).
19 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.
Only Matthew records this detail. It is shrouded in mystery. Did Pilate’s wife know Jesus? How did she discover He was standing before her husband? Maybe she simply connected the tumult about a Jewish prisoner with her recent miserable night of bad dreams. And maybe she was even then watching Jesus before Pilate and feared that her dreams were a bad omen of the present moment and so sent a messenger to warn her husband. Some think God sent an angel to specifically warn her in a dream about Jesus, much like the angel that came to warn Joseph when Herod thought to kill baby Jesus (Mat 2:13). This seems unlikely. Jesus’ death was in God’s plan, would He tell someone not to carry it out?
The Greeks believed and feared the power of the gods, who would bring evil upon men that did not act honorably and justly. So if Jesus really were a son of the gods, of course Pilate was afraid. His wife’s warning simply added to his misapprehension.
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
It is remarkable that the Jewish multitude, which just a few days earlier had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with palms and singing (Mat 21:8-10), should now be found shouting against Him. Remember however, that this multitude had followed the chief priests and elders from Caiaphas to Pilate (Luke 23:1). These were wicked, blood-thirsty men, the kind that uncannily appear at ungodly events to see what new evil they might find. The multitude that had welcomed Jesus was primarily His disciples (Luke 19:37). Certainly there were some Jesus-sympathizers among the multitudes at Pilate’s court, but it was predominantly a Pharisaical crowd of politically-motivated Jews. In persuading the multitude to ask for Barabbas, they gained more supporters, for the Jews chafed under the Roman’s rule. Besides, Barabbas was nearer to the Jewish idea of the Messiah than was Jesus the Nazarene. Barabbas was a fighter, someone who could free them from Rome and return Israel to power.
The Jewish mob’s insistence that Jesus be crucified is difficult to imagine. What had He done to deserve such hatred and rejection? Even the hardened Roman governor was shaken by their rabid hatred of this simple, harmless Man. Pilate was not a Jew. He did not even pretend to understand their complicated laws and customs. All he knew was that Jesus had done something to provoke their anger. He became alarmed however, when he heard that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (John 19:8) and actually seemed to be in command (John 19:10-12).
Pilate strongly believed that Jesus was completely innocent and that the Jews were scheming to have Him crucified on account of envy and hatred. Why, what evil hath He done? Pilate asked. But the Jews, by this time beyond rationality and sense, simply kept shouting, Away with Him, crucify Him (John 19:15). The incensed mob grew only more wild and threatening. No wonder Pilate felt trapped in his course of action.
There is a notable parallel in the crowd’s decision to take Barabbas over Jesus, for all through history Mankind is choosing to follow one of two possible masters. The first is the simple, peaceable, righteous Jesus Christ, but the second is the murderous, rebellious robber, Barabbas Satan. To follow the first One is to give up self, sin and the world; to follow the second one is to live for self, sin and the world. To follow the first will lead to glorious victory and eternal life, but to follow the second will lead to fearful torment and everlasting punishment.
The Jewish mob rejected Jesus as their King and chose Barabbas to be their ruler. The meaning of the name Barabbas contributes to this analogy: “the son of a father.” That could be any man, or it could stand for all mankind. For by the death of the one perfect Man, the rest are set free from the bondage and sentence of eternal death.
24 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.
The Law provided that if a man was found murdered but the killer was not discoverable, the elders should declare their freedom from carrying out the law of capital punishment by a ceremony of washing the hands (Deut 21:6-7). Evidently that custom became part of the Gentile community as well, as a way to show one’s innocence. See also Ps 26:6. Crucifixion however, was a Roman method of execution, it did not figure in Judaism.
25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
It is bad enough to hear the Jews accept the guilt of killing an innocent man, but this was the Son of God. Shocking wickedness. Although they had no authority to speak in the place of their posterity, their words have proven to be eerily, prophetically true. For at this time God ended His covenant with the natural Israel (see the parable of the householder, Mat 21:33) and ever since the Jews have been the most hardened of all races unto saving Faith. That is especially astonishing when one considers that Jesus was a Jew and is so evidently revealed as the Messiah by their own Scriptures. In choosing Barabbas, the Jews chose the devil; in rejecting Jesus, they rejected God; in accepting His blood upon their hands, they rejected His blood over their sins.
The Romans crucified Jesus upon a single cross, but at the destruction of Jerusalem they crucified so many fleeing Jews that they ran out of space for crosses. So they hung three or four men upon the same cross. His blood be on us, and on our children. It is almost certainly true that in the entire history of the world, no human tribe has suffered more deaths and discrimination than the Jews. Nevertheless, while the plotting Jews had instigated His murder, the Gentiles were the ones who crucified Him. Pilate held the power to free Christ, but he sent his soldiers to do the deed. So both groups are guilty of His death.
The real reason the Jews continue to be a hated and afflicted race above all others is because they are an obstinate, selfish and rebellious people. For that, some will call me a racist and anti-semite. So be it. I choose to be factually correct, not politically correct. A person’s genes contribute much to the tendencies, personality and mindset of the individual. Jews are by nature more gifted intellectually and that is to their great benefit, but they must overcome the negative tendencies of their race’s disposition. And history records their marked failure in that regard. My own experiences with Jews has only corroborated these facts. All nations are under the curse, but there is a special curse hanging over the Jews; not specifically for crucifying their God, but for rejecting Him again and again and again. There is salvation if they look to the One upon the tree, but not many do. Instead, their existence as a nation and race is a perpetual witness of the calamities and judgments that are destined for all those who refuse the only Name whereby salvation is attained (Acts 4:12).
26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Scourging was an exceptionally cruel and painful punishment. The whip was thin and long, with little bits of bone and stone embedded in it. When wielded by experienced hands it could rip the flesh to shreds, causing paralysis and even death. While Matthew and Mark make only simple mention of Jesus’ scourging, the gospel of John shows that it was an attempt by Pilate to placate the blood-thirsty Jews so that they would assent to His release (John 19:1-4). The Gospel of Luke accords with John’s account, for although he does not state exactly when the scourging took place, he notes the same reason as John for Jesus’ scourging: Pilate hoped to get the Jews to accept that punishment instead of crucifixion (Luke 23:22). So while the first two Gospels mention Jesus’ scourging in connection with His earlier prophesy (Mat 20:19; Mark 10:34), the last two describe it in relation to the efforts of Pilate to have Him released. John’s gives the correct chronology, while the Synoptics’ focus is topical.
Then released he Barabbas unto them…and delivered Jesus to be crucified. The parallel account says, And he released unto them, him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:25). Those words have echoed through the halls of Jewish history ever since. Spiritually speaking, a wicked, violent robber and murderer runs loose in that race and the righteous, peaceable Life-giver has been put to death. Of course, that is true for every nation that rejects God’s son, but it has been spectacularly evident in that nation so blessed by the ancients.
In another spiritual truth, just as Jesus was crucified and Barabbas released, so too is released from bondage every man, woman and child who accepts Jesus’ substitutionary death for their own sins.
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.
The Greek word for the common hall (praitorion) is not consistently translated in the KJV. In Mark 15:16 it is Praetorium, in John 18:28; 19:9; Act 23:35 it is judgment hall, and in Php 1:13 it is palace. It evidently refers to the ruler’s courtroom or place of meeting with the people and is not specific to one building called the Praetorium. It is linked to the Roman government, not the Jewish Sanhedrin.
The Jews had earlier mocked and misused Jesus at their trial and now the Gentile soldiers resort to the same. They dressed Him up like a king with regal robe, but put a crown of thorns on His head and a simple reed in His hand as a sceptre. Then they bowed down before Him in mocking allegiance. It is likely that Jesus was mistreated first by Herod’s men (Luke 23:11-12) and later by Pilate’s soldiers. How great the reality of this contrast: Jesus and His followers wear crowns of thorns in this life, but in the next they will exchange those marks of opprobrium for golden crowns of victory! (Rev 4:4).
While Matthew says they put on Him a scarlet robe, Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 say it was a purple robe. Perhaps that reflects the separate scornings before Pilate and Herod, who mocked Him and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him again to Pilate (Luke 23:11). Or it could have been a single, two-toned robe (purple and scarlet), for both are colors of royalty and the rich. The two words are found together in that context on several occasions (Rev 17:3-4; 18:12-16). Scarlet is a euphemism for blood in Is 1:18 and Rahab was told to put a scarlet cord in her window to escape death (Josh 2:18). Scarlet, hyssop and cedar wood were to be thrown into the red heifer sacrifice (Num 19:6); these three were present at the crucifixion (see my notes in Num 19).
Through terrible mistreatment and ugly mocking, Jesus did nothing (1Pet 2:23). The prophets spoke in graphic, perfect description of this moment. Isaiah 50:6 says, I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting. The Psalmist wrote, The plowers plowed upon My back, they made long their furrows (Ps 129:3). All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head (Ps 22:7). For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet (Ps 22:16).
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,
Jerusalem had a special place for executions located outside the city and by the main road, where all who entered the main gate would see (John 19:20). Golgotha is the Aramaic form of Calvary (Luke 23:33), and answers typologically to the place that many of the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were to be offered (Heb 13:11-12). Jesus set out bearing His cross (John 19:16-17), but was unable to continue. He was exhausted from the sleepless night and the scourging had severely weakened Him; besides, He was by nature not a powerful man (Is 53:2). So the Roman soldiers laid hands on a man entering the city from the other direction (Luke 23:26) and compelled him to bear the cross of Jesus.
This man’s name was Simon. He was from Cyrene, a region of Libya on the Mediterranean Sea near present-day Benghazi. There is every reason to believe that this experience so powerfully impacted Simon that he became a follower of Christ. His sons’ names are also recorded in the Scriptures, Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21), which are Christian names that appear in other parts of the New Testament (Rom 16:13; Acts 4:6; 19:33, 1Tim 1:20). Very early in the Christian era, Egypt became an important area of evangelistic growth. The family of Simon may have returned to their country as early witnesses for Christ and along with the Ethiopian eunuch and others, the missionary church in North Africa grew impressively (Acts 2:10; 6:9; 13:1).
At this point, Jesus gave a prophetic sermonette to the women who followed Him as He left the city to be crucified (Luke 23:27-31). And not many years later, many Jewish women would leave this city weeping for their dead loved ones and families. More than one million Jews died in the judgment of A.D. 70, and the 100,000 who survived the siege were forced to march away into slavery. Most died on the way (see Josephus).
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.
And they crucified Him. These simple words convey nothing of the world of pain, humiliation and suffering that this manner of death entailed. Crucifixion was a Roman method of execution that was reserved for the worst of criminals. Someone has said it’s inventor had a brilliant but incredibly cruel mind to have concocted such an excruciating, slow and shameful death. Typically, the victim’s clothes were stripped off and he was forced to lie naked on a T-shaped wooden frame, where his hands and feet were crudely nailed in place. The whole frame was then stood upright and dropped into a hole to create a shocking public spectacle. With his extremities immobilized, the sufferer was exposed to ridicule and physical torments with no way to even minorly protect himself. Because of the nails, his every movement would cause immediate pain, yet death might not come for several days. Meanwhile, birds and dogs would tear at his flesh and even at night, sleep was impossible. As an act of mercy (!) sometimes soldiers would beat the man’s legs with a heavy club until they were broken and this would hasten his death. Crucifixion was the worst death a man could experience. The chief priests and scribes could have stoned Jesus, or have killed Him by sword, but no; they wanted Him to die in public disgrace, to show all that they were the rulers of Israelite nation.
Just before He was nailed to the cross, someone tried to give Jesus a pain-killing drink, but He refused it. Some say the soldiers gave it to Him, some think the women brought it (Luke 23:27). Gall and myrrh were bitter, drug-like substances mixed with vinegar wine (Mark 15:23) that was apparently intended to dull the pain. This was foretold in Psalms 69:19-21. Later, the soldiers offered Him wine in order to revive Him (Mat 27:48; John 19:28-30). While Jesus refused the first drink after He had tasted it, He accepted the second drink.
Evidently there were four soldiers at the cross, but Jesus’ garments numbered five. And so they cast lots to determine who would get His coat (see note John 19:23). David’s prophetic Psalms 22, which contains several allusions to Christ’s death, foretells this detail (Ps 22:18).
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.
The soldiers were to guard the prisoners until they died. For that unhappy job, they were apparently allowed to keep for themselves the victims’ clothes. At Pilate’s command, they put a title on the wooden frame above his head: Jesus, the King of the Jews. The chief priests and scribes were not pleased. They went to Pilate and asked him to change it to: He said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate refused (John 19:19-21).
Some Bible critics have made a big deal of the differences in the title as recorded in the four Gospels (see Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19). It is a feeble criticism. In my opinion, the credibility of the Evangelists is advanced by the slight differences. Clearly they did not connive to make their stories match.
38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
This reading implies that Jesus was already crucified when the two thieves were brought to Golgotha, but using the other Gospels, it appears that the three went out of the city together and Jesus was the first to be crucified (Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32-33; John 19:18). Being sentenced to die between two common criminals caused the Scripture [to be] fulfilled which saith, And He was numbered with the transgressors (Mark 15:28). The prophecy comes from Isaiah 53:12, one of the clearest and longest OT prophecies describing the death of Jesus the Christ. That passage burns forever in the Jews’ own sacred writings, convincing and convicting them of their sinful error in rejecting the Messiah for which they had waited so many long centuries. Judaism’s explanation of Isaiah 52-53 is that the subject is Israel the nation, not their Messiah. Yet even the simplest reader will see insurmountable difficulties with that idea.
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.
The place Jesus was crucified was just outside the city gate. All those entering or leaving Jerusalem saw Him and read the title above His head (John 19:20). Some of these wise passersby made witty remarks and derogatory statements that only revealed their ignorance and poor powers of reasoning. They had seen Jesus restore a man’s withered hand in an instant, watched as a man born blind was suddenly able to see perfectly, and heard how a man dead and buried for three days was raised to life; they had marveled how Jesus slipped miraculously through the fingers of the chief priests each time they tried to arrest Him, they had heard Him silence the sagest of the scribes and Pharisees with His ultimate wisdom. How could they now conclude that He no longer had this power? A truly wise person would have suspected that things were not as they seemed. He would have been filled with alarm and foreboding. However, there seems to have been no wise men in Jerusalem.
By Luke’s account, it would appear that many of these revilers were chief priests and rulers (Luke 23:35), not everyday Jews. They had heard the false witnesses make this same charge before the Sanhedrin (Mat 26:61). Furthermore, even these events were predicted of the Messiah in Psalms 22:7; 109:25. Again we marvel at their stubbornness, although when the Spirit-filled Peter showed them these facts, they were pricked in their hearts (Acts 2:36-37).
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.
These are terrible, blasphemous, sacrilegious, slanderous words. They admit He had worked tremendous miracles and deeds to help the suffering of others, yet they cruelly killed Him. This reveals just how far the upper echelons of Jewish leaders had fallen. To envision the chief priests, the scribes and elders taunting and ridiculing a simple, defenseless Man as He hung dying on a cross is an astonishing commentary on their character. It seems they knew He was right and good while they were wrong and bad, and they rejoiced in having succeeded in their wickedness. Certainly they were the very hands of the Devil. Yet they and the Devil would soon discover that they had been outsmarted again. For He did save Himself. And even more spectacularly than coming down from the cross; He came back from the grave.
Today many are saying the same thing to Christ. “If the Bible is true, show me some miracle and I will believe.” Or, “I will believe there’s a God if He gives me a million dollars.” Jesus did not answer the Jewish doubters, neither does He answer the cynics today. If they will not believe the Bible, neither will they believe a miracle, even if it were someone rising from the dead (Luke 16:30-31).
Verse 43 is another quote from Messianic Psalms 22: He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him (Psa 22:8). They said, “He claimed to be the Son of God; let God save Him then, if this Jesus really is His Son.” Nasty words. Jesus suffered physically, socially, spiritually. As His disciples, we should not expect anything different. Sometimes the Truth seems obscured and disregarded even by God, but only for a time and to bring about a greater good.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
These two criminals were apparently Jews, because the chief priests did not want them to desecrate their Sabbath the next day (see note, John 19:31). According to Luke though, one of the thieves was saved even in these pressing moments! Perhaps as he watched Jesus and heard the chief priests, he became convinced that Jesus was innocent. More likely, this thief already knew about Jesus and the Kingdom that He preached, for in humility he asked, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus answered in those never-to-be-forgotten words: Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:39-43).
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
The Romans counted time as we do, meaning the sixth hour was 6AM. The Jews though (as Matthew), divided the day into twelve hours, beginning at sunrise (about 6AM) until sunset (6PM). The first hour of the day was 6AM, so the sixth hour was noon in Jewish time. With the absence of watches in that era, time was not very precise. It was therefore common to generalize using the expressions “third hour” for the morning hours, “sixth hour” for the noon hours, and “ninth hour” for the evening hours. John apparently gives the Roman time (6AM) as the approximate hour when Jesus appeared before Pilate (John 19:14) and that corresponds well with Mark’s record that Jesus was crucified at the Jews’ third hour (Mark 15:25), which would strictly be 9AM, but could refer to the morning hours until 11AM.
The unusual darkness began at the sixth hour, or about noon, and lasted until His death at the ninth hour (Mat 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). This was a supernatural darkness such as the one that God brought upon the land of Egypt by the hand of Moses (Ex 10:21-23). It was not a solar eclipse caused by the moon, for the Passover was always at full moon, when it is impossible for the moon to come between the earth and sun. The darkness extended over all the land, but apparently not so deep a darkness to have affected normal daytime activities, nor did it affect those at the crucifixion. There is an interesting prophecy in Amos 8:8-10 that speaks of the sun going down at noon and the earth becoming dark at clear day, it is as the mourning of an only son. The prophecy continues to describe Israel wandering from sea to sea because they have lost the Word of the Lord.
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.
The Jewish ninth hour would be 3PM, the approximate time of His death. It is unusual for a dying man to cry out with a loud voice, which Jesus did again just as He expired (Mat 27:50). It greatly affected the centurion who observed these events (Mat 27:54).
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Surely these are the saddest, most agonizing words ever spoken. It is one of several utterances at the Cross with basis in Psalms 22. Non-trinitarians say Jesus’ words here show that He was not God, but that is false. They do show that Jesus and God are not literally the same Being, which is consistent with the general picture of God the Father and God the Son in the Scriptures. The very concept of Redemption (salvation) requires that Jesus be God. A human being can never redeem or buy back himself – he is the one being redeemed! It is a contradiction. Christ redeemed Humankind, who at the beginning belonged to Him (as their Creator). They had fallen into the captivity of Satan, but Jesus bought them back by His sacrificial death. That is redemption. It cannot be effected by any man, even a sinless one, for he has no intrinsic power to change his being or position. A sinless man might offer himself as a substitute for ONE other human, but not the entire human race. Only God, infinitely good and infinitely valuable could do that very deed.
Some trinitarians say Jesus’ humanity was speaking here, but I think not. Rather, I see Jesus describing His true feelings of being alone and separated from God, which is the very penalty for sin. Though fully God, He was also a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Is 53:3). Christ the GodMan suffered tremendous anguish and distress of soul when in Gethsemane the burden of Man’s sin was laid upon His sinless, perfect being. Certainly God was very near to Him even now, but in being made a curse for us (Gal 3:13; 2Cor 5:21) and bearing the sins of world He felt very alone and forsaken (Is 59:16; 63:3).
In satisfying the penalty for our sins, Jesus felt separated from His Father. My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? The deep, spiritual suffering that Jesus endured in our place, when by the grace of God He tasted death for every man (Heb 2:9), far exceeded the physical pains of His body. The wages of sin is death; spiritual death, which in the final analysis is eternal separation from God. And while I cannot believe that Jesus suffered spiritual death, the suffering He endured was of the quantity and quality such that a righteous and just God could righteously consider it to fully substitute for Mankind’s punishment. And for that we are forever and exceedingly grateful to Jesus Christ. His words show that the cost of forgiveness was not cheap and easy. The true reality of His suffering took place in the humanly unknowable spiritual realm. While that makes it difficult for us to fully sympathize with His inner turmoil, we are made to see and hear His anguish by these words. And then to realize that He did it for me, a sinful, self-centered, lowly and seemingly unlovable soul – that is humbling, powerful and worthy of our utmost honor and thanksgiving. See note on Mat 26:38.
Abram’s horror of darkness (Gen 15:12) during the deeply symbolic ritual of dividing and sacrificing the emblems of the first covenant typifies Christ’s suffering at this time. Both took place about the setting of the sun, at the inception of a new covenant between God and man.
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. These words from Psalms 22:1 are generally thought to be transliterated from Aramaic, the common language of the Jews since the time of the Babylonian Captivity. Why then did the people misunderstand Him? Eli is the Aramaic word for God, not Elijah. A growing segment of Bible scholars think that the general Jewish population at the time of Christ no longer spoke Aramaic but Greek, which would explain their misunderstanding. And we know that the Septuagint Scriptures was commonly used because New Testament quotations are almost always from that Greek source.
Others propose (in spite of grave difficulties) that the words are transliterated from the Hebrew text used at times by the Jewish rabbis and scribes. Hebrew and Aramaic are similar but not identical, which could explain why the people didn’t understand Him. On the other hand, maybe the people were still mocking Him. They only pretended to misunderstand His prayer to God as a request for Elias to come and save Him. Remember that the Jews expected Elijah to come before the Messiah. Jesus had explained to His disciples that John the Baptist was Elijah (Mat 11:14; 17:10-14).
The Gospels record seven sayings of Jesus on the cross. This is the only one that Matthew and Mark have that is not found in Luke and John. Here they are in probable order:
- Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
- Woman, behold thy son…Behold thy mother! (John 19:26-27).
- Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43).
- I thirst (John 19:28).
- My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me? (Mat 27:46; Mark 15:34).
- It is finished (John 19:30).
- Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. (Luke 23:46).
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.
While Mark’s account is almost identical (Mark 15:35-36), the fourth gospel says they gave Jesus something to drink because He was thirsty (John 19:28). Probably He drank more than once, for at the crucifixion site there was set a vessel full of vinegar (John 19:29). The vinegar was probably wine mixed with water, which was a common drink.
Hearing His desperate words, one of them ran to give Him a drink. The rest of the bystanders however, angrily continued to ridicule Him, “Let Him alone! Let Elijah come and save Him!” But when He cried out to God and died, the mockers fell silent. And when the earth shook and the rocks rent, some went away smoting their breasts for what had been done (Luke 23:48).
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;
It is correct to say that Jesus did not die, but by an act of will He yielded up the ghost. Luke records His words, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost (Luke 23:46). He did not die from pain and exhaustion, but bowed His head because His work on earth was finished (John 19:30). No man took His life; He had the power to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:17-18). This could never be said of man, nor seen in any man; God only has this authority.
At the moment of Jesus’ death, a striking and foreboding sign shook the very soul of the Israelite nation. The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, and that most sacred of all places, the Holy of Holies which hid the Ark of the Covenant and was forbidden to all except the high priest once a year, was laid open to the eyes of the common priests. The veil was a thick, expensive and highly decorated curtain of four layers (Ex 26:31-33). Perhaps it was torn by the earthquake, or maybe a supernatural hand did it, like the one that wrote on Belshazzar’s wall (Dan 5:5).
The Jewish temple was designed by God to foreshadow and typify many spiritual realities that the human eye cannot see. The Holy of Holies is a type of heaven and the veil symbolizes the great barrier between God and Man (Heb 10:19-20; Eph 2:14). The rending of the vail at the death of Christ is a physical demonstration of several key spiritual events that took place at the death of Christ.
- It confirmed that the Reconciliation was made (Zech 9:11), the acceptable blood of the atonement had been shed (Heb 13:20), the long-awaited moment of salvation had come (Rev 5:5-9).
- It marked the moment that the First Covenant became old (Heb 8:13) and the beginning of the New Covenant (Heb 12:24).
- It offered a new hope, that Mankind is now facilitated to draw close to God, even in this life (Heb 10:19-22).
- It announced the fulfillment of Christ’s words in Matthew 21:43, for now the Kingdom was taken from Israel and given to people bearing appropriate fruits. This is fore-shadowed by Saul tearing Samuel’s garment in 1Samuel 15:26-29.
- It showed that Jesus Christ had opened up the way to heaven. The souls of the saints were now delivered from Sheol and taken to Paradise.
- It signified that the presence of God had left the Holy of Holies. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him and was departed from Saul (1Sam 18:12).
- It was rent from the top to the bottom, which indicates that these events had a heavenly origin.
- Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would pass behind the vail into the Holy of Holies to perform the prescribed rituals. The rent vail marked the completion and fulfillment of all the Old Testament types and symbolisms (Luke 24:27, 45-46).
The ninth hour was the time of the evening sacrifice and priests were probably present in the holy place on this special Passover day. They would have witnessed the shocking sight of the veil parting in two and would have recoiled in fear at seeing directly into the forbidden place. A tradition says that a rope was tied around the high priest’s leg when he entered the Holy of Holies in case he was struck dead while inside, but nobody died this day except the sacrifice Victim.
The earth did quake and the rocks rent. The earthquake also announced that a tremendous spiritual event had taken place, an event that men’s eyes might have seen, but that their hearts did not understand. It was the extreme sacrifice, so long-planned and even foretold from the beginning of Creation and typified in the OT sacrifices. Done, fulfilled, completed; It is finished, Jesus said. And with that affirmation, the physical earth suddenly agreed. According to the Scriptures, the final Day of the Lord will also be accompanied by an earthquake – the most devastating one the world will ever see.
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.
The gospel of Matthew alone records these details which fulfill the previously obscure features of Daniel 12:1-3, a prophecy which describes Michael (symbolic name for Jesus Christ in Rev 12:3) standing up at the end of the Jewish covenant for the fall and rising again of many in Israel (Luke 2:34). The angel told Daniel, At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. The appearance of dead saints in the holy city was a visible confirmation of a tremendous event that took place in the spiritual realm at the victory of Christ over Satan at His death and resurrection. Until that time, the souls of those who died went to Sheol (Hades in Greek), but when Christ died on the Cross their salvation was effected. Jesus delivered from Sheol all those souls of the Old Covenant which He chose to redeem and these He took with Him to Paradise (Mat 12:29; 1Pet 3:19; Eph 4:9). Now when a Christian dies, he goes straight to be with Christ in Paradise, just as He promised the thief on the cross.
Some have linked the opening of the tombs with the earthquake (v52), but I think that is erroneously inferred. The saints came out of the graves after His resurrection (v53), three days later. As usual, Matthew records the event topically, not chronologically. When Jesus bowed His head and died, the Devil and his angels rejoiced; they thought they had won. Yet that seemingly weak moment of Christ was instead the moment of His greatest power! At His death, a tremendous lightning bolt struck in the heart of the spiritual realm (Luke 10:18) and Satan was suddenly and unexpectedly defeated (Rev 12:9; Heb 2:14).
God said concerning the Messiah: By the blood of Thy covenant, I have sent forth Thy prisoners from the pit wherein is no water (Zech 9:11). The dead saints of the Old Covenant appearing in Jerusalem was a physical affirmation of a spiritual reality: the translation of the righteous Old Testament souls to be with their Savior. See note John 20:17. It was a resurrection, but not that final one which will reunite the body with the soul and spirit in an eternal, celestial body. Apparently their appearance in the Holy City was not only visible but also verbal, for how else could they have been identified?
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.
When the Roman soldier saw the powerful way that Jesus died and felt the earth shudder beneath his feet at Christ’s words, he was convinced that a righteous man had been put to death (Luke 23:47). The centurion had probably witnessed many deaths, but he had never seen a weak and dying man cry out in a strong voice and yield up the ghost as this Man had done (Mark 15:39). Having heard the mob’s taunting and Jesus’ response, it seems to have struck him suddenly: they had been terribly wrong! This was no imposter, truly this was the Son of God. Luke adds, And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned (Luke 23:48).
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 Zebedee’s children.
Faithful women, and not just a few, stayed at Golgotha until the moment of His death. Three are mentioned by name, probably because they would become the first witnesses of His resurrection. Meanwhile, His disciples were so scattered and fearful that we know of only one who dared appear at Calvary: John the Beloved (John 19:26).
Mary Magdalene was a woman who followed Jesus after He had cast out of her seven devils (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2). She became the first human being to see Christ risen from the grave (John 20:11-18). Mary the mother of James the less (Mark 15:40), was a sister to Jesus’ mother Mary, who was also at the cross (John 19:25). Adding Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha means that there were at least four Marys at the crucifixion. The last woman mentioned is the mother of Zebedee’s children, who famously asked Jesus to allow her two sons, James and John, to sit on each side of Him in His kingdom (Mat 20:20-24). This woman’s name was probably Salome (Mark 15:40). See note for John 19:25.
It is possible that Mary the mother of James and Joses refers to Jesus’ mother (see Mat 13:55), yet it seems unlikely that the Evangelists would say she was the mother of James (the less) and Joses instead of Jesus’ mother. We also know that the father of James the Less was Alphaeus/Cleophas (Mat 10:3; John 19:25). While it may seem strange that two sisters be named Mary, in an age of multiple marriages and naming one’s children after relatives, it would not have been so unusual. Under the above scenario, James the Less and Joses were cousins of Jesus, and that is supported by verses such as Mat 13:55; 1Cor 9:5; Gal 1:19; James 1:1. The epistle of James then, was written by James the Less, and not James the son of Zebedee (Mark 3:17).
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
Before this, the Jews had asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified broken so that they would die more quickly. Jesus was already dead when the soldiers arrived (John 19:31-34). By other Scriptures we learn that Joseph of Arimathaea was a rich man (Mat 27:57), an honorable counselor (Mark 15:43), a good man and a just (Luke 23:50), a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews (John 19:38). History is silent concerning his later life, but he has become famous for this courageous action.
Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. Probably the Jews who requested the leg-breaking had just left Pilate when Joseph entered asking for Jesus’ body. So Pilate called the centurion to make sure that Jesus was dead (Mark 15:43-45) and then gave permission for Joseph to take the body.
The Jews had not asked out of compassion that Jesus’ legs be broken, but so that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath (John 19:31). The OT law said that a criminal’s body should not be allowed to hang on a tree overnight (Deut 21:22-23, but I do not think this was the Jews’ motivation. The Romans had performed the execution. It seems to have been a matter of aesthetics, a million Jews from outside Jerusalem were in town for the Passover and they didn’t want stinking dead bodies defiling the feast.
John was at the cross when the soldiers came with a heavy club to break the legs of the crucified men. This would hasten the death of the victim, which otherwise might live for several days. The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves, but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs (John 19:33). However, one of the soldiers took a spear and pierced His side, evidently to make sure that He was not faking death (John 19:34). John witnessed that out of His pierced side flowed blood and water, a sight that is altogether unexplainable medically. John seems to acknowledge its singularity by affirming that he truly saw it with his own eyes and that he is positive it happened (John 19:35).
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 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.
Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would make His grave with the wicked and the rich in His death (Is 53:9). The first detail was fulfilled by His crucifixion between two thieves, but the second detail can scarcely be imagined. Jesus was a poor man. Furthermore, His dishonorable and sudden death by crucifixion made a decent burial very, very improbable. However, God raised up two rich men to step out in bold action against their fellow Sanhedrin members and to go care for the body of Jesus. The first was Joseph of Arimathea and the second was Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night (John 19:39). Amazingly, it was not His disciples nor His family that carried out the funeral arrangements, but two prominent men of the Jewish ruling class that God had prepared for this unique fulfillment of OT prophecy.
The picture of these two powerful and famous men laboring together, anointing the body of Jesus and wrapping it in linen clothes and spices is very striking (John 19:39-40). Their sacrifice was not minor! By breaking with the other Sanhedrin members they were almost certainly ostracized forever. Their feast of Unleavened Bread was ruined and their names in elitist Israel were besmirched. And they spared not in expenses! The mixture of myrrh and aloes amounted to a hundred pounds and the sepulchre was Joseph’s own new tomb (v60, John 19:41). Incredibly, their secret faith was strengthened by witnessing His shocking yet powerful death. The faith of Jesus’ disciples, meanwhile, was at its lowest ebb. Unlike the disciples, these men were not present when Jesus stooped to wash His disciples’ feet, but their actions embody the servant’s attitude of unselfishly helping a fellowman when nobody else would lift a hand.
So while the world of Judaism sat around the passover table eating lamb with their families, these two men accepted a task which was the most defiling in all the Old Testament law: touching a dead body (see Num 19). For that, they would become unclean for one week and would have to pass through several steps before the temple priests to recover the right to appear in the Congregation after the week was up. The whole Feast of Unleavened Bread was lost to them. Yet, in their hearts these men knew that something more important than the Feast of Unleavened Bread was happening; and Someone greater than the Passover was here (Luke 11:31-32). With all due reverence and honor these two men, themselves among the 70 most powerful and notable in all Judaism, lovingly cared for the body of Christ. Like Mary who is remembered all through Christendom for anointing the feet of Jesus (Mat 26:13), Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus are remembered for doing at last what they should have done first, confessing that Jesus the lowly Nazarene is the Messiah, the Son of God.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
The women are mentioned again because two days later they would come to this tomb and discover that Jesus was alive (Mat 28:1). The other Mary is probably not Jesus’ mother, but the mother of James and Joses (Mat 27:56). The place was very near to Calvary and set in a garden (John 19:41). The two Marys appear to have been all day with Jesus. They were the last of His disciples to leave Him that night and they would be the first to see Him again.
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
The day of preparation was the day preceding the weekly Sabbath. It was so called because the Jews were not permitted to prepare food on the sabbath. All four of the Gospels say that Jesus was crucified the day before the sabbath (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31), but scholars disagree if this was the normal Saturday sabbath or the special sabbath of the 15th Nisan. Advocates for a Wednesday or Thursday crucifixion make this day of preparation refer to 15th Nisan “sabbath,” which was required to be observed on the first day of Unleavened Bread, regardless which day of the week it happened to fall upon. After careful study, I think this interpretation is very doubtful. First, there were seven festival holy days throughout the year, but they were never called or considered “sabbaths” (see note John 13:1). Second, two gospels directly state that this was the preparation of the sabbath (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54) and the other two strongly imply the same (John 19:42; Mat 27:62). Any doubt should be removed by John 19:31, where John explains that this year the 15th Nisan fell upon the normal sabbath, making that sabbath day…an high day (John 19:31). When one puts the Gospel accounts together, they agree perfectly that this preparation was for the Sabbath and also the Passover, because they both fell upon the same day (John 19:14, 31, 42). There is just no good argument against the above facts. And so, Jesus was crucified on Friday, remained in the grave on the Sabbath, and rose at first light on Sunday morning.
The holy festival day commanded by the OT law for the Jewish passover was to take place the day following the passover meal, so the chronology is perfect between the Jewish passover and the details of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Obviously, this means that Jesus did not eat the regular passover meal with His disciples. Some commentators take issue with that (but see our notes on Mat 26:17).
Amazingly, the chief priests and elders met again with Pilate directly upon this holy, high day Sabbath. While in their minds it was an emergency meeting, how hypocritical of them to work with Pilate to cover their evil actions on the Sabbath when they had criticized Jesus so harshly for doing good on that holy day!
63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 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. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
These Jews were not sleeping when Jesus was preaching! Now His words of Mat 12:40 were haunting them and they determined to do all in their power to keep Him in the grave. His disciples meanwhile, forgot His prophetic words until after the resurrection. The matter was so important to the Jewish leaders that they violated their sabbath laws to address this urgent, unforeseen possibility. What if His disciples stole His body and deceived the people into thinking He had risen from the dead just as He had predicted? Terrible! And so they made every effort to keep Him dead and buried, but to no avail. Their careful guard made the matter so much worse, for now they had not even the excuse that His disciples stole His body! Yet, lacking any other credible answer, that is the very thing they said (Mat 28:11-15). It is ironic that the Jews’ great attempt to disprove the resurrection of Christ ended up providing even better evidence that it took place!
Pilate knew that the Sanhedrin had delivered Jesus to him out of envy. He had listened to Jesus’ noble answers and observed His bearing. He recognized that Jesus was a unique individual and he had personally examined Him. Three times he professed to have found no fault in Him. His wife had warned him to be very careful with that Just man, and so he had tried mightily to release Jesus. So when Pilate heard of His spectacular death by the centurion’s report, he was surely filled with foreboding. Now he hears even more frightening words from the Sanhedrin: Jesus had prophesied that He would rise from the dead in 3 days! His worst fears were being realized – he had helped to kill one of the gods (for he probably thought of Jesus in relation to his own religion). No wonder he agreed to give a guard and wished them to make it as secure as possible. Matthew is the only Gospel to record these events. Evidently an official wax seal was placed on the stone so that any tampering would be noticed (Daniel 6:17).