But the governor said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified!”
So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.”
All the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
Then he released to them Barabbas, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Of the murder; an Hebrew kind of speech.
Of the murder; an Hebrew kind of speech.
Christ being quit by the testimony of the Judge himself, is notwithstanding condemned by the same to quit us before God.
Read full note →
It was a manner in old time, when any man was murdered, and in other slaughters, to wash their hands in water, to declare themselves guiltless.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath…
23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Ver. 23. Why? What evil hath he done?] Why? but if he have done no evil, wherefore doth not Pilate pronounce him innocent, contra gentes, facing the people, and not guilty him by proclamation? which because he did not, but the contrary, was he not therefore, by a just judgment of God upon him, kicked off the bench by the Emperor Tiberius? Judge Hales came to an evil end for crossing his conscience. And Judge Morgan, who gave the sentence of that peerless Lady Jane Grey’s death, presently fell mad; and in all his distracted fits, cried out continually, Take away the Lady Jane, take away the Lady Jane from me. It is reported of Nevessan, a better lawyer than an honest man, that he should say, He that will not venture his body, shall never be valiant; he that will not venture his soul, never rich.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24, 27 Mark saith, Mar 15:15, So Pilate, willing to content…
Mark saith, Mar 15:15, So Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him to be crucified.
Luke saith, Luk 23:24,25, And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 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.
Read full note →
John saith, Joh 19:13, When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the Judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. Here are three accounts given of Pilate’s coming over to the Jews’ desire to condemn Christ, contrary to the conviction of his own conscience, for he had twice declared that he found no fault in him. Matthew saith, he saw he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made.
Mark saith, he did it to content the people. John saith, it was upon the hearing of that saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. His fear of being accused to the emperor Tiberius, as favouring one who made himself a king, especially if his opposing the Jews in their desire of his death should have caused a tumult, was questionless the great thing that moved him to give judgment in this case contrary to his own conscience; and this is the meaning of his contenting the people, mentioned by Mark. It is plain by the whole story he had no mind to gratify or gain favour with them, but considering how jealous and suspicious a prince Tiberius was, it was Pilate’s interest to quiet them, and to give them no occasion of accusing him unto the emperor.
He took water, and washed his hands before the multitude. It was the law of God in manslaughter, where he that slew the man was not known, the priests and elders of the city that (upon measure) should be found nearest to the dead body, should take a heifer, and bring it to a rough valley, and strike off its head, and wash their hands over the head of the beheaded heifer, and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it, Deu 21:1-7. Some think that Pilate, living amongst the Jews, had learned this rite from them; but others think that it was a rite used in protestations of innocency amongst other people, as well as the Jews. But it was a great fondness in Pilate, to think this excused him, and freed him from the guilt of our Saviour’s death. For there was such an inseparable guilt clave to the act, as nothing could expiate but that blood which he spilt. Those who take upon them the trust of executing laws, had need to take heed what they do, for the law will not excuse them in the court of heaven, unless it be found according to the law of God. What Pilate did he did but ministerially, the law condemned, not he: but if it be understood of the law of God about blasphemy, to which the Jews undoubtedly referred, Joh 10:33,36, it was misapplied. If it were a Roman law, Pilate ought to have considered the equity and justice of it, and whether the fact was proved or not. Pilate had twice owned there was no fault in him. His washing his hands could not purge him of the murder, whereof he was guilty in his condemnation; he did but protest against what he immediately was about to do.
Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children: his blood, that is, the guilt of his blood, be upon us, &c. A most sad imprecation, the effect of which hath been upon that miserable people now more than sixteen hundred years.
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, &c. The scourging was before this, and so recorded by St. John, for we cannot imagine that he was twice scourged.
He delivered him to be crucified; not to the Jews, but to his own officers, for it was a civil crime that he was accused of before Pilate, and crucifying was a Roman punishment.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv24–27 Two things are here observable in Pilate’s washing of…
Two things are here observable in Pilate’s washing of his hands.
1. By this action he pronounces our Saviour’s innocency, and was willing thereby to testify his own, that he did not consent to our Saviuour’s death; washing the hands being and usual ceremony, in prostestation of a person’s innocency.
Read full note →
But, 2. It was great folly and madness in Pilate, to think that washing of his hands did or could free him from the guilt of innocent blood. "O Pilate! thou hadst need rub hard, if thou meanest to scour from thy soul the guilt of that crimson sin which thou hast committed; thy guilt cleaves so close unto thee that nothing can expiate it but the blood which thou hast spilt."
Neither was it any excuse of Pilate’s sin, that what he did was to please the people, and to gratify their importunity. It is a fond apology for sins, when persons pretend they were not committed with their own consent, but at others instigation and importunity.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–27 When Pilate saw he could prevail nothing,.... That it…
When Pilate saw he could prevail nothing,.... That it was to no purpose to talk to them, and in favour of Jesus; he saw they were determined upon his crucifixion, and that nothing else would satisfy them:
but that rather a tumult was made; there was an uproar among the people, and he might fear the consequences of it, should he not grant their request; otherwise, as Philo the (p) Jew says of him, he was, , "naturally inflexible, rigid, and self-willed": but he knew the temper of these people, and had had experience of their resoluteness, when they were determined on any thing; as in the case of his introducing the golden shields into the holy city, of which the same author speaks: and was then obliged, though sore against his will, as now, to yield unto them:
Read full note →
He took water, and washed his hands before the multitude; either in conformity to a custom among the Jews, whereby they testified their innocence as to the commission of murder; see Deu 21:6, or to a Gentile one, used when murder was committed, for the lustration or expiation of it (q):
saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; though this did not clear him from all guilt in this matter: he ought to have acted the part of an upright judge, and not have yielded to the unrighteous requests of the people; he ought not to have scourged an innocent man, and much less have condemned and delivered him to be crucified, as he did; though in this he bore a testimony to the innocence of Christ, and which is somewhat remarkable in him; who was, as Philo says (r), notoriously guilty of receiving bribes, of injuries, rapine, and frequent murders of persons uncondemned:
see ye to it; you must be answerable for this action, and all the consequences of it. The Syriac version renders it, "you have known"; and the Persic version, "you know": and the Arabic version, "you know better"; See Gill on Mat 27:4.
(p) De Legat. ad Caium, p. 1034. (q) Vid. Ovid. Fast. l. 2. Anticlidis Redit. l. 74. Triclinius in Ajac. Sophocl. 3. 1. (r) Ubi supra. (De Legat. ad Caium, p. 1034.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–27 Then Pilate took water and washed his hands -…
Then Pilate took water and washed his hands - This was a custom frequently used among the heathens as well as among the Jews, in token of innocency.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Verse 23. What evil hath he done?] Pilate plainly…
Verse 23. What evil hath he done?] Pilate plainly saw that there was nothing laid to his charge for which, consistently with the Roman laws, he could condemn him.
But they cried out the more] What strange fury and injustice! They could not answer Pilate's question, What evil hath he done? He had done none, and they knew he had done none; but they are determined on his death.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 26, 27 Mat 27:23. The governor said, Why? what evil hath…
Mat 27:23. The governor said, Why? what evil hath he done? — A proper question to be asked before we censure any in common discourse, much more for a judge to ask, before he pass a sentence of death. It is much for the honour of the Lord Jesus, that, though he suffered as an evil doer, yet neither his judge nor his prosecutors could find that he had done any evil. Had he done any evil against God? No: he always did those things that pleased him. Had he done any against the civil government? No: as he did himself, so he taught others to render to Cesar the things that were Cesar’s. Had he done any against the public peace? No: he did not strive or cry, nor was his kingdom of this world. Had he done any evil to particular persons? Whom had he defrauded, or otherwise injured? Not one: so far from it, that he continually went about doing good. But they cried the more, LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED. They do not go about to show any evil he had done, but, right or wrong, he must be crucified. Quitting all pretensions to the truth of the premises, they resolved to hold fast the conclusion, and what was wanting in evidence to make up in clamour.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24–27 He took water ... - The Jews were accustomed…
He took water ... - The Jews were accustomed to wash their hands when they wished to show that they were innocent of a crime committed by others. See Deu 21:6; Psa 26:6. Pilate, in doing this, meant to denote that they were guilty of his death, but that he was innocent. But the mere washing of his hands did not free him from guilt. He was “bound” as a magistrate to free an innocent man; and whatever might be the clamour of the Jews, “he” was guilty at the bar of God for suffering the holy Saviour to be led to execution, in order to gratify the malice of enraged priests and the clamors of a tumultuous populace.
See ye to it - That is, take it upon yourselves. You are responsible for it, if you put him to death.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24–27 Taken water. It was the custom of the ancients,…
Taken water. It was the custom of the ancients, when they wished to shew themselves innocent of any alleged crime, to take water and wash their hands in public. (St. Remigius) --- Because the element of water naturally signifies purity. See Virgil, Æneid xi. ver. 718. Me bello e tanto digressum, et cæde recenti
Attractare nefas, donec me flumine vivo
Read full note →
Abluero.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv24–27 24. Washed his hands — An emblem of his…
24. Washed his hands — An emblem of his own innocence of the murder. See note on Mat_26:18.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–27 24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing]…
24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing] St Luke relates a further attempt on Pilate’s part to release Jesus, “I will chastise Him and let Him go” (Luk_23:22). Will not the cruel torture of a Roman scourging melt their hearts?
St John, at still greater length, narrates the struggle in Pilate’s mind between his sense of justice and his respect for Jesus on the one hand, and on the other his double fear of the Jews and of Cæsar. (1) He tried to stir their compassion by shewing Jesus to them crowned with thorns and mangled with the scourging; (2) hearing that Jesus called Himself the “Son of God,” he “was the more afraid;” (3) at length he even “sought to release Him,” but the chief priests conquered his scruples by a threat that moved his fears, “If thou let this man go thou art not Cæsar’s friend.” This was the charge of treason which Tacitus says (Ann. iii. 39) was “omnium accusationum complementum.” The vision of the implacable Tiberius in the background clenched the argument for Pilate. It is the curse of despotism that it makes fear stronger than justice.
Read full note →
took water, and washed his hands] Recorded by St Matthew only. In so doing Pilate followed a Jewish custom which all would understand. Deu_21:6; Psa_26:6.
see ye (to it)] See note Mat_27:4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–27 (23) Why, what evil hath he done?—The question attested…
(23) Why, what evil hath he done?—The question attested the judge’s conviction of the innocence of the accused, but it attested also the cowardice of the judge. He was startled at the passionate malignity of the cry of the multitude and the priests, but had not the courage to resist it. We find from Luk_23:22. that he had recourse to the desperate expedient of suggesting a milder punishment—“I will chastise,” i.e., scourge, “Him, and let Him go;” but the suggestion itself showed his weakness, and therefore did but stimulate the crowd to persist in their demand for death.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Why, what evil hath he done? Ti gahsen ;…
Why, what evil hath he done? Ti gahsen ; The particle ga implies a certain reasoning in the question, the speaker for the nonce putting himself in the people"s position, and demanding the ground of their decision. The authorized translation is adequate. Pilate thus showed his pusillanimity and irresolution, while exercising no control over the feelings of the excited mob. But they cried out the more (perisswv ekrazon , they kept shouting out exceedingly). The very sight of the governor"s predilection, combined with his indecision, excited them to more vehement clamour; they saw that he would end by yielding to their violence. Jerome refers, in illustration, to Isa_5:7, "He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv24–25 When Pilate saw that he could pervail nothing.
Mat_27:24
When Pilate saw that he could pervail nothing.
Read full note →
Pilate a type of self-justifying rejectors of the gospel
Observe the resemblance in his evasive pleas.
1. Assuming that the matter presented had no claims on him-Take ye Him.
2. Substituting a favourable opinion of Christ for a decision-I find in Him no fault at all. I have the highest regard for the Christian religion, say some.
3. Assmning that it was out of his power to decide-And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herods jurisdiction he sent Him to Herod (Luk_23:7). A law is in the way, perhaps the Divine decree: the law of inherited corruption.
4. Proposing a compromise-I will therefore chastise Him and release Him. With Christ in some things quiets conscience.
5. Surrendering the rights of judgment What shall I do with Jesus? I submit the case to your decision.
6. Turning censor-Why, what evil hath He done? (S. V. McCorkle.)
Pilate and his modern imitators
I. Whoever does wickedness through others is not less wicked than they, but more. Pilate was no less guilty because the Jews hated and condemned Christ first. As soon as he said to them, Take Him; see ye to it, he did all that was necessary to make him a partaker in their villainy..
II. Evil which many men commit is not distributively borne. If a thousand men commit a murder, each man is not guilty of one thousandth part of that murder; but of the whole.
III. Evil actions are not less guilty because they are done for reasons of state. Pilate sacrificed Christ from political considerations.
IV. Wickedness which a man can prevent, and which he does not prevent, inculpates him. (H. W. Beecher.)
Better to be a Puritan than a Pilate
There is another point. This makes me a Puritan. I had rather be a Puritan than a Pilate. What is a Pilate? A Pilate is one of those courtly gentlemen, polished, tasteful expert, who is not disturbed nor warped by convictions in over-measure; who looks upon all moral qualities as a gambler looks upon cards, which he shuffles, and plays according to the exigency of his game-and one just as easy as another. A Pilate is a man who believes in letting things have their own way. Do not sacrifice yourself. Do not get in the way of a movement. Do the best thing. Live in peace with your time. Be not like the fool, who stands in his own light. Maintain good appearances-that is profitable. See to it that you do not go too far, one way or another. Study the interest of Number One all through. And, whatever comes, see that you come out uppermost. Do not be gross, brutal, fanatical-that is not profitable. Preserve your balance. See that you keep your eye on the chances. If they go this way, you go with them far enough to reap them. If they go the other way, go with them. Do not be too scrupulous. Be just enough so to gain your ends. Use men, use events, use everything that is profitable. Do not use your conscience too much i This is the language of the Pilates of our day. Those men who ride astride of the times, and of administrations, and of policies; those men who are polished, cold, calculating, speculating-these are the Pirates-the Pilates, I mean! It was a blunder of the lip, but, after all, it hit right! (H. W. Beecher.)
Lessons from the incidents
I. Men have not always that strict regard to justice and honour, that might be reasonably expected from their stations and characters.
II. Truth and innocence are frequently overpowered by numbers, and oppressed by noise and tumult.
III. A party spirit does oftentimes hurry men to the most fatal extremities. (William West.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23. What evil hath he done? Pilate's struggle between…
23. What evil hath he done? Pilate's struggle between his desire to be just and to please a body demanding a crime at his hands is pitiable. He repeats the question three times and offers to appease their rage by chastising the innocent (Luke 23:22). He had, however, lost his power when he began to parley with a mob. They, utterly unreasonable, only demand the move vehemently that Jesus be crucified.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v27 Mat_27:27. The common hall.—Literally, the Prætorium, a word which,…
CRITICAL NOTES
Mat_27:27. The common hall.—Literally, the Prætorium, a word which, applied originally to the tent of the prætor, or general, and so to the headquarters of the camp, had come to be used with a somewhat wide range of meaning,
Read full note →
(1) for the residence of a prince or governor; or
(2) for the barracks attached to such a residence (as in Php_1:13); or
(3) for any house as stately. Hero (as in Act_23:35) it appears to be used in the first sense. Pilate’s dialogue with the priests and people had probably been held from the portico of the Tower of Antony, which rose opposite the temple court, and served partly as a fortress, partly as an official residence. The soldiers now took the prisoner into their barrack-room within (Plumptre). The whole band.—The word used is the technical word for the cohort, or subdivision of a legion (ibid.).
Mat_27:28. A scarlet robe.—A soldier’s scarf; Lat. chlamys. It was generally worn by superior officers, but its use was not confined to them. This may have been a worn-out scarf belonging to Pilate; it is different from “the gorgeous robe” (Luk_23:11), which Herod’s soldiers put on Jesus. Scarlet was the proper colour for the military chlamys. St. Mark has the less definite “purple,” St. John, “a purple robe.” Purple, however, is used by Latin writers to denote any bright colour (Carr).
Mat_27:29. A crown of thorns.—It cannot be known of what plant this acanthine crown was formed. The nubk (zizyphus lotus) struck me, as it has struck all travellers in Palestine, as being most suitable both for mockery and pain, since its leaves are bright, and its thorns singularly strong; but though the nubk is very common on the shores of Galilee, I saw none of it near Jerusalem. There may, however, have been some of it in the garden of Herod’s palace, and the soldiers would give themselves no sort of trouble, but merely take the first plant that came to hand (Farrar).
Mat_27:32. Cyrene.—A city in north-eastern Africa. A large colony of Jews had settled there, as in other African and Egyptian cities, to avoid the oppression of the Syrian kings (Carr). Simon.—Why, we ask, out of the whole crowd that was streaming to and fro, on the way to the place of execution, did the multitude seize on him? St. Mark’s mention of him as the father of Alexander and Rufus (see Mar_15:21), suggests the thought that his sons were afterwards prominent as members of the Christian community. May we not infer that he was suspected even then of being a secret disciple, and that this led the people to seize on him, and make him a sharer in the humiliation of his Master? (Plumptre).
Mat_27:33. Golgotha.—The site is not certainly known, though Major Conder, R. E., who commanded the survey parties of the Palestine Exploration Fund, between 1872 and 1882, says: “It may be said to be generally agreed that the tradition preserved by the Jerusalem Jews is worthy of belief. This tradition, discovered by Dr. T. Chaplin, places the old “House of Stoning,” or place of public execution according to the law of Moses, on the top of the remarkable knoll outside the Damascus Gate, on the north side of Jerusalem. It was from this cliff that the criminal used to be flung before being stoned (according to the Talmud), and on it his body was afterwards crucified; for the spot commands a view all over the city, and from the slopes all round it the whole population of the town might easily witness the execution. Here, then, was the Hebrew place of crucifixion, and here, in all human probability, once stood the three crosses bearing the Saviour of men between the two thieves” (Primer of Bible Geography).
Mat_27:34. Vinegar.—Wine (R.V.).—The ordinary military wine, posca. Gall.—Some bitter ingredient fitted to stupefy.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_27:27-34
Via crucis.—In Mat_27:26 of this chapter we are told of our Saviour’s being handed over to the Roman soldiery, for the purpose of crucifixion. In Mat_27:35, and what immediately follows, we have the crucifixion itself. In these intervening verses we are, therefore, shown Jesus on His way to the cross, and, in that connection, are asked to observe, on the one hand, how much He had to endure just previously to His death; and, on the other hand, how far He was affected thereby.
I. How much He had to endure.—Much, obviously, in the first place, in the way of acute bodily pain. If the “scourging” then inflicted (Mat_27:26) by order of Pilate, was at all like what was usual in such cases—it must have been a most terrible thing. Terrible, because of the instrument used—a thing of leather thongs, armed with many points of cruel metal or bone. Terrible, because of the manner of infliction, viz., straight down on the unprotected frame of the victim, as he stood quivering and naked-shouldered, with his hands fastened to a pillar in front. Terrible, because there was no merciful limit, as in the law of Moses, to the number of strokes. If one could describe, therefore, one would not like to describe, the amount and depth of laceration produced, and the consequently increasing agony caused by each successive descent of those thongs. We must simply remember, on this point, that what we can thus hardly bear to think of, the Master had to endure, and that the living body of the man, Jesus of Nazareth, was actually put to the torture described. Secondly, there must have been, at least, as much suffering of a mental description. These brutal legionaries evidently took no little delight in their task. To them it was a kind of sport, in which the whole cohort must join (Mat_27:27). First, therefore, they deprive their unresisting Prisoner of His usual outermost garment, and then invest Him, in bitter mockery, with a scarlet one in its stead (Mat_27:28). In the same spirit, they either weave together a crown of thorns (Mat_27:29), or take one already woven (Joh_19:5), and thrust it on to His head. After this, they place in His hand a feeble sceptre of “reed” (Mat_27:29), and offer Him, in contempt, the outward homage of body and lip—“bowing the knee and saying to Him, Hail, King of the Jews!” What a pleasure it is—what a safe pleasure—to mock that silent Man thus! Who ever saw such a King—such a sceptre—before? Soon, however, even these gross insults begin to weary upon them; probably because, in this instance, they are found to fail of their mark. Other, therefore, and even grosser outrages are resorted to next. Some present even go so far as to “spit” on that Holy One’s face. Others, again, with like wantonness of insult, “smite Him on the head” with the “reed” (Mat_27:30). In every way He is despised and rejected by these hangman-like souls. Nothing do they shrink from which seems to them fitted to heap indignity on His head.
II. How far the Saviour was affected thereby.—In one way, He was so overwhelmingly, viz., as to His bodily strength. Very affecting is the evidence which is supplied us of this. It is said to have been the ordinary rule, in cases of crucifixion, that the instrument of crucifixion should be carried by the victim who was about to suffer thereon. It was part of such a man’s punishment in this way to carry his punishment with him. We find, accordingly, in one account (Joh_19:17) that this method of procedure was attempted at first with our Lord. But we also find, from other accounts (Mat_27:32; Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26), that it was found impossible to go on with it. Another man’s strength, therefore, had to be “impressed” to carry the cross of the Saviour. Evidently this was because His own strength was found unequal now to the task. We say this, on the one hand, because of the well-known utter impossibility of resisting the strength of utter bodily weakness. The most iron will, the hardest heart, has to submit to its strength. And we say it, on the other hand, because we believe that the men concerned in this instance would have given way to nothing less than such irresistible strength. Evidently they see that Jesus cannot carry His cross. Evidently we see, therefore, how His previous sufferings have told on His frame. Though He has never complained of them, never resented them, never deprecated them for a moment, they have succeeded in penetrating to the very spring of His bodily life. So far as that is concerned, in fact, we may almost say of Him that He is already half dead. On the other hand, those sufferings, so far as His will is concerned, have not told on Him at all. Very significant and marked, in this connection, is the contrast we find here. Roman custom appears to have allowed one mitigation only in regard to the torture of crucifixion. The man about to die by it was allowed to partake of a mixture which was believed to have the power of making its torture more easy to bear. When those who brought Jesus to the place of crucifixion found themselves there, some among them offered Him a “cup” of this kind (Mat_27:33-34). But such an offer is not one which He will allow Himself to accept. While He, therefore, so far respects it as to “taste” the mixture in question—and so, perhaps, make sure of its nature—He will not avail Himself of its help. The distinction seems plain. In that other matter, where He was called upon to make use of His strength, having no strength to make use of, He submitted to be helped. In this case, where He only has to endure, He refuses help, because He is able to do what is asked. The meaning, also, seems plain. Nothing shall be done by Him to diminish the bitterness of what He has to go through. On this point His will is as strong as though He had not suffered at all!
How admirable, therefore, and how affecting, also, is the picture before us! So much so in both ways, that one can hardly determine in which way the most! Perhaps, however, the story is most affecting when we look back at it from this point. For then we see, as we have said, how much the Saviour’s previous sufferings must have told on His strength, and what a long and wearying fever of torture He must have already gone through. On the other hand, there is, perhaps, most to admire here when we look forward from this point. Much of His previous suffering, if we may not say most, was in the way of anticipation. The worst of all, however, in that way remains still to be faced; and faced, moreover, in that extreme bodily weakness which has Him now in its grasp. Yet He neither shrinks from it now, nor allows it to be mitigated in any degree. The less He is physically able, the more He is morally determined, to encounter it all. Never, it is said, was there any sorrow like that coming then upon Him! Never any human being at once less fit, and more ready, to face it! Is there anything in the way of fortitude to go beyond this?
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Mat_27:29. The crown of thorns.—Reflect on:—
I. The fact.—
1. He was and is a King.
2. His Kingship was attained through sorrow.
3. His reign was begun in sorrow.
II. The explanation.—This may be reached in some degree by observing three things:—
1. The nature of Christ’s sorrow.—
(1) In His Divine nature He was holy, and He came into a world of sin.
(2) In His human nature He was one with His fellow-men without sharing their love of sin and bluntness of conscience. He bore the world’s sin, and it broke His heart.
2. The spirit in which Christ bore sorrow.—His suffering was a supreme act of sacrifice. In it He offered Himself to God (Heb_9:14).
3. The purpose of Christ’s sorrow.—He suffered from sin that He might destroy sin.
Practical lessons.—
1. Repentance.
2. Grateful reverence.
3. Submission.—W. F. Adeney, M.A.
The mockery of Christ.—The Jews mocked Christ’s offices.
I. His prophetical office.—“Prophesy who smote Thee.”
II. His priestly office.—“He saved others,” etc.
III. His kingly office.—“Hail, King of the Jews.”—Richard Ward.
Mat_27:32. The cross enforced or chosen.—Here we have Simon and Christ: one compelled to bear the cross, the other choosing to bear it. And I want you to notice that whilst it is probable there is some cross or other which every one of us is compelled to carry, there is a cross which we may choose to carry; and there are a few simple lessons which may be learnt from the contrast.
I. There is always something accidental about the cross which one is compelled to carry.—We name one or two of these crosses, and we find they bring to view the mere accidents of life.
1. Sickness.
2. Absence of success in the work of life, or in some special work which has been undertaken.
3. The powers of their life are felt by some to be so limited, that it is the very smallness of faculty which seems to be a cross, and a great cross.
4. How many men are not content with the position they occupy!
II. When we have now to speak of the cross which may be chosen, we are coming to the life indeed, getting below the mere surface of things. We may see three principles, learning from the life of our Saviour, in such a cross.
1. It is one chosen from love to some others than ourselves.
2. It is borne in quiet submission to the will of the Father.
3. It springs from hatred of sin and sorrow for sin.
Lessons.—
1. Sometimes the cross which is not compelled to be borne may be put down. There is no merit in bearing a cross, so far as the mere bearing is concerned.
2. The cross which we are really compelled to carry we may choose to carry.
3. The cross goes with the bearing of it. We choose it, would rather not have it away, and it gradually ceases to be a cross. The cross of Christ becomes His throne.—T. Gasquoine, B.A.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v26 Mar 15:19; Joh 19:1-3; Mat 27:26-30. “And having scourged…
JESUS SCOURGED AND MOCKED
Mar 15:19; Joh 19:1-3; Mat 27:26-30. “And having scourged Jesus, he delivered Him up, that He may be crucified.” As it was customary with the Romans to precede the crucifixion of condemned criminals by this awful and cruel scourging, Pilate now proceeds to have Jesus scourged, thus publicly demonstrating His condemnation, and afterward delivering Him up to be crucified pursuant to criminal law, at the same time congratulating himself on the presumed clemency of the Jews to permit His release. This was Pilate’s weakness. He here let go his grip, thinking to regain it, but failed.
Read full note →
“Then the soldiers of the governor, taking Jesus into the judgment-hall, gathered round Him the whole band; and divesting Him, put on Him a scarlet robe; and plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and a reed in His right hand, and bowing the knee before Him, continued to mock Him, saying, Hall, King of the Jews. Spitting upon Him, they repeatedly took the reed, and struck Him on the head.” All this pomp, pageantry, and abuse, dressing Him up like a king, paying Him royal adoration, at the same time indulging in the vilest insult and abuse, was their way of humoring what they regarded as a ridiculous joke; i. e., His claim to be King. While Pilate, especially since the reception of his wife’s warning letter, was awfully troubled with suspicion and apprehension that He might be superhuman, and even one of the Roman gods, as their poets had described their deities as coming down in human form and walking over the earth ever and anon, the soldiers looked upon Him as a regular oddity, fanatically dreaming that He was King of the Jews. Consequently they intensely enjoyed amusement at His expense, dressing Him up like a king, with a crown on His head and a scepter in His hand, and His loyal subjects round Him, bowing the knee and doing homage to His Majesty.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv24, 26 Pilate’s last attempt to reason:
Pilate’s last attempt to reason:
v. 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.
Read full note →
v. 25. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us and on our children.
From the beginning, Pilate had miscalculated badly: He had not insisted upon proper legal procedure in demanding definite charges with sufficient testimony; he had not reckoned with mob influence, the chief priests outgeneraled him. It had now gotten to the point where he was facing a tumult which might develop into an insurrection. And so he continues the weakling’s course in trying to shift the blame from his own person. Calling for some water, he washed his hands before all the people as a token of his innocence. He wanted to be held blameless in the entire matter; the guilt of this innocent blood should not rest upon him. In making this statement, he was either a hypocrite or a coward. Either he wanted to salve his conscience by declaring Christ’s innocence openly, or he declared that he was forced into a condemnation against his sincere belief. In either case he was guilty, though he places the whole blame on the Jews. "But thus it always happens with the blood of Christ the Lord and with that of His Christians. The older Herod murders the innocent children about Bethlehem. His son murders the holy John the Baptist. And both of them thought they might get some benefit out of such murder. Pilate here also does not consider it a serious matter that he condemns Christ to death. He fondly imagines that, as he thinks of it, God will also think of it, and consider him blameless. But without doubt the wrath of God did not hesitate about coming, and the house, generation, and name of Pilate was annihilated, and body and soul condemned to hell and everlasting fire. There he found out how innocent he was of this blood. " The governor’s action only brought out a most blood-curdling curse on the part of the people: May the blood of this man be upon us and upon our children! If this man be innocent, and we demand His death as a guilty person, may the punishment of such a crime be visited upon us, and upon our children after us! A little more than a generation later, this terrible curse was visited upon them, then their account was demanded of them with a heavy reckoning, in one of the most horrible judgments of God that history knows of.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv23, 25, 27 has he done
has he done
"has Jesus done"
Read full note →
they cried out
"the crowd cried out"
washed his hands in front of the crowd
Pilate does this as a sign that he is not responsible for Jesus' death. (See: Symbolic Action)
the blood
Here "blood" refers to a person's death. AT: "the death" (See: Metonymy)
See to it yourselves
"This is your responsibility"
translationWords
crime
crucify
Pilate
blood
innocent
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24–27 27:24 The responsibility is yours! The priests had said…
27:24 The responsibility is yours! The priests had said the same thing to Judas (27:4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.