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| << Matt 27 | |
| << Mark 14 | |
| << Luke 22 | |
| << John 18 | |
For New King James text and comment, click here.
Matthew 27:2-30; Mark 15:1-19; Listen 
Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:3
In this passage, we see the following in Jesus' ministry:
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Trial #4 - Taking Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28)
Matthew 27 |
Mark 15 |
Luke 23 |
John 18 |
2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
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1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
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1 And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.
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28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
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One might get the impression that all of Jerusalem had turned out at this point to accuse Jesus from Luke 23:1, "And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate." However, we notice from the Matthew and Mark accounts that the "of them" was just the Jewish leaders and their loyal followers. Keep in mind, this appearance before Pilate takes place just after dawn - 6:30 a.m. or so. Jesus has already made three appearances for judgment through this night; these Jewish leaders knew they had a lot to do under the cover of night before the Jewish populace would begin their day. Most Jews would have been completely unaware of the sinister acts of their leaders at this early hour.
John mentions the passover observance plans of some of the Jewish leaders that prevented them from entering the "judgment hall" where Pilate was passing judgment on Jesus. Didn't Jesus and his disciples already observe passover the night before? It would appear that there was a difference of practice regarding the proper day to celebrate the passover supper as early as the first century - on Nisan 14 or Nisan 15. Today, Jews celebrate passover on Nisan 15, even though Leviticus 23:5 says, "In the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan] at even is the LORD’S passover." If you require clarification, click here to read the article entitled, "What is the correct day to observe the Passover?"
What about Judas? (Matthew 27:3-10)
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.
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.
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.
Only Matthew deals with the remorse of Judas and his resulting demise. The word translated "repented" in the KJV (verse 3) is not the usual word for "repent." This word (metamelomai) is only used 5 times in the New Testament and holds the connotation of remorse or regret. The common words for repent (metanoeo) and repentance (metanoia) are used 58 times in the New Testament and mean "change of mind or attitude." So...Judas regretted having done what he did. However, this remorse did not constitute salvation. Keep in mind the words of Jesus in John 6:70 (see notes) regarding Judas, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" Judas was remorseful that he had committed a tactical error as we see in verse 3, "...he saw that he was condemned." Well...that wouldn't be the last miscalculation an emissary of Satan would make.
Incidentally, regarding the allusion to Jeremiah in verse 9, Ryrie ("The Ryrie Study Bible") writes the following explanation:
These words are found in Zechariah 11:12-13 with allusions to Jeremiah 18:1-4; 19:1-3. They are ascribed to Jeremiah since, in Jesus’ day, the books of the prophets were headed by Jeremiah, not Isaiah as now, and the quotation is identified by the name of the first book of the group, rather than by the name of the specific book within the group. Similarly in Luke 24:44, “Psalms” includes all the books known as the “Writings,” because it is the first book of the group.
Jesus and Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:2-5; Luke 23:2-5; John 18:29-38)
Matthew 27 |
Mark 15 |
Luke 23 |
John 18 |
| 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. 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. |
2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou sayest it. 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. 4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. 5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. |
2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. 3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. 4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. |
29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. |
Pilate wants no part of this. He suggests they take him back and give him a Jewish trial. Not good enough! Look at verse 31, "The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:" Interestingly enough, if the Jews had executed him, it would have been done illegally by stoning. However, Roman execution is done on a cross. Look at John 18:32, "That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die." Jesus had already prophesied in John 3:14 (see notes) and John 12:31-33 (see notes) that he would die on a cross, an impossible scenario, had the Jews succeeded on those occasions when they sought to kill him.
The charge vocalized by the Jewish leadership to Pilate is found in verse 2, "And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King." While the first two points of the accusation were not true, obviously the three-point charge is designed to make Jesus a Roman security threat so that Pilate cannot simply dismiss Jesus.
John records more of the actual conversation between Jesus and Pilate than do the other three writers. John notes that Jesus establishes that he has not come to set himself up as a king over a physical kingdom with an army (that comes later in Revelation 19:11-21, see notes); Jesus reasons that, were those his intentions, he would have defended himself from being taken in the garden with his own army. Pilate is convinced that Jesus is not guilty of a conspiracy to overthrow the Roman government as the Jewish leaders claim. Therefore, Pilate finds Jesus innocent of wrong doing, but prophecy is prophecy; Jesus must die on the cross.
Another motivation for these wicked Jewish leaders here is plausible deniability in the eyes of the common Jewish folks who had embraced the ministry of Jesus. You will recall that the point of the Judas betrayal was to capture Jesus in private - not while he was teaching during the day among the people. That was Judas' deal with the Jewish leaders - a private capture. All the Jewish trials were done during the night while the Jewish people slept. Obviously, the reasoning of the Jewish leaders involved the people waking up on passover day and seeing Jesus being crucified by Romans...not Jews. One can safely recognize that those bad ol' Romans were to be the culprits here; most people would never realize that their Jewish leaders had orchestrated the whole ordeal.
Trial #5 - Jesus appears before Herod (Luke 23:6-16)
6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean.
7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.
8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.
10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.
11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.
13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:
15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him.
In the chronology, Pilate discovers that Jesus is from Galilee and sees a possible opportunity to pass this problem off to Herod Antipas who was the governor of that region and happens to be in Jerusalem at this time, apparently for the Passover Feast. Only Luke records this incident. It doesn't work, however; Herod and his rag-tag crew simply mock and torment Jesus before they send him back to Pilate. Luke then records that Pilate explains to the Jewish leadership that neither he nor Herod could find a capital offense regarding Jesus. We saw in Luke 23:2-5 (see above) that the Jewish leaders were trying to present Jesus to Pilate as a threat to Caesar's authority. However, their presentation failed. At this point, it is Pilate's thinking that he should chastise Jesus and release him.
Incidentally, notice that Herod "arrayed him in a gorgeous robe" before sending him back to Pilate. Later, the Roman soldiers stripped this robe from Jesus and clothed him with a purple/scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28; Mark 15:17; John 19:2 (see below).
Trial #6 - Surely they don't want a murderer released!
(Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:17-25; John 18:39-19:1)
Matthew 27 |
Mark 15 |
Luke 23 |
John 18 |
| 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. 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. 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. 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. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. 26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. |
6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. 11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. |
17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 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. |
39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. |
Keep in mind, the crowd had been transported from the Sanhedrin to Pilate. As a matter of fact, Matthew tells us in verse 18 that Pilate is aware that the real issue here is "envy" on the part of these Jewish leaders. However, when given the choice between the release of Jesus or the murderer Barabbas, Pilate is certain they will call for the release of Jesus over a murderer. Wrong! There is no morality with the Jewish leaders. Barabbas only threatens their lives, not their livelihoods. Only Matthew records that Pilate's wife weighs in on the controversy. She's had a dream, "Pilate...just step away!" Hmmmm...my wife or these angry Jews - to whom do I listen? That's when Pilate does the infamous hand washing. Influenced by the polls, he fails to act on his own moral conscience and his wife's dream. As he washes his hands, look at what he says in verse 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." However, pay careful attention to the reply made by these Jewish leaders in verse 25, "Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children." Matthew, Mark and John then record that Jesus was scourged.
Isaiah said there would be a day like this! (Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19; John 19:2-3)
Matthew 27 |
Mark 15 |
John 19 |
| 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. |
16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. |
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, 3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. |
Matthew, Mark and John record that the Roman soldiers mocked, spit and smote Jesus after replacing his robe (the one Herod had given him) with a purple/scarlet one and placing the homemade crown of thorns on his head. What kind of an adult male finds this entertaining? These Roman soldiers had no stake in this controversy whatsoever. So...why did they do what they did? Prophecy...Isaiah 53 (see notes) - the account of the suffering of the Messiah had been written down centuries before.
Copyright 2003-2011 by Wayne D. Turner