
Text -- Matthew 27:24-31 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Robertson: Mat 27:24 - -- Washed his hands ( apenipsato tas cheiras ).
As a last resort since the hubbub (thorubos ) increased because of his vacillation. The verb aponiptō...
Washed his hands (
As a last resort since the hubbub (

Robertson: Mat 27:24 - -- I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man ( or this blood )
; see ye to it. (Athōios eimi apo tou haimatos tou dikaiou toutou or tou haim...
I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man ( or this blood )
; see ye to it. (

Robertson: Mat 27:25 - -- His blood be upon us and upon our children ( to haima autou kai epi ta tekna hēmōn ).
These solemn words do show a consciousness that the Jewish ...
His blood be upon us and upon our children (
These solemn words do show a consciousness that the Jewish people recognized their guilt and were even proud of it. But Pilate could not wash away his own guilt that easily. The water did not wash away the blood of Jesus from his hands any more than Lady Macbeth could wash away the blood-stains from her lily-white hands. One legend tells that in storms on Matthew Pilatus in Switzerland his ghost comes out and still washes his hands in the storm-clouds. There was guilt enough for Judas, for Caiaphas and for all the Sanhedrin both Sadducees and Pharisees, for the Jewish people as a whole (

Robertson: Mat 27:26 - -- Scourged ( phragellōsas ).
The Latin verb flagellare . Pilate apparently lost interest in Jesus when he discovered that he had no friends in the c...
Scourged (
The Latin verb flagellare . Pilate apparently lost interest in Jesus when he discovered that he had no friends in the crowd. The religious leaders had been eager to get Jesus condemned before many of the Galilean crowd friendly to Jesus came into the city. They had apparently succeeded. The scourging before the crucifixion was a brutal Roman custom. The scourging was part of the capital punishment. Deissmann ( Light from the Ancient East , p. 269) quotes a Florentine papyrus of the year 85 a.d. wherein G. Septimius Vegetus, governor of Egypt, says of a certain Phibion: "Thou hadst been worthy of scourging ... but I will give thee to the people."

Robertson: Mat 27:27 - -- Into the palace ( eis to praitōrion ).
In Rome the praetorium was the camp of the praetorian (from praetor) guard of soldiers (Phi 1:13), but in th...
Into the palace (
In Rome the praetorium was the camp of the praetorian (from praetor) guard of soldiers (Phi 1:13), but in the provinces it was the palace in which the governor resided as in Act 23:35 in Caesarea. So here in Jerusalem Pilate ordered Jesus and all the band or cohort (

Robertson: Mat 27:28 - -- A scarlet robe ( chlamuda kokkinēn ).
A kind of short cloak worn by soldiers, military officers, magistrates, kings, emperors (2 Maccabees 12:35; J...
A scarlet robe (
A kind of short cloak worn by soldiers, military officers, magistrates, kings, emperors (2 Maccabees 12:35; Josephus, Ant. V. 1, 10), a soldier’ s sagum or scarf. Carr ( Cambridge Gk. Test. ) suggests that it may have been a worn-out scarf of Pilate’ s. The scarlet colour (

Robertson: Mat 27:29 - -- A crown of thorns ( stephanon ex akanthōn ).
They wove a crown out of thorns which would grow even in the palace grounds. It is immaterial whether ...
A crown of thorns (
They wove a crown out of thorns which would grow even in the palace grounds. It is immaterial whether they were young and tender thorn bushes, as probable in the spring, or hard bushes with sharp prongs. The soldiers would not care, for they were after ridicule and mockery even if it caused pain. It was more like a victor’ s garland (

Robertson: Mat 27:29 - -- Hail, King of the Jews ( chaire , Basileu tōn Ioudaiōn ).
The soldiers added the insults used by the Sanhedrin (Mat 26:67), spitting on him and s...
Hail, King of the Jews (
The soldiers added the insults used by the Sanhedrin (Mat 26:67), spitting on him and smiting him with the reed. Probably Jesus had been unbound already. At any rate the garments of mockery were removed before the via dolorosa to the cross (Mat 27:31).
Vincent -> Mat 27:28
Vincent: Mat 27:28 - -- Robe ( χλαμύδα )
The short military cloak which kings and emperors as well as soldiers wore.
Robe (
The short military cloak which kings and emperors as well as soldiers wore.
Wesley: Mat 27:24 - -- This was a custom frequently used among the heathens as well as among the Jews, in token of innocency.
This was a custom frequently used among the heathens as well as among the Jews, in token of innocency.

Wesley: Mat 27:25 - -- As this imprecation was dread. fully answered in the ruin so quickly brought on the Jewish nation, and the calamities which have ever since pursued th...
As this imprecation was dread. fully answered in the ruin so quickly brought on the Jewish nation, and the calamities which have ever since pursued that wretched people, so it was peculiarly fulfilled by Titus the Roman general, on the Jews whom he took during the siege of Jerusalem. So many, after having been scourged in a terrible manner, were crucified all round the city, that in a while there was not room near the wall for the crosses to stand by each other. Probably this befell some of those who now joined in this cry, as it certainly did many of their children: the very finger of God thus pointing out their crime in crucifying his Son.

Wesley: Mat 27:26 - -- The person crucified was nailed to the cross as it lay on the ground, through each hand extended to the utmost stretch, and through both the feet toge...
The person crucified was nailed to the cross as it lay on the ground, through each hand extended to the utmost stretch, and through both the feet together. Then the cross was raised up, and the foot of it thrust with a violent shock into a hole in the ground prepared for it. This shock disjointed the body, whose whole weight hung upon the nails, till the persons expired through mere dint of pain. This kind of death was used only by the Romans, and by them inflicted only on slaves and the vilest criminals.

Wesley: Mat 27:27 - -- or cohort. This was a body of foot commanded by the governor, which was appointed to prevent disorders and tumults, especially on solemn occasions. Ma...

Such as kings and generals wore; probably an old tattered one.
Clarke: Mat 27:24 - -- Pilate - took water, and washed his hands - Thus signifying his innocence. It was a custom among the Hebrews, Greeks, and Latins, to wash the hands ...
Pilate - took water, and washed his hands - Thus signifying his innocence. It was a custom among the Hebrews, Greeks, and Latins, to wash the hands in token of innocence, and to show that they were pure from any imputed guilt. In case of an undiscovered murder, the elders of that city which was nearest to the place where the dead body was found, were required by the law, Deu 21:1-10, to wash their hands over the victim which was offered to expiate the crime, and thus make public protestation of their own innocence. David says, I will wash my hands in innocence, so shall I compass thine altar, Psa 26:6. As Pilate knew Christ was innocent, he should have prevented his death: he had the armed force at his command, and should have dispersed this infamous mob. Had he been charged with countenancing a seditious person, he could have easily cleared himself, had the matter been brought before the emperor. He, therefore, was inexcusable.

Clarke: Mat 27:25 - -- His blood be on us and on our children - If this man be innocent, and we put him to death as a guilty person, may the punishment due to such a crime...
His blood be on us and on our children - If this man be innocent, and we put him to death as a guilty person, may the punishment due to such a crime be visited upon us, and upon our children after us! What a dreadful imprecation! and how literally fulfilled! The notes on chap. 24, will show how they fell victims to their own imprecation, being visited with a series of calamities unexampled in the history of the world. They were visited with the same kind of punishment; for the Romans crucified them in such numbers when Jerusalem was taken, that there was found a deficiency of crosses for the condemned, and of places for the crosses. Their children or descendants have had the same curse entailed upon them, and continue to this day a proof of the innocence of Christ, the truth of his religion, and of the justice of God.

Clarke: Mat 27:26 - -- Scourged Jesus - This is allowed to have been a very severe punishment of itself among the Romans, the flesh being generally cut by the whips used f...
Scourged Jesus - This is allowed to have been a very severe punishment of itself among the Romans, the flesh being generally cut by the whips used for this purpose: so the poet: -
- Horribili Sectere flagello
"To be cut by the horrible whip.
Hor. Sat. I. 3. 119
And sometimes it seems, they were whipped to death
See the same poet, Sat. I. 2. 41
- Ille Flagellis Ad Mortem caesus
See also Horat. Epod. od. iv. v. 11
It has been thought that Pilate might have spared this additional cruelty of whipping; but it appears that it was a common custom to scourge those criminals which were to be crucified, (see Josephus De Bello, lib. ii. c. 25), and lenity in Christ’ s case is not to be allowed; he must take all the misery in full tale

Clarke: Mat 27:26 - -- Delivered him to be crucified - Tacitus, the Roman historian, mentions the death of Christ in very remarkable terms: - Nero - quaesitissimis poenis ...
Delivered him to be crucified - Tacitus, the Roman historian, mentions the death of Christ in very remarkable terms: -
Nero - quaesitissimis poenis is affecit, quos - vulgus Christianos appellabat. Auctor nominis ejus Christus, qui Tiberio imperitante, per Procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat . -
"Nero put those who commonly went by the name of Christians to the most exquisite tortures. The author of this name was Christ, who was capitally punished in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius Pilate the Procurator."

Clarke: Mat 27:27 - -- The common hall - Or, praetorium . Called so from the praetor , a principal magistrate among the Romans, whose business it was to administer justic...
The common hall - Or, praetorium . Called so from the praetor , a principal magistrate among the Romans, whose business it was to administer justice in the absence of the consul. This place night be termed in English the court house, or common hall.

Stripped him - Took off his mantle, or upper garment

Clarke: Mat 27:28 - -- A scarlet robe - Or, according to Mark and John, a purple robe, such as emperors and kings wore.
A scarlet robe - Or, according to Mark and John, a purple robe, such as emperors and kings wore.

Clarke: Mat 27:29 - -- A crown of thorns - Στεφανον εξ ακανθων . It does not appear that this crown was intended to be an instrument of punishment or tor...
A crown of thorns -
There is a passage produced from Philo by Dr. Lardner, which casts much light on these indignities offered to our blessed Lord
"Caligula, the successor of Tiberius, gave Agrippa the tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, with the right of wearing a diadem or crown. When he came to Alexandria, on his way to his tetrarchate, the inhabitants of that place, filled with envy at the thoughts of a Jew having the title of king, showed their indignation in the following way. They brought one Carabus (a sort of an idiot) into the theater; and, having placed him on a lofty seat, that he might be seen by all, they put a diadem upon his head, made of the herb
There is the most remarkable coincidence between this account and that given by the evangelists; and the conjecture concerning the acanthus will probably find no inconsiderable support from the byblos and papyrus of Philo. This plant, Pliny says, grows to ten cubits long in the stem and the flowers were used ad deos coronandos , for Crowning The Gods. See Hist. Nat. lib. xiii. c. 11
The reflections of pious Quesnel on these insults offered to our blessed Lord merit serious attention. "Let the crown of thorns make those Christians blush who throw away so much time, pains, and money, in beautifying and adorning a sinful head. Let the world do what it will to render the royalty and mysteries of Christ contemptible, it is my glory to serve a King thus debased; my salvation, to adore that which the world despises; and my redemption, to go unto God through the merits of him who was crowned with thorns."

Clarke: Mat 27:30 - -- And they spit upon him - " Let us pay our adoration,"says the same pious writer, "and humble ourselves in silence at the sight of a spectacle which ...
And they spit upon him - " Let us pay our adoration,"says the same pious writer, "and humble ourselves in silence at the sight of a spectacle which faith alone renders credible, and which our senses would hardly endure. Jesus Christ, in this condition, preaches to the kings of the earth this truth - that their scepters are but reeds, with which themselves shall be smitten, bruised, and crushed at his tribunal, if they do not use them here to the advancement of his kingdom."
Calvin: Mat 27:24 - -- Mat 27:24.But Pilate, perceiving that he gained nothing by it As sailors, who have experienced a violent tempest, at last give way, and permit themsel...
Mat 27:24.But Pilate, perceiving that he gained nothing by it As sailors, who have experienced a violent tempest, at last give way, and permit themselves to be carried out of the proper course; so Pilate, finding himself unable to restrain the commotion of the people, lays aside his authority as a judge, and yields to their furious outcry. And though he had long attempted to hold out, still the necessity does not excuse him; for he ought rather to have submitted to any amount of suffering than to have swerved from his duty. Nor is his guilt alleviated by the childish ceremony which he uses; for how could a few drops of water wash away the stain of a crime which no satisfaction of any kind could obliterate? His principal object in doing so was not to wash out his stains before God, but to exhibit to the people a Mark of abhorrence, to try if perhaps he might lead them to repent of their fury; as if he had employed such a preface as this, “Lo, you compel me to an unrighteous murder, to which I cannot come but with trembling and horror. What then shall become of you, and what dreadful vengeance of God awaits you, who are the chief actors in the deed?” But whatever might be the design of Pilate, God intended to testify, in this manner, the innocence of his Son, that it might be more manifest that in him our sins were condemned. The supreme and sole Judge of the world is placed at the bar of an earthly judge, is condemned to crucifixion as a malefactor, and — what is more — is placed between two robbers, as if he had been the prince of robbers. A spectacle so revolting might, at first sight, greatly disturb the senses of men, were it not met by this argument, that the punishment which had been due to us was laid on Christ, so that, our guilt having now been removed, we do not hesitate to come into the presence of the Heavenly Judge. Accordingly, the water, which was of no avail for washing away the filth of Pilate, ought to be efficacious, in the present day, for a different purpose, to cleanse our eyes from every obstruction, that, in the midst of condemnation, they may clearly perceive the righteousness of Christ.

Calvin: Mat 27:25 - -- 25.His blood be on us There can be no doubt that the Jews pronounced this curse on themselves without any concern, as if they had been fully convince...
25.His blood be on us There can be no doubt that the Jews pronounced this curse on themselves without any concern, as if they had been fully convinced that they had a righteous cause before God; but their inconsiderate zeal carries them headlong, so that, while they commit an irreparable crime, they add to it a solemn imprecation, by which they cut themselves off from the hope of pardon. Hence we infer how carefully we ought to guard against headlong rashness in all our judgments. For when men refuse to make inquiry, and venture to decide in this or the other matter according to their own fancy, blind impulse must at length carry them to rage. And this is the righteous vengeance of God with which he visits the pride of those who do not deign to take the trouble of distinguishing between right and wrong. The Jews thought that, in slaying Christ, they were performing a service acceptable to God; but whence arose this wicked error, unless from wicked obstinacy, and from despising God himself? Justly, therefore, were they abandoned to this rashness of drawing upon themselves final ruin. But when the question relates to the worship of God and his holy mysteries, let us learn to open our eyes, and to inquire into the matter with reverence and sobriety, lest through hypocrisy and presumption we become stupefied and enraged.
Now as God would never have permitted this execrable word to proceed from the mouth of the people, if their impiety had not been already desperate, so afterwards he justly revenged it by dreadful and unusual methods; and yet by an incredible miracle he reserved for himself some remnant, that his covenant might not be abolished by the destruction of the whole nation. He had adopted for himself the seed of Abraham, that it might be
a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, his peculiar people and inheritance,
(1Pe 2:9.)
The Jews now conspire, as with one voice, to renounce a favor so distinguished. Who would not say that the whole nation was utterly rooted out from the kingdom of God? But God, through their treachery, renders more illustrious the fidelity of his promise, and, to show that he did not in vain make a covenant with Abraham, he rescues from the general destruction those whom he has elected by free grace. Thus the truth of God always rises superior to all the obstacles raised by human unbelief.

Calvin: Mat 27:26 - -- 26.Then he released to them Barabbas Our three Evangelists do not mention what is related by John, (Joh 15:13,) that Pilate ascended the judgment-sea...
26.Then he released to them Barabbas Our three Evangelists do not mention what is related by John, (Joh 15:13,) that Pilate ascended the judgment-seat to pronounce sentence from it; for they only state that the clamor of the people and the confused tumult prevailed on him basely to deliver up Christ to death. But both of these things must be observed, that a compliance was forced from him contrary to his will, and yet that he exercised the office of a judge in condemning him whom he pronounces to be innocent. For if the Son of God had not been free from all sin, we would have had no right to look for satisfaction from his death; and, on the other hand, if he had not become our surety, to endure the punishment which we had deserved, we would now have been involved in the condemnation of our sins. So then God determined that his Son should be condemned in a solemn manner, that he might acquit us for his sake.
But even the severity of the punishment serves to confirm our faith, not less than to impress our minds with dread of the wrath of God, and to humble us by a conviction of our miseries. For if we are desirous to profit aright by meditating on the death of Christ, we ought to begin with cherishing abhorrence of our sins, in proportion to the severity of the punishment which he endured. This will cause us not only to feel displeasure and shame of ourselves, but to be penetrated with deep grief, and therefore to seek the medicine with becoming ardor, and at the same time to experience confusion and trembling. For we must have hearts harder than stones, if we are not cut to the quick by the wounds of the Son of God, if we do not hate and detest our sins, for expiating which the Son of God endured so many torments. But as this is a display of the dreadful vengeance of God, so, on the other hand, it holds out to us the most abundant grounds of confidence; for we have no reason to fear that our sins, from which the Son of God acquits us by so valuable a ransom, will ever again be brought into judgment before God. For not only did he endure an ordinary kind of death, in order to obtain life for us, but along with the cross he took upon him our curse, that no uncleanness might any longer remain in us.

Calvin: Mat 27:27 - -- 27.Then the soldiers of the governor It is not without reason that these additional insults are related. We know that it was not some sort of ludicro...
27.Then the soldiers of the governor It is not without reason that these additional insults are related. We know that it was not some sort of ludicrous exhibition, when God exposed his only-begotten Son to every kind of reproaches. First, then, we ought to consider what we have deserved, and, next, the satisfaction offered by Christ ought to awaken us to confident hope. Our filthiness deserves that God should hold it in abhorrence, and that all the angels should spit upon us; but Christ, in order to present us pure and unspotted in presence of the Father, resolved to be spat upon, and to be dishonored by every kind of reproaches. For this reason, that disgrace which he once endured on earth obtains for us favor in heaven, and at the same time restores in us the image of God, which had been not only stained, but almost obliterated, by the pollutions of sin. Here, too, is brightly displayed the inconceivable mercy of God towards us, in bringing his only-begotten Son so low on our account. This was also a proof which Christ gave of his astonishing love towards us, that there was no ignominy to which he refused to submit for our salvation. but these matters call for secret meditation, rather than for the ornament of words.
We are also taught that the kingdom of Christ ought not to be estimated by the sense of the flesh, but by the judgment of faith and of the Spirit. For so long as our minds grovel in the world, we look: upon his kingdom not only as contemptible, but even as loaded with shame and disgrace; but as soon as our minds rise by faith to heaven, not only will the spiritual majesty of Christ be presented to us, so as to obliterate all the dishonor of the cross, but the spittings, scourgings, blows, and other indignities, will lead us to the contemplation of his glory; as Paul informs us, that
God hath given him a name, and the highest authority, that before him every knee might bow, because he willingly emptied himself (
(Phi 2:8.)
If, therefore, even in the present day, the world insolently mocks at Christ, let us learn to rise above these offenses by elevated faith; and let us not stop to inquire, what unworthy opposition is made to Christ by wicked men, but with what ornaments the Father hath clothed him, with what scepter and with what crown he hath adorned him, so as to raise him high, not only above men, but even above all the angels.
Mark uses the word purple instead of scarlet; but though these are different colors, we need not trouble ourselves much about that matter. That Christ was clothed with a costly garment is not probable; and hence we infer that it was not purple, but something that bore a resemblance to it, as a painter counterfeits truth by his likenesses.
Defender: Mat 27:24 - -- It is noteworthy that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, admitted he had betrayed "innocent blood" (Mat 27:4); Pilate, who condemned Him to die, admitted he w...
It is noteworthy that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, admitted he had betrayed "innocent blood" (Mat 27:4); Pilate, who condemned Him to die, admitted he was condemning "this just person" (Mat 27:24); and the centurion, who carried out the execution, admitted that Jesus was "the Son of God" (Mat 27:54). Christ was, indeed, the spotless "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (Joh 1:29)."

Defender: Mat 27:25 - -- This tragic invocation by those who were immediately responsible for contriving Jesus' execution has been answered by God in full measure for almost t...
This tragic invocation by those who were immediately responsible for contriving Jesus' execution has been answered by God in full measure for almost two thousand years, with more yet to come. When they chose a seditionist, robber and murderer over their own Messiah and Redeemer, they made a costly mistake."
TSK: Mat 27:24 - -- and washed : Deu 21:6, Deu 21:7; Job 9:30,Job 9:31; Psa 26:6; Jer 2:27, Jer 2:35
just : Mat 27:4, Mat 27:9, Mat 27:54; Joh 19:4; Act 3:14; 2Co 5:21; 1...

TSK: Mat 27:25 - -- His : Mat 21:44, Mat 23:30-37; Num 35:33; Deu 19:10,Deu 19:13; Jos 2:19; 2Sa 1:16, 2Sa 3:28, 2Sa 3:29; 1Ki 2:32; 2Ki 24:3, 2Ki 24:4; Psa 109:12-19; Ez...
His : Mat 21:44, Mat 23:30-37; Num 35:33; Deu 19:10,Deu 19:13; Jos 2:19; 2Sa 1:16, 2Sa 3:28, 2Sa 3:29; 1Ki 2:32; 2Ki 24:3, 2Ki 24:4; Psa 109:12-19; Eze 22:2-4, Eze 24:7-9; Act 5:28; Act 7:52; 1Th 2:15, 1Th 2:16; Heb 10:28-30
and : Exo 20:5; Ezek. 18:14-32

TSK: Mat 27:26 - -- released : Mar 15:15; Luk 23:25
scourged : This of itself was a severe punishment, the flesh being generally cut by the whips used for this purpose. M...

TSK: Mat 27:27 - -- common hall : or, governor’ s house, Mar 15:16; Joh 18:28, Joh 18:33, Joh 19:8, Joh 19:9; Act 23:35, Gr
band : Joh 18:3; Act 10:1, Act 27:1

TSK: Mat 27:28 - -- stripped : Mar 15:17; Luk 23:11; Joh 19:2-5
a scarlet robe : Mark calls it a purple robe; but by πορφυρα [Strong’ s G4209] is denoted w...
stripped : Mar 15:17; Luk 23:11; Joh 19:2-5
a scarlet robe : Mark calls it a purple robe; but by

TSK: Mat 27:29 - -- platted : Mat 20:19; Psa 35:15, Psa 35:16, Psa 69:7, Psa 69:19, Psa 69:20; Isa 49:7, Isa 53:3; Jer 20:7; Heb 12:2, Heb 12:3
Hail : Mat 27:37, Mat 26:4...

TSK: Mat 27:30 - -- Mat 26:67; Job 30:8-10; Isa 49:7, Isa 50:6, Isa 52:14, Isa 53:3, Isa 53:7; Mic 5:1; Mar 15:19; Luk 18:32, Luk 18:33

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: Mat 27:24 - -- 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 other...
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.

Barnes: Mat 27:25 - -- His blood be on us ... - That is, let the guilt of putting him to death, if there be any, be on us and our children. We will be answerable for ...
His blood be on us ... - That is, let the guilt of putting him to death, if there be any, be on us and our children. We will be answerable for it, and will consent to bear the punishment for it. It is remarked by writers that, among the Athenians, if anyone accused another of a capital crime, he devoted himself and children to the same punishment if the accused was afterward found innocent. So in all countries the conduct of the parent involves the children in the consequences of his conduct. The Jews had no right to call down this vengeance on their children, but, in the righteous judgment of God, it has come upon them. In less than forty years their city and temple were overthrown and destroyed. More than a million of people perished in the siege. Thousands died by famine; thousands by disease; thousands by the sword; and their blood ran down the streets like water, so that, Josephus says, it extinguished things that were burning in the city. Thousands were crucified suffering the same punishment that they had inflicted on the Messiah. So great was the number of those who were crucified, that, Josephus says, they were obliged to cease from it, "room being wanted for the crosses, and crosses for the men."See the notes at Matt. 24. To this day, also, the curse has remained. They have been a nation scattered and peeled; persecuted almost everywhere, and a hissing and a byword among people. No single nation, probably, has suffered so much; and yet they have been preserved. All classes of people, all the governments of the earth, have conspired to overwhelm them with calamity, and yet they still live as monuments of the justice of God, and as proofs, going down from age to age, that the Christian religion is true - standing demonstrations of the crime of their fathers in putting the Messiah to death, and in calling down vengeance on their heads.

Barnes: Mat 27:26 - -- And when he had scourged Jesus - See the notes at Mat 10:17. Among the Romans it was customary to scourge or whip a "slave"before he was crucif...
And when he had scourged Jesus - See the notes at Mat 10:17. Among the Romans it was customary to scourge or whip a "slave"before he was crucified. This was done to inflict greater suffering. than crucifixion would be alone, and to add to the horrors of the punishment. Our Lord, being about to be put to death after the manner of a slave, was also treated as a slave as one of the lowest and most despised of mankind.
He delivered him to be crucified - Not merely gave him up to them to crucify him, as if they only were answerable, but he gave him up as a judge, when he ought to have saved his life and might have done it. Crucifixion was a Roman punishment; it was performed by Roman soldiers; Pilate pronounced the sentence from a Roman tribunal, and Pilate affixed the title to the cross. Pilate, therefore, as well as the Jews, was answerable to God for the death of the Savior of the world.

Barnes: Mat 27:27-30 - -- See also Mar 15:15-20; Joh 19:1-3. Mat 27:27 Into the common hall - The original word here means, rather, the governor’ s palace or ...
See also Mar 15:15-20; Joh 19:1-3.
Into the common hall - The original word here means, rather, the governor’ s palace or dwelling.
The trial of Jesus had taken place outside of the palace. The Jews would not enter in Joh 18:28, and it is probable that courts were held often in a larger and more public place than would be a room in his dwelling. Jesus, being condemned, was led by the soldiers away from the Jews "within"the palace, and subjected there to their profane mockery and sport.
The whole band - The "band"or cohort was a tenth part of a Roman legion, and consisted of from 400 to 600 men, according to the size of the legion. Compare the notes at Mat 8:29.
And they stripped him - That is, they either took off all his upper garments or removed all his clothing, probably the former.
A scarlet robe - Mark says they clothed him in "purple."The "scarlet"color was obtained from a species of fruit; "purple"from shell-fish.
See the notes at Isa 1:18. The ancients gave the name "purple"to any color that had a mixture of "red"in it, and consequently these different colors might be sometimes called by the same name. The "robe"used here was the same kind worn by Roman generals and other distinguished officers of the Roman army, and also by the Roman governors. It was made so as to be placed on the shoulders, and was bound around the body so as to leave the right arm at liberty. As we cannot suppose that Pilate would array him in a new and splendid robe, we must suppose that this was one which had been worn and cast off as useless, and was now used to array the Son of God as an object of ridicule and scorn.
Had platted - The word "platted"here means "woven together."They made a "wreath"of a thorn-bush.
A crown - Or perhaps, rather, a wreath.
A crown was worn by kings, commonly made of gold and precious stones. To ridicule the pretensions of Jesus that he was a king, they probably plucked up a thornbush growing near, made it into something resembling in shape a royal crown, so as to correspond with the old purple robe, and to complete the mockery.
Of thorns - What was the precise species of shrub denoted here is not certainly known. It was, however, doubtless, one of that species that has sharp points of very hard wood. They could therefore be easily pressed into the slain and cause considerable pain. Probably they seized upon the first thing in their way that could be made into a crown, and this happened to be a "thorn,"thus increasing the sufferings of the Redeemer. Palestine abounds with thorny shrubs and plants. "The traveler finds them in his path, go where he may. Many of them are small, but some grow as high as a man’ s head. The Rabbinical writers say that there are no less than 22 words in the Hebrew Bible denoting thorny and prickly plants."Professor’ s Hackett’ s Illustrations of Scripture, p. 135. Compare Pro 24:30-31; Pro 15:19; Jer 4:3.
And a reed in his right hand - A reed is a straight, slender herb, growing in marshy places, and abundant on the banks of the Jordan. It was often used for the purpose of making staves for walking, and it is not improbable that this was such a staff in the possession of some person present. The word is several times thus used. See 2Ki 18:21; Isa 36:6; Eze 29:6. Kings commonly carried a "sceptre,"made of ivory or gold, as a sign of their office or rank, Est 4:11; Est 8:4. This "reed"or "staff"they put in his hand, in imitation of a "sceptre,"to deride, also, his pretensions of being a king.
And they bowed the knee - This was done for mockery. It was an act of pretended homage. It was to ridicule his saying that he was a king. The common mode of showing respect or homage for kings was by kneeling or prostration. It shows amazing forbearance on the part of Jesus that he thus consented to be ridiculed and set at naught. No mere human being would have borne it. None but he who loved us unto death, and who saw the grand results that would come from this scene of sufferings, could have endured such mockery.
Hail, King of the Jews! - The term "hail"was a common mode of salutation to a king, or even to a friend. It implies, commonly, the highest respect for office as well as the person, and is an invocation of blessings. Here it was used to carry on what they thought to be the farce of his being a king; to ridicule in every possible way the pretensions of a poor, unattended, unarmed man of Nazareth, as if he was a weak impostor or was deranged.
And they spit upon him - This was a token of the deepest contempt and insult.
See the notes at Mat 26:67.
And took the reed - The cane, probably so large as to inflict a heavy blow.
And smote him on the head - Not merely to injure him by the force of the blow, but to press the "thorns"into his head, and thus to add cruelty to insult.

Barnes: Mat 27:31-32 - -- As they came out - That is, either out of the governor’ s palace where he had been treated with such cruelty and contempt, or out of the g...
As they came out - That is, either out of the governor’ s palace where he had been treated with such cruelty and contempt, or out of the gates of the city, to crucify him.
A man of Cyrene - Cyrene was a city of Libya, in Africa, lying west of Egypt. There were many Jews there, and they were in the habit, like others, of going frequently to Jerusalem.
Him they compelled go bear his cross - John says Joh 19:17 that Jesus went forth "bearing his cross."Luke says Luk 23:26 that they laid the cross on Simon, that he might bear it after Jesus. There is no contradiction in these accounts. It was a part of the usual punishment of those who were crucified that they should bear their own cross to the place of execution. Accordingly, it was laid at first on Jesus, and he went forth, as John says, bearing it. Weak, however, and exhausted by suffering and watchfulness, he probably sunk under the heavy burden, and they laid hold of Simon that he might bear "one end"of the cross, as Luke says, "after Jesus."The cross was composed of two pieces of wood, one of which was placed upright in the earth, and the other crossed it after the form of the figure of a cross. The upright part was commonly so high that the feet of the person crucified were 2 or 3 feet from the ground.
On the middle of that upright part there was usually a projection or seat on which the person crucified sat, or, as it were, "rode."This was necessary, as the hands were not alone strong enough to bear the weight of the body; as the body was left exposed often many days, and not unfrequently suffered to remain till the flesh had been devoured by vultures or putrefied in the sun. The feet were fastened to this upright piece either by nailing them with large spikes driven through the tender part, or by being lashed by cords. To the cross-piece at the top, the hands, being extended, were also fastened, either by spikes or by cords, or perhaps, in some cases, by both. The hands and feet of our Saviour were both fastened by spikes. Crosses were also sometimes made in the form of the letter X, the limbs of the person crucified being extended to the four parts, and he suffered to die a lingering death in this cruel manner. The cross used in the Crucifixion of Christ appears to have been the former. The mention of the cross often occurs in the New Testament. It was the instrument on which the Saviour made atonement for the sins of the world. The whole of the Christian’ s hope of heaven, and all his peace and consolation in trial and in death, depend on the sacrifice there made for sin, and on just views and feelings in regard to the fact and the design of the Redeemer’ s death. See the notes at Joh 21:18.
Poole -> Mat 27:24-26; Mat 27:27-31
Poole: Mat 27:24-26 - -- Ver. 24-26. Mark saith, Mar 15:15 , So Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged...
Ver. 24-26. 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.
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.

Poole: Mat 27:27-31 - -- Ver. 27-31. Mark hath the same, Mar 15:17-20 , only he saith they put upon him a purple robe. John seemeth to mention this a little out of order, Joh...
Ver. 27-31. Mark hath the same, Mar 15:17-20 , only he saith they put upon him a purple robe. John seemeth to mention this a little out of order, Joh 19:1-3 , as done before his condemnation; for though some think that Matthew and Mark rather mention these things out of their due order, yet the abuses seem more likely to be done to a person who was condemned, and so dead in law, than while he was upon his trial. Writers tell us that none might be crucified before he was scourged, and that not with rods, (which was the Jewish manner), but with whips (far more cruelly); but whether it was before or after condemnation we are not certain. He was condemned upon that article, that he should say, he was the King of the Jews. To mock him, therefore, they set a crown on his head, but of thorns; they put a sceptre into his hand, but it was of a reed; they bowed the knee before him, as was wont to princes; they put on him a robe of purple, or scarlet, both which were used by princes; in short they put upon him all the indignities and marks of scorn imaginable. When they had thus glutted themselves, they restore his own garment to him, and lead him away to the place of execution. Who can read these things with a believing heart and dry eyes, if he remembers, that our sins platted the crown of thorns set upon our Saviour’ s head, and made the whips with which he was scourged? Our stomachs (when we read these things) are ready to rise against the pagan soldiers; but how little did they do in comparison of what Christ suffered for our sins! Who can read these things, and not be fortified against temptations from suffering if we will own the gospel and cause of Christ? Our sufferings will come much short of what Christ hath suffered for us.
Lightfoot: Mat 27:26 - -- Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.  [When he had scourged Jesus, he...
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.  
[When he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.] Such was the custom of the Romans towards those that were to be crucified: Whom after he had beaten with whips, he crucified. And a little after, To be whipped before the judgment seat, and to be nailed to the cross.

Lightfoot: Mat 27:29 - -- 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 mo...
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!

Lightfoot: Mat 27:31 - -- 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.  ...
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.  
[Led him away to crucify him.] These things are delivered in Sanhedrim, of one that is guilty of stoning: "If there be no defence found for him, they lead him out to be stoned, and a crier went before, saying aloud thus, 'N. the son of N. comes out to be stoned, because he hath done so and so. The witnesses against him are N. and N.: whosoever can bring any thing in his defence, let him come forth and produce it.' " On which thus the Gemara of Babylon: "The tradition is, that on the evening of the Passover Jesus was hanged, and that a crier went before him for forty days making this proclamation, 'This man comes forth to be stoned, because he dealt in sorceries, and persuaded and seduced Israel; whosoever knows of any defence for him, let him come forth and produce it': but no defence could be found, therefore they hanged him on the evening of the Passover. Ulla saith, His case seemed not to admit of any defence, since he was a seducer, and of such God hath said, 'Thou shalt not spare him, neither shalt thou conceal him,' " Deu 13:8.  
They led him that was to be stoned out of the city, Act 7:58; so also him that was to be crucified: "The place of stoning was without the three camps; for at Jerusalem there were three camps," (namely, God's, the Levites', and the people's, as it was in the encamping in the wilderness:) "and in every city also where there was a council," (namely, of twenty-three,) "the place of stoning was without the city. For all cities that have walls bear a resemblance to the camp of Israel."  
Because Jesus was judged at a heathen tribunal, therefore a death is inflicted on him not usual with the Jewish council, namely, crucifixion. In several things the circumstances and actions belonging to his death differed from the custom of the Jews in putting persons to death.  
1. They never judge two on the same day. But here, besides Christ, are two thieves judged.  
2. They never carried one that was to be hanged to hanging till near sunset: They stay till near sunset, and then they pass sentence, and execute him. And the reason is given by the Glosser; "They do not perfect his judgment, nor hang him in the morning, lest they should neglect his burial, and happen to forget themselves," and the malefactor should hang till after sunset; "but near sunsetting, so that they may bury him out of hand." But Christ was sentenced to death before noon; and at noon was nailed to the cross. For,  
3. They first put the condemned person to death, and then hanged him upon a tree; but the custom of the (Roman) empire is first to hang them, and then to put them to death.  
4. They did not openly lament for those that were led forth to be put to death; but for Jesus they did, Luk 23:27;28. The reason of this difference is not to be sought from the kind of the death, but from the persons: They did not bewail for a person led out to execution, but they lamented inwardly in their hearts. You will wonder at the reason which the Gloss thus gives you: "They did not openly bewail him, upon this account, that his being vilified" [when nobody openly lamented him] "might help to atone for him; but they sorrowed for him in their hearts; for this did not tend to his honour, nor lessen the atonement." Those were better instructed, who lamented for Christ both as to the thing and person.
Haydock: Mat 27:24 - -- 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 hand...
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
Abluero.

Haydock: Mat 27:25 - -- All the people answered: his blood be upon us, and upon our children which continues, saith St. Jerome, to this day. Then Pilate delivered to them ...
All the people answered: his blood be upon us, and upon our children which continues, saith St. Jerome, to this day. Then Pilate delivered to them Jesus to be crucified. (Witham) ---
This blasphemous prayer continues to this day, and will continue a protracted curse upon the Jews, and upon their posterity. (Origen) ---
Behold the insanity of the Jews! Their passion and pertinacious obstinacy will not suffer them to see and understand: they draw down curses upon themselves in these terrible imprecations: his blood be upon us and upon our children. Still the God of all mercies did not literally comply with their impious prayer. For, of these children he selected some for himself; amongst the rest even Paul, and many thousands who were converted at Jerusalem. (St. John Chrysostom)

Haydock: Mat 27:26 - -- And having scourged Jesus. We must know that Pilate was a subject of the Roman empire; and by the Roman law it was ordained, that whoever was condem...
And having scourged Jesus. We must know that Pilate was a subject of the Roman empire; and by the Roman law it was ordained, that whoever was condemned to the cross, should previously suffer the punishment of scourging. (St. Jerome) ---
He wished also by this apparent severity to soften the minds of the Jews, content their inveterate animosity, and this with hopes that they would in the end consent to the liberation of Jesus. (Bible de Vence)

Haydock: Mat 27:27 - -- A Roman cohort properly consisted of 625 men; but they were not always complete, nor all equally strong. (Bible de Vence)
A Roman cohort properly consisted of 625 men; but they were not always complete, nor all equally strong. (Bible de Vence)

Haydock: Mat 27:28 - -- A scarlet cloak. St. Mark and St. John call it purple. But these colours are frequently taken promiscuously by writers. Scarlet is a lighter, an...
A scarlet cloak. St. Mark and St. John call it purple. But these colours are frequently taken promiscuously by writers. Scarlet is a lighter, and crimson a deeper red colour. (Bible de Vence)

Haydock: Mat 27:29 - -- The crowning of thorns had preceded the time, when Jesus was made over by Pilate to the Jews. As the Jews have no preterpluperfect tense, we may conj...
The crowning of thorns had preceded the time, when Jesus was made over by Pilate to the Jews. As the Jews have no preterpluperfect tense, we may conjecture that those words, circumdederunt, posuerunt, are Hebraisms; for circumdederant, posuerant, they had covered him with a cloak; they had placed a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed or can in his hand. (Bible de Vence)
Jesus carrieth his cross to Mount Calvary, where he is nailed to it. A great darkness.

Haydock: Mat 27:31 - -- And led him away to crucify him. It was the custom for men condemned to die by crucifixion to carry their cross, which Jesus did through the city; b...
And led him away to crucify him. It was the custom for men condemned to die by crucifixion to carry their cross, which Jesus did through the city; but going out, or being gone out of the city, and, as it is probable, fainting under the weight of it, (his strength as man being exhausted) they forced a man of Cyrene, named Simon, perhaps a Gentile, or Cyrene, in Lybia, to carry the cross after him. St. Luke says, they laid the cross upon him to carry after Jesus; whether it were that they made Simon carry the whose cross, or whether he only bore it up behind, is not expressed. St. Luke tells us, a great crowd followed, and a number of women, who wept and lamented; to whom Christ said: weep not over me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children, on account of the punishments and miseries that will shortly happen. (Witham)
Gill: Mat 27:24 - -- 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 ...
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,
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.

Gill: Mat 27:25 - -- Then answered all the people,.... They were as unanimous in their imprecations upon themselves, as in desiring the crucifixion of Christ:
and said,...
Then answered all the people,.... They were as unanimous in their imprecations upon themselves, as in desiring the crucifixion of Christ:
and said, his blood be on us, and on our children; not for the cleansing of them from sin, which virtue that blood has, but if there were any stain, blot, or pollution, through the shedding of it, they wished it might be on them and theirs: not for the forgiveness of sins, which that blood was shed for; but on the contrary, if there was any sin and guilt in it, they desired it might be imputed to them: nor for their justification before God, and security from wrath to come, both which are by his blood; but all the reverse of this, that if there were any punishment, and condemnation, and death, due for the shedding of it, they imprecated it all upon themselves, and their posterity: so this phrase is used in Jos 2:19, and in other places, and in the Talmud s: and it is a notion of the Jews, that the guilt of innocent blood, and the blood of that innocent man's children, lie not only upon the persons immediately concerned, but upon their children to the end of the world: and so the judges used to address the witnesses upon a trial, after this manner t;
"know ye, that capital causes, are not as pecuniary ones: in pecuniary causes, a man gives his money, and it atones for him; but in capital causes,
And this imprecation of theirs, has been notoriously verified in them; for though this blood was shed for many of them, and Christ prayed for the forgiveness of them, and they had the Gospel, and the doctrine of remission of sins first preached among them, which was made the power of God unto salvation to some of them, even of those who were concerned in the crucifixion of Christ; yet, on the generality of them, his blood was in the sense they wished it; and for the shedding of it, wrath came upon them to the uttermost, in the entire destruction of their nation, city, and temple, and very remarkable it is, that great numbers of them were put to death by crucifixion; and very likely some of those very persons, that were so clamorous for the crucifying of Christ; and if not, at least their children; five hundred of the Jews and more, were sometimes crucified in a day, whilst Titus was besieging the city; till at length there wanted "room for crosses",

Gill: Mat 27:26 - -- Then released he Barabbas unto them,.... The seditious person, robber, and murderer, for which crimes he was in prison. This man was an emblem of the ...
Then released he Barabbas unto them,.... The seditious person, robber, and murderer, for which crimes he was in prison. This man was an emblem of the persons for whom Christ suffered, both in his character and in his release: in his character; for they are such as have rebelled against God, robbed him of his glory, and destroyed themselves; many of them are notorious sinners, the chief of sinners, and all of them by nature, children of wrath, as others; and as the descendants of Adam, under the sentence of condemnation and death; and yet in Christ, they are children of Abba, Father; being of God predestinated by him, to the adoption of children: and in his release; for when Christ was apprehended, they were let go; when he was bound they were loosed; when he was condemned, they were released, and acquitted; and when the sword of justice was awaked against him, the hand of grace and mercy was turned upon them.
And when he had scourged Jesus; which was done some time before his examination, trial, and condemnation were over, though mentioned here, as appears from Joh 19:1, and was done by Pilate, in order to move the pity and compassion of the Jews; hoping they would have been satisfied with it, and not have resisted upon his death: and he indeed moved it to them, that he might chastise him and let him go, Luk 23:22, but nothing would do but crucifixion. Whether the previous scourging sufficed, or whether he was not scourged again upon his condemnation, is not certain: if he was scourged twice, John may be thought to relate the one, and Matthew the other; for certain it is, that it was usual with the Romans to scourge either with rods or whips, just before crucifixion w: our Lord was scourged with whips, as the word here used shows. Persons of birth and blood, and freemen of Rome, were beaten with rods; but such as were servants, which form Christ had taken, were scourged with whips; to which, sometimes were fastened, the hip bones of beasts x; so that this kind of whipping, was very severe and cruel. The Jews themselves own this scourging of Jesus, only they ascribe it to the elders of Jerusalem, and relate it thus y:
"the elders of Jerusalem took Jesus, and brought him to the city, and bound him to a marble pillar in the city,
Hereby the prophecy in Isa 1:6, and our Lord's prediction in Mat 20:19, had their accomplishment. This scourging of Christ, was an emblem of the scourges and strokes of divine justice, which he endured in his soul, as the surety of his people; being smitten of God by the sword of justice, as he stood in their place and stead, and stricken for their transgressions; and may furnish out several instructions: as that it is no wonder, if any of the followers of Christ have, do, or shall, meet with such like treatment from men; and that it becomes them to bear patiently the scourges of their heavenly Father, since these are in love; and that they need not fear being trodden down, or carried away by the overflowing scourge of God's wrath, since Christ has endured this in their room. This being done,
he delivered him to be crucified; either into the hands of the Jews, to their will and at their request; or into the hands of his soldiers, to execute the sentence he passed upon him; which was done in a judicial way, and according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

Gill: Mat 27:27 - -- Then the soldiers of the governor,.... Those that were about him, his attendants and guards,
took Jesus into the common hall; the "praetorium", or ...
Then the soldiers of the governor,.... Those that were about him, his attendants and guards,
took Jesus into the common hall; the "praetorium", or judgment hall, as it is sometimes called; the governor's palace, into which the Jews would not enter, lest they should defile themselves: Pilate therefore came out to them, and went into the pavement called Gabbatha, and sat upon a judgment seat there; see Joh 18:28, where he passed sentence on Christ; which being done, the soldiers took him into the hall of judgment; which being both magnificent and large, was fit for the scene they intended to act there. Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads it, they took him "in the house of judgment"; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "out of the court of judicature"; both wrong.
And gathered unto him whole band of soldiers; the same that Judas had with him to take him, consisting of five hundred, and some say more: these their fellow soldiers, to whom Jesus was committed, got together to him, or "against him", as the Syriac and Persic versions render it, make themselves sport and diversion with him. Think in what hands and company our dear Lord now was: now was he encompassed with dogs, and enclosed with the assembly of the wicked indeed; see Psa 22:16. The Persic version renders it, "multitudes of knaves being gathered together to him".

Gill: Mat 27:28 - -- And they stripped him,.... Of his clothes; at least of his upper garment: for one man to spit upon another, as these soldiers afterwards did on Christ...
And they stripped him,.... Of his clothes; at least of his upper garment: for one man to spit upon another, as these soldiers afterwards did on Christ, or to strip him of his garment, according to the Jewish canons, were punishable with a fine of four hundred pence z, which amounted to twelve pounds and ten shillings of our money; but the soldiers were in no danger of being prosecuted, for stripping Christ. This is one part of the low estate Christ submitted to: his clothes on his back seem to be all he had in this world, and of these he is stripped:
and put on him a scarlet robe, or "a red coat", as the Persic version renders it; very likely an old coat of one of their officers. The Evangelists Mark and John say it was "purple", Mar 15:17, and so the Arabic version renders it here: whether there were two garments put upon him, the one a purple vest, and the other a scarlet robe over it; or whether scarlet was used instead of purple, is not certain; which was a colour wore by kings, and a sign of imperial dignity a; and therefore put upon Christ by way of mockery, upbraiding him with the character he bore, as king of the Jews. This was an emblem of his being clothed, as it were with our sins, which are as scarlet, and of his bloody sufferings in the human nature.

Gill: Mat 27:29 - -- And when they had platted a crown of thorns,.... What sort of thorn this crown was made of, whether of the bramble, or of the white thorn, is not very...
And when they had platted a crown of thorns,.... What sort of thorn this crown was made of, whether of the bramble, or of the white thorn, is not very material b: the word used in the Syriac version, is rendered by interpreters, "white thorns", and which were common in Judea: these, be they what they will, they made into the form of a crown, and
they put it upon his head; both to reproach him as a king, and to torture him as a man: however, it had its significance, and was an emblem of men, comparable to thorns; either of wicked men, and of his being encompassed with them at this time; or of good men, chosen out from among them, redeemed by him, and accounted as a royal diadem with him c: or it might represent the sins of his people, which, like thorns, pierced him, and like a crown of them surrounded him every side; or else the many troubles he was exercised with, and through which he did, as his members do, enter the kingdom: and especially, his being made a curse for us, thorns and briers being the curse which was inflicted on the earth, for the sin of man: in this Christ was the antitype of the ram, caught by his horns among the thickets, which "Abraham" sacrificed in the room of his son. This may teach us many useful lessons: we may see what a curse sin brought upon man, and upon the earth for man's sake; and even upon the Messiah, in the stead of men: we may observe the difference between us and Christ: we are a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in his hand; we are crowned with loving kindness and tender mercies, and have a crown of righteousness, life, and glory, laid up for us, and he was crowned with thorns; as also the difference between Christ in his state of humiliation wearing such a crown, and his state of exaltation, in which he is crowned with glory and honour. The Jews acknowledge this circumstance of the sufferings of Jesus, though they ascribe it to the elders of Jerusalem; who, they say d,
"took thorns and made a crown of them, and put it upon his head.''
Which are the very words of the evangelist:
and a reed in his right hand, or "cane"; and Munster's Hebrew Gospel uses the word,
And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, king of the Jews: being thus clad in a scarlet, or purple robe, or both; and having a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed instead of a sceptre in his hand, they carry on the mockery still further, and bend the knee to him, as to a prince just come to his throne, and salute as such; and in a mock way, wish him long life and prosperity: thus deriding him in his kingly office, as all such do, who call him Lord, Lord, but disregard his commands.

Gill: Mat 27:30 - -- And they spit upon him,.... The Syriac and Persic versions add, "upon his face", which he did not hide from spitting; see Isa 1:6, and so what with sw...
And they spit upon him,.... The Syriac and Persic versions add, "upon his face", which he did not hide from spitting; see Isa 1:6, and so what with sweat, by being hurried from place to place, and with blood trickling down from his temples, scratched with thorns, and with the spittle of these filthy soldiers, his visage was more marred than any man's, and his form than the sons of men, Isa 52:14.
And took the reed, or "cane", which was put into his right hand,
and smote him on the head; whereby they drove the sharp points of the thorns into it, which must give him inexpressible pain and torture.

Gill: Mat 27:31 - -- And after that they had mocked him,.... Gone through the whole farce, and glutted themselves with derision of him, and with sport and diversion with h...
And after that they had mocked him,.... Gone through the whole farce, and glutted themselves with derision of him, and with sport and diversion with him,
they took the robe off from him; it belonging to one of their company,
and put his own raiment on him; partly that he might be known to be the selfsame person that was condemned and committed to them, which they now brought forth to crucify; and partly, that the four soldiers that were appointed to be the executioners, might have the perquisite of his clothes, which belonged unto them:
and led him away to crucify him; for a condemned person was always executed the same day: their canon is e,
"after that his judgment, or sentence is finished, they do not tarry with him, but slay him,
And their custom was this,
"he whose sentence for death is finished, they bring him out from the house of judgment; and one stands at the door of it, and linen clothes in his hand, and a horse at some distance from him; and a crier goes out before him, "saying", such an one is going to be executed with such a death, because he has committed such a sin, in such a place, at such a time, such and such being witnesses; whoever knows him to be innocent, let him come, and speak in his favour: if one says, I have something to say in his favour: this waves with the linen clothes, and the other rides upon the horse, and runs and brings back him that is judged, to the sanhedrim; and if he is found innocent, they dismiss him: but if not, he returns, and goes to execution f.
The Jews pretend g, that a crier went out before Jesus of Nazareth, forty days before his execution, and made such a proclamation, but found none that had any thing to say in his favour, and therefore hanged him on the evening of the passover. But this is false; Christ had no such length of time, or his friends any liberty granted them to speak for him. They led him out of the common hall, through Jerusalem, and through one of the gates of it, without the city, in order to crucify him, to which he was condemned, when that prophecy was fulfilled in Isa 53:7. "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth": as he made no opposition or struggle, but quietly went along with them, where they led him; so he took every thing patiently from them, uttered not one complaint, or any murmuring and repining word, or any thing by way of reviling; but became meekly subject to them, and submitted himself to him that judgeth righteously,

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Mat 27:24 You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4. The expression is identical except that in 27:4...

NET Notes: Mat 27:25 Grk “answering, all the people said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.



NET Notes: Mat 27:28 The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did t...

NET Notes: Mat 27:29 The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).


NET Notes: Mat 27:31 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Geneva Bible: Mat 27:24 ( 4 ) When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but [that] rather a tumult was made, he took water, and ( g ) washed [his] hands before the multi...

Geneva Bible: Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, ( i ) His blood [be] on us, and on our children.
( i ) If there is any offence committed in slaying him, let ...

Geneva Bible: Mat 27:28 ( 5 ) And they stripped him, and ( k ) put on him a ( l ) scarlet robe.
( 5 ) Christ endures that reproach which was due to our sins; meanwhile, in s...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Mat 27:1-66
TSK Synopsis: Mat 27:1-66 - --1 Christ is delivered bound to Pilate.3 Judas hangs himself.19 Pilate, admonished of his wife,20 and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands, a...
Maclaren -> Mat 27:4-24; Mat 27:11-26
Maclaren: Mat 27:4-24 - --See Thou To That!'
I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. 24. I am innocent o...

Maclaren: Mat 27:11-26 - --The Sentence Which Condemned The Judges
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him. saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And J...
MHCC: Mat 27:11-25 - --Having no malice against Jesus, Pilate urged him to clear himself, and laboured to get him discharged. The message from his wife was a warning. God ha...

MHCC: Mat 27:26-30 - --Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet we...

MHCC: Mat 27:31-34 - --Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, th...
Matthew Henry -> Mat 27:11-25; Mat 27:26-32
Matthew Henry: Mat 27:11-25 - -- We have here an account of what passed in Pilate's judgment-hall, when the blessed Jesus was brought thither betimes in the morning. Though it was n...

Matthew Henry: Mat 27:26-32 - -- In these verses we have the preparatives for, and prefaces to, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. Here is, I. The sentence passed, and the warra...
Barclay -> Mat 27:11-26; Mat 27:27-31

Barclay: Mat 27:27-31 - --The dreadful routine of crucifixion had now begun. The last section ended by telling us that Pilate had Jesus scourged. Roman scourging was a terrib...
Constable: Mat 26:1--28:20 - --VII. The crucifixion and resurrection of the King chs. 26--28
The key phrase in Matthew's Gospel "And it came ab...

Constable: Mat 26:57--27:27 - --3. The trials of Jesus 26:57-27:26
Matthew stressed Jesus' righteousness for his readers by high...

Constable: Mat 27:11-26 - --The trial before Pilate 27:11-26 (cf. Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:3-25; John 18:33-19:16)
Pilate was a cruel ruler who made little attempt to understand the...

Constable: Mat 27:27-31 - --The soldiers' abuse of Jesus 27:27-31 (cf. Mark 15:16-20; John 19:16-17a)
27:27 The soldiers in view were probably Pilate's troops. The Praetorium or ...
College -> Mat 27:1-66
College: Mat 27:1-66 - --MATTHEW 27
K. TRANSITION TO THE ROMAN AUTHORITIES (27:1-2)
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the de...
McGarvey -> Mat 27:15-30; Mat 27:31-34
McGarvey: Mat 27:15-30 - --
CXXXI.
THIRD STAGE OF THE ROMAN TRIAL. PILATE
RELUCTANTLY SENTENCES HIM TO CRUCIFIXION.
(Friday. Toward sunrise.)
aMATT. XXVII. 15-30; bMARK XV. 6-19...

McGarvey: Mat 27:31-34 - --
CXXXIII.
THE CRUCIFIXION.
Subdivision A.
ON THE WAY TO THE CROSS.
(Within and without Jerusalem. Friday morning.)
aMATT. XXVII. 31-34; bMARK XV. 20-2...
Lapide -> Mat 27:1-32
Lapide: Mat 27:1-32 - --1-66
CHAPTER 27
Ver. 1. But when the morning was come (Syr. when it was dawn ), all the chief priests, &c. "See here," says S. Jerome, "the eag...

expand allCommentary -- Other
Contradiction -> Mat 27:31
Contradiction: Mat 27:31 49. Jesus did (John 19:17) or did not (Matthew 27:31-32) bear his own cross?
(Category: misread the text or the texts are compatible with a little ...
Evidence: Mat 27:26 Paintings of a " suffering Savior" on the cross can never do justice to the agonies He suffered for us. Isa 52:14 tells us " His visage was so marr...


