Matthew 27:2

27:2 They ¹  tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate ²  the governor. ³ 

Acts 7:25

7:25 He thought his own people ⁴  would understand that God was delivering them ⁵  through him, ⁶  but they did not understand. ⁷ 

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² tc Most mss (A C W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiw, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatw, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 pc co, is thus strongly preferred.

³ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

⁴ tn Grk “his brothers.”

⁵ tn Grk “was granting them deliverance.” The narrator explains that this act pictured what Moses could do for his people.

⁶ tn Grk “by his hand,” where the hand is a metaphor for the entire person.

⁷ sn They did not understand. Here is the theme of the speech. The people did not understand what God was doing through those he chose. They made the same mistake with Joseph at first. See Acts 3:17; 13:27. There is good precedent for this kind of challenging review of history in the ancient scriptures: Ps 106:6-46; Ezek 20; and Neh 9:6-38.