In the early morning, all the chief priests and people’s elders held a counsel about Jesus and how to kill him.

They tied him up and led him to Pilate, the governor, where he was delivered.

Judas, who betrayed Jesus, realised he was guilty and was regretful. He gave back the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and elders.

He said to them, “I sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

“What’s that to us?” They replied. “You deal with it.”

He threw the silver coins into the temple and left. He went and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the silver and said, “It is not right to put this into the temple account because it is blood money.”

They held counsel and then used the coins to buy the potter’s field as a cemetery for strangers. That’s why that field is now called Blood Field.

What the prophet Jeremiah said was fulfilled, “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the valued, who had been priced by the people of Israel, and paid the coins for the potter’s field as the Lord ordered me.”

Jesus stood before the governor, who asked him, “Are you the Jew’s king?”

“So, you say,” Jesus answered.

When Jesus was accused by the chief priest and elders, he didn’t answer.

Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear many witnesses against you?”

Jesus didn’t answer, not responding to a single word. The governor was very amazed.

During each festival, the governor customarily released one prisoner to the people, whomever they wanted. There was a well-known prisoner back then named Jesus Barabbas. The people gathered and Pilate asked them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus, who they call Christ?”

Pilate knew they had handed Jesus over because of jealousy.

While he sat in the judge’s chair, his wife sent a message to him, “Don’t involve yourself with the innocent man because I had a lot of pain from a dream today about him.”

However, the chief priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas and kill Jesus.

The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

The crowd replied, “Barabbas.”

Pilate asked, “Then what should be done with Jesus, the one called Christ?” Everyone said, “Crucify him!”

“Because of what bad actions?” he asked.

They shouted loudly, “Crucify him!”

Pilate saw nothing was getting done. It was just becoming a commotion. He washed his hands with water before the crowd and said, “I’m innocent of this man’s blood. Do it yourselves.”

Everyone answered, “His blood on us and our children.”

Pilate released Barabbas to them.

Jesus was then whipped and delivered to be crucified. The governor’s soldiers took Jesus to the governor’s house and surrounded him with a whole cohort. They stripped him and put a red cloak on him. They made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and put a stick in his right hand. They kneeled before him and made fun of him, saying, “Hello, Jew king!”

They spat on him, took the stick and smacked his head.

After mocking him, they stripped him again, put his clothes back on and led him to be crucified. On the way, they found a Cyrene man called Simon. They forced him to carry the cross.

They arrived at Golgotha, which means ‘skull place’, and they gave Jesus wine mixed with herbs to drink. He tasted it but didn’t want to drink it.

They crucified him and then distributed his clothes by making bets. They sat and watched him. They put above his head his charge, writing, “This is Jesus, the Jew king.”

Two rebels were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

Those who walked past shamed Jesus and shook their heads. “Destroy the temple and rebuild in three days. Rescue yourself. If you’re God’s son, get off the cross.” 

The chief priests, academics and elders also mocked him. “He rescued others but can’t rescue himself, being king of Israel. Get off from the cross now and we will believe him. He believes God could rescue him now, if he wanted, because he said, ‘I’m God’s son.'”

The robbers being crucified with him also mocked him.

Darkness covered the land from midday until three in the afternoon.

Around 3pm, Jesus shouted loudly, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani“, which means ‘My God, my God, why have you left me?’

Some people standing nearby said, “This man is calling for Elijah!”

One of them immediately ran, grabbed a sponge, filled it with wine vinegar, and put the sponge on a stick for Jesus to drink.

But the others said, “Leave him to see if Elijah comes and rescues him.”

Jesus cried out again loudly and gave his spirit. And look, the temple curtain tore in half from top to bottom. The ground shook. Rocks tore apart. Tombs opened and many bodies of God’s people who had died woke up. They came out of their tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared before the crowds.

The centurion and those with him guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and everything happening and were extremely scared. “He really was God’s son!”

Many women were watching from afar who had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. There was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

When it became evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was also one of Jesus’ disciples, arrived. The man approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate ordered the request to be granted.

Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean sheet and placed it in his unused tomb that he had cut into the rock. He rolled a large stone to the tomb’s entrance and left. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there and sat opposite the tomb.

The next day, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Lord, we remember that when the deceiver was still alive, he said, ‘After three days, I will wake up.’ So, order the tomb to be secured until the third day, just in case his disciples come and steal his body and tell everyone, ‘He woke from being dead.’ This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Pilate replied, “Have a group of guards. Go secure it however you can.”

They went with the group of guards to the tomb and secured it by sealing up the stone.

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Continue exploring Matthew 27

If you’d like to read Matthew 27 in other translations, here are a few BibleHub links:
For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, try Matthew 27 in the English Standard Version.
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, try Matthew 27 in the New International Version.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, try Matthew 27 in the Contemporary English Version.

If you prefer to read the Bible in a hard-copy format, here are cheaper versions from Amazon:
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For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, ESV Economy Bible
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, NIV, Economy Bible, Paperback: Accurate. Readable. Clear.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version

If you’d like to explore Matthew in more depth, here are two commentaries I would recommend:
[These are Amazon affiliate links which support the production of this blog]
Easy to access commentaries that include life applications:
The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew
Matthew (The Story of God Bible Commentary)
For a commentary that goes into more depth:
The Gospel of Matthew (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)