Bible Commentaries

Matthew 27:1. πάντες, all) This council was more fully attended than that of the preceding night; see ch. Matthew 26:57.— ὥστε θανατῶσαι αὐτὸν, to put Him to death) In execution of the sentence which had been passed on the preceding night.

Matthew 27:2. ἀπήγαγον καὶ παρέδωκαν αὐτὸν, they led Him away and delivered Him) cf. Matthew 27:9, and Gnomon on the latter part.— τῷ ἡγεμόνι, to the Procurator).

Matthew 27:3. ὅτι κατεκριθη, that He was condemned) sc. Jesus, by the Priests.— μεταμεληθεὶς, repenting himself)¹¹⁶⁹ Judas had not anticipated this catastrophe: he would now wish, if he could, to render that, which was done, undone.¹¹⁷⁰— ἀπέστρεψε, brought again) sc. in the morning.

Matthew 27:4. ἥμαρτον, I have sinned) Thus also the damned will feel in hell.¹¹⁷¹— αἷμα ἀθῶον, innocent blood) Miserably involved in his own darkness, he no longer acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah.— τί πρὸς ἡμᾶς, what is that to us?) See how they dismiss, without remark, the question as to the innocence of their Victim.¹¹⁷²— σὺ ὄψει, see thou to that) The ungodly, though associating in the commission of a crime, desert their associates when it has been accomplished:¹¹⁷³ the godly, though not taking part in the crime, endeavour, after its commission, to save the sinner’s soul. Comp. Matthew 27:24.

Matthew 27:5. ῥίψας, casting down) in the disquietude of his mind.¹¹⁷⁴— ἐν τῷ ναῷ, in the Temple) Judas was therefore in the Temple, with the chief priests and elders; and, in order to soothe his troubled conscience any how, attempted to give his money to the Sacred Treasury. The part of the Temple where this took place is unknown. The word ναὸς, which, strictly speaking, signifies a shrine, is employed here in a wider signification, for ἱερὸν, temple.— ἀπήγξατο, strangled himself with a noose) which is usually done by hanging. The same expression is used by the LXX. in 2 Samuel 17:23, concerning Ahitophel, whom some, however, suppose to have died of the quinsey as well as Iscariot. Raphelius has diligently established the interpretation of hanging from Polybius, etc.; see also Gnomon on Acts 1:18.

Matthew 27:7. τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ κεραμέως, the Potter’s Field) The article denotes that it was well known as such. A potter may have used it to obtain clay from.— εἰς ταφὴν τοῖς ξένοις, to bury strangers in) Thus, even then already did strangers gain more of a footing in Jerusalem: thus also the first possession of Abraham had been a burying-place.

Matthew 27:8. ἐκλήθη, κ. τ. λ., was called, etc.) A public testimony to the fact. The appellation of the field, though originating with the common people, was not fortuitous.— αἵματος, of blood) See Matthew 27:6.— ἕως τῆς σήμερον, unto this day) St Matthew wrote some time after [the events which he recorded]; cf. ch. Matthew 28:15.

Adrichonius says—” This soil (namely, that of the Field of Blood) possesseth a wonderful virtue, and one almost passing belief, viz., that within four and twenty hours it reduces the bodies of the dead to dust, which virtue, even when carried into other regions, it still preserves; for when, by command of the Empress Helena, as much earth, they say, as 270 vessels could hold, was taken from this field to Rome, and unloaded close by the Vatican Mount, on to that which the inhabitants call CAMPO SANTO, although it has changed its country, yet daily experience shows that it retains its power: for, rejecting Romans, it admits to sepulture only the bodies of strangers, the whole substance of whose flesh it here also entirely consumes within four and twenty hours, leaving only the bones.” This statement is partly confirmed, partly denied, by recent travellers.

Matthew 27:9. τοῦ προφήτου, κ. τ. λ., the prophet, etc.) These words are clearly found in Zechariah, whose writings were well known to St Matthew; see ch. Matthew 21:4-5; cf. App. Crit.¹¹⁷⁵ p. 493 (Ed. ii. pp. 141, 142).— καὶ ἔλαβον, κ. τ. λ., and they took, etc.) In Zechariah 11:12-13, the LXX. have καὶ ερῶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς, εἰ καλὸν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἐστι, δότε στήσαντες¹¹⁷⁶ τὸν μισθόν μου, ἢ ἀπείπασθε· καὶ ἔστησαν τὸν μισθόν μου τριάκοντα ἀργυροῦς, καὶ εἶπε κύριος πρός με· κάθες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ χωνευτήριον, καὶ σκέψομαι αὐτὸ, εἰ δοκιμόν ἐστιν, ὅν τρόπον ἐδοκιμάσθην ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. καὶ ἔλαβον τοὺς τριάκοντα ἀργυροῦς, καὶ ἐνέβαλον αὐτοὺς εἰς οἶκον κυρίου εἰς τὸ χωνευτήριον—And I will say unto them, if it is good in your sight, weigh and give me my price, or else refuse it; and they weighed my price, thirty silver pieces. And the Lord said unto me, Cast them into the melting furnace, and I will assay it (whether it be good) in the same manner that I was assayed by them. And I took the thirty silver pieces, and cast them into the house of the Lord, into the melting furnace. The Evangelist regards the scope of the matter, and adds a paraphrase.— τὴν τιμὴν τοῦ τετιμημένου, ὅν ἐτιμήσαντο, the value of Him that was valued, whom they valued) The force of the words is great.— ὁ τετιμημένος— הַיְּקָר, precious, although in the Hebrew Bible it is הַיְקָר, a price; see Louis de Dieu.— ἀπὸ υἱῶν ἰσραὴλ, from the children of Israel, or of the children of Israel) cf. Zechariah 11:13— מעליחם, of them. The preposition ἀπὸ, from, may be construed either with ἒλαβον, they received—or rather with ἐτι΄ήσαντο, they valued. The Chief Priests, as much as in them lay, alienated Christ from the children of Israel.

Beng. shows, in his Apparatus, Ed. ii., p. 141, 142, 493, that the word ἰερεμίου is a gloss, and that many modern writers wish to expunge it.—Not. Crit.

But the oldest authorities are against the omission. B reads ἱερεμίου. A and C corrected, ἱηρεμίου. Hil. 747, Vulg. and c, and MSS. quoted in Origen, Euseb., and Jerome, read Jeremiah. It is only the later Syr. in the margin, and other recent authorities, read ζαχαρίου. ab, however, support the omission of Jeremiah or Zechariah, as Beng. would read. Comp. Jeremiah 18:2. The quotation is not literatim from Zech.: Jeremiah 18:1-2, and Jeremiah 32:6-12, may have also been in the mind of Matthew. This may account for the presence of the name ἱερεμίου. Lightfoot thinks that the 3d division of Scripture, the Prophets, began with Jeremiah; and that the whole body of the prophets is thus quoted by the name Jeremiah, he refers to B. Bathra and D. Kimchi.—ED.

Matthew 27:10. ἔδωκαν, they gave) In Zechariah it is ἔδωκα, I gave; and some¹¹⁷⁷ have introduced it from the Prophet into the Evangelist, and Gebhardi clearly approves it on Zechariah 11:13. In this passage, however, it is written ἔδωκαν; and the force of ἔδωκα, and therefore the whole difference of the words of St Matthew from those of Zechariah, is supplied by the clause, “As the Lord enjoined me.”¹¹⁷⁸ The LXX. have the same formula in Exodus 9:12— καθὰ συνέταξε κύριος τῷ ΄ωυσῇ, as the Lord enjoined Moses.¹¹⁷⁹— συνέταξε, enjoined) sc. to write or to say.

Tisch. says that 3 MSS. and both Syr. Versions read ἔδωκα. But the cass of authority is for ἔδωκαν.—ED.

Matthew 27:11. ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων, the King of the Jews) Jesus before Caiaphas confesses Himself to be Christ, before Pilate, King.— σὺ λέγεις, thou sayest) An open and holy confession.¹¹⁸⁰ Jesus shows that His subsequent silence would not be from want of freedom of speech, and immediately answers Pilate, after having previously informed the Jews when adjured by Caiaphas. St Mark and St Luke also record the expression, “Thou sayest;” and this is clearly the sum of all that St John records to have been said by our Lord to Pilate in ch. John 18:34; John 18:36-37.¹¹⁸¹

Matthew 27:13. τότε, then) Pilate conducted himself moderately at first in the judgment of the cause.— πιλάτος,¹¹⁸² Pilatus, Pilate) Nonnus shortens the middle syllable; and passim, the Greeks sharpen¹¹⁸³ the long vowel of the Latins in πρίμος, τουρκουάτος δειτάτος, etc. (primus, Torquátus, Dentatus, etc.)— οὐκ ἀκούεις, Dost thou not hear?) A separate question;¹¹⁸⁴ cf. Mark 15:4.

Matthew 27:14. πρὸς οὐδὲ ἕν ῥῆμα, not to one word even) i.e. as far as concerned answering the Jews concerning the kingdom. He afterwards once answered Pilate concerning another matter, John 19:11.— ὥστε θαυμάζειν τὸν ἡγεμόνα λίαν, so that the Procurator marvelled greatly) For no one is wont to remain silent when his life is at stake, especially after he has once begun to speak.

Matthew 27:15. κατὰ δὲ ἑορτὴν, κ. τ. λ., But at the feast, etc.) This [custom of releasing a prisoner at the Feast] accorded with the deliverance from Egypt.— ἑορτὴν, feast) St John calls it expressly the Passover.— εἰώθει, had been wont) Even political customs subserve Divine Providence.— ἓνα, one) i.e., one, and not more than one.

Matthew 27:16. ἐπίσημον, notorious) A well-known robber, notorious for the gravest crime.¹¹⁸⁵ And yet he was preferred to Jesus. How great contempt! Soon after, in the ignominy of punishment, He was preferred to two other robbers.— λεγόμενον βαραββᾶν, called Barabbas) who was much talked about. It is probable that Barabbas survived long as a monument of the history of Jesus. Barabbas signifies “son of his parent;” he had been longed for, loved, spoiled, by his parent.

Matthew 27:17. λεγόμενον χριστόν, called Christ) Therefore Jesus had been already very frequently called Christ.

Matthew 27:18. διὰ φθόνον, for envy) They envied Jesus because the people had adhered to Him.

Matthew 27:19. καθημένου δὲ αὐτοῦ, κ. τ. λ., but when he was set down, etc.) In the very moment of urgent business and impending decision. Warnings of a strange and marvellous character ought not to be neglected in times of noisy excitement.— ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος, on the judgment-seat) Great was the influence of the dream, the purport of which, however, the woman understood better after the matter had begun to come to pass. Perhaps she had the dream when Pilate was already engaged in the business.— λέγουσα, κ. τ. λ., saying, etc.) A great benefit was offered by this warning to the governor, in contradistinction to the Jews, who had been sufficiently warned from other sources.¹¹⁸⁶— τῷ δικαίῳ ἐκείνῳ, to that righteous man) Thus Pilate also calls Him in Matthew 27:24, with a feeble reference to these words of his wife.

Matthew 27:20. ἔπεισαν, persuaded) by words fair in appearance.— ἰησοῦν ἀπολέσωσιν, they should destroy Jesus) i.e. they should demand Jesus to be killed.

Matthew 27:22. τί οὖν ποιήσω, κ. τ. λ., what shall I do then? etc.) Pilate did not suppose that the Jews would demand any very severe punishment to be inflicted. He ought not to have asked. It would have been safer to have simply dismissed the prisoner; cf. Acts 18:14-16.— σταυρωθήτω, let Him be crucified) Barabbas had deserved the cross: hence they demand that Jesus should be crucified.

Matthew 27:24. οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ, he availeth nothing¹¹⁸⁷) Why not Pilate? This practical prejudging is desperate, when men say, “We do nothing.”¹¹⁸⁸— οὐδὲν, nothing, is in the nominative, or the accusative; cf. John 12:19.— μᾶλλον, rather) not greater. He feared a sedition.— λέγων, κ. τ. λ., saying, etc.) A protestation contrary to fact.— δικαίου, righteous) Pilate adopted this word from his wife’s warning; Matthew 27:19.— ὑμεῖς ὄψεσθε, see ye to it) As the Jews said to Judas, so Pilate says to the Jews. A formula of rejection; see Acts 18:15.

Matthew 27:25. πᾶς ὁ λαὸς, κ. τ. λ., all the people, etc.) An argument against the Jews why they are at present in exile, although that exile is somewhat less severe than formerly.— ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, κ. τ. λ., upon us, etc.) cf. Deuteronomy 28:18; Psalms 69:24; Psalms 109:17. They mean, “We will be accountable for it.”¹¹⁸⁹

Matthew 27:26. φραγελλώσας, having scourged) after passing sentence.¹¹⁹⁰

Matthew 27:27. ὅλην τὴν σπεῖραν, the whole band) sc. even those soldiers who ought not then to have been present, and had not been so previously.¹¹⁹¹— σπεῖραν, band, Lat. spiram) Elsewhere the Greeks are wont to put a simple for the Latin i before a consonant, as in πιλάτος, not πειλάτος, etc.; they wrote, however, σπεῖρα, because it is thus nearest to πεῖρα, an attempt; σπεῖρω, to sow, etc.; to the sound of which they were accustomed.

Bengel here alludes to our Lord’s words in Matthew 20:19; Matthew 26:45.—(I. B.)

Matthew 27:28. χλαμύδα κοκκίνην, a crimson robe) They make sport of His kingdom, as the Jews had done of His prophetical dignity; ch. Matthew 26:68. It is called πορφύραν, purple, in Mark 15:17, and ἱμάτιον πορφυροῦν, a purple garment, in John 19:2. Sometimes these words are used promiscuously; sometimes they differ, as in Revelation 17:4. The one colour also used formerly to be superinduced upon the other.

Matthew 27:29. ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων, the King of the Jews) They treated Jesus as a madman who fancied Himself a King.

Matthew 27:31. καὶ ὅτε, κ. τ. λ., and when, etc.) When the mockery was concluded, they removed also the crown of thorns.¹¹⁹²

Matthew 27:32. κυρηναῖον, a Cyrenian) There was neither Jew nor Roman who was willing to bear the burden of the cross. Men were present at that time from Europe, Asia, and Africa. Even in the remotest regions Christ has since found those who would bear His cross.— ἵνα ἄρῃ, to bear) Simon is not said to have borne it unwillingly. Well has Athanasius (Book i. fol. 10, 11) said, in his sermon on the Passion, “Simon, a mere man, bore the cross, that all might know that the Lord underwent, not His own death, but that of men.”

Matthew 27:33. κρανίου, of a skull) The hill was called so from its shape.¹¹⁹³

From all quarters in the circuit of the cross the whole world might behold the Son of God suspended thereon.—Harm., p. 562.

Matthew 27:34. ὄξος, vinegar) St Mark (Mark 15:23) calls it, ἐσμυρνισμένον οἶνον, myrrhed wine: the liquor was of a taste between sweet wine and vinegar (cf. the Gnomon on Matthew 27:48), seasoned with myrrh from custom, adulterated with gall from malice.— οὐκ ἤθελε πιεῖν, He would not drink) for that behoved to be deferred to the end of His sufferings; see John 19:30. And Jesus wished to retain His senses fully undisturbed, even up to His death.¹¹⁹⁴

Matthew 27:36. ἐτήρουν, they watched) cf. Matthew 27:65.¹¹⁹⁵

Matthew 27:37. ἐστιν, is) Yes; He truly is so! The inscription, perhaps, remained longer on the cross than the body of Jesus.¹¹⁹⁶

Matthew 27:39. οἱ δὲ παραπαρευόμενοι, but they that were passing by) Many did not even condescend to stand still.— κινοῦντες τὰς κεφαλὰς, shaking their heads) The gesture of one who refuses to acknowledge something.

Matthew 27:40. λέγοντες, κ. τ. λ., saying, etc.) Seven scoffs of His enemies may be counted.¹¹⁹⁷— ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις, in three days) Yea, it was already now the first of them.— σῶσον, save) They use in mockery the name of Jesus; then that of “The Son of God,” and that of King, Matthew 27:42-43, and His own words, Matthew 27:40.— εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, if thou art the Son of God) cf. ch. Matthew 4:3.

Matthew 27:41. ὁμοίως, κ. τ. λ., in like manner, etc.) Now the chief men imitate the populace: a great confusion! but they surpass them in bitterness.¹¹⁹⁸

Matthew 27:42. πιστεύσομεν αὐτῷ, we will believe Him) We [Christians] believe on Him for that very reason, that He did not immediately descend from the Cross, but on the contrary consummated His work.

Matthew 27:43. πέποιθεν, He trusted) cf. the end of the verse.— εἶπε γὰρ, κ. τ. λ., for He said, etc.) We may consider that this was either uttered by those who were passing by, or added by the Evangelist for the sake of explanation. The LXX. in Psalms 22(21):8, have ἥλπισεν ἐπὶ κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν· σωσάτω αὐτὸν, ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν, He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver Him: let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.

Matthew 27:44. οἱ λῃσταὶ, the robbers) Some conceive that the plural is put here synecdochically for the singular, and thus except the converted robber: in such a horrible matter, however, there seems to be no place for Synecdoche; nor are there wanting instances of men who, in the course of dreadful and lingering punishment, have at first blasphemed, and afterwards been converted.

Matthew 27:45. πᾶσαν, all) The whole of our planet is meant; for the sun itself was darkened.¹¹⁹⁹— ἕως ὥρας ἐννάτης, until the ninth hour) A three hours full of mystery. Psalms 8, in the third verse of which the omission of mention of the sun agrees with the darkness here spoken of, may be aptly compared with this period of dereliction and darkness.

Matthew 27:46. περὶ δὲ, κ. τ. λ., but about, etc.) From this connection, it may be inferred that the darkening of the sun (at the full moon¹²⁰⁰) represented, not so much the malice of the Jews, as the dereliction of Jesus; which lasted, as it may be supposed, the whole of that three hours, at the conclusion of which He uttered this exclamation. St Luke (Luke 23:45) joins the darkening of the sun with the rending of the veil without mentioning the dereliction. As soon as the dereliction was ended, the Holy of Holies became immediately open to the Mediator.¹²⁰¹— ἀνεβόησεν, cried out) Both this cry (repeated in Matthew 27:50), and the silence which preceded it, are of the utmost importance.— σαβαχθανὶ, sabachthani) i.e. שבקתני, hast Thou forsaken Me? The ק is rendered in Greek by χ, ^12021203, when θ, th, follows.— θεέ ΄ου, My God) On other occasions He was accustomed to say, “Father”: now He says, “My God,” as being now in a degree estranged;¹²⁰⁴ yet He does so twice, and adds “MY” with confidence, patience, and self-resignation. Christ was עבר, the servant of the Lord:¹²⁰⁵ and yet He calls Him God, not Master ( δεσπότην). In Psalms 22(21):1, the LXX. have ὁ θεὸς ὁ θεός μου, πρόσχες μοι, ἱνατί ἐγκατέλιπές με; “My God, My God, protect Me! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” where the meaning is evident from the remainder of that and the following verse. He does not only say that He has been delivered by God into the hands of men, but also that He has suffered something, to us ineffable, at the hand of God.— ἱνατί, why?) Jesus knew the cause, and had prepared Himself for all things: but yet the why expresses that the Son would not have had to endure the dereliction on His own account, but that it happened to Him for a new cause, and would last but for a short time; after which His yearning desire¹²⁰⁶ towards the Father would be again gratified.— ἐγκατέλιπες, hast Thou forsaken) The past tense.¹²⁰⁷ At that very instant the dereliction came to an end, and shortly afterwards the whole Passion. In the midst and deepest moment of dereliction He was silent. He complains of the dereliction alone.¹²⁰⁸

The Greek πόθος.—ED.

Matthew 27:47. ἡλίαν, Elias) It is impious to distort sacred words, formularies, and prayers.

Matthew 27:48. ὄξους, with vinegar) The soldiers were accustomed to drink vinegar¹²⁰⁹ themselves, as Gataker remarks, Posthumous Miscellanies, ch. 4.

Matthew 27:49. οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ, but the rest) i.e. of those present, opposed to those whose speech and conduct is related in Matthew 27:47-48.¹²¹⁰— ἔλεγον, κ. τ. λ., said, etc.) After the fearful darkness, they return to their scoffs.— ἄφες, let be) They mean, that the aid of their companion [who offered the vinegar] is unnecessary, as Elias has been summoned.

Matthew 27:50. κράξας, κ. τ. λ., having cried, etc.) A free laying down of life. He was not deprived of life by the power of the cross employed by men; see Mark 15:44; but yet they are rightly said to have killed Him, because they did so, as far as lay in their power.— ἀφῆκε τὸ πνεῦμα, He gave up the ghost) The Divine history records the death of Jesus Christ in few words; the homilies and epistles of the Apostles preach the fruit of that death in many: thus the Gospel furnishes the wool, the Apostle makes the dress; which similitude is used by Macarius in his Treatise, de Elevatione mentis, cap. 19. The word κοιμᾶσθαι, to sleep, is never employed concerning the death of the Saviour (cf. Matthew 27:52), but ἀποθνήσκειν, to die, which verb expresses the truth, the gravity, the brevity, and the virtue of Christ’s death.¹²¹¹

Matthew 27:51. ἐσχίσθη, κ. τ. λ., was rent, etc.) Therefore the approach to the Holy Places was now free.¹²¹²— ἡ γῆ, the earth) i.e. the globe (see Matthew 27:45), but especially the Land of Israel and the vicinity of Jerusalem.¹²¹³— αἱ πέτραι, κ. τ. λ., the rocks, etc.) Travellers relate that rents in the rocks, the opposite sides of which correspond to each other, are still to be seen.

Matthew 27:52. τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων, of the saints that had slept) The name saints belongs equally to the living and the dead; yea, in the mention of the dead, the determining clause is added, “who had slept.” And these saints are reckoned such, not by human, but Divine Canon. Of the Saints, who had died either a long while before the birth of Christ, or not much after (see Gnomon on John 11:25), from all tribes no doubt. The ancients appear to have considered Job to have been one of these; for, at the end of his book, the LXX. and Theodotion add γέγραπται δὲ αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀναστήσεσθαι μεθʼ ὧν ὁ κύριος ἀνίστησιν, but it is written that he shall rise again with those whom the Lord raises.

Matthew 27:53. ἐξελθόντες, having come out) i.e. the saints whose bodies had been resuscitated, in stately procession.— μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ, after His resurrection) This clause refers to the verb ἠγέρθη, were raised, to which the verbal noun ἔγερσις (the act of being raised), which does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, is fitted in this passage; and yet this same clause is placed between the egress of the saints from the tombs, and their ingress into the city. This intermingling of the words admirably corresponds with the facts. Immediately on our Lord’s death, the veil was rent in twain, the earth shook, the rocks were rent; and St Matthew has woven together the other circumstances with these prodigies. From which we are able to gather that there was one continual earthquake from the death to the resurrection of our Lord, which first aroused the living (Matthew 27:54), and afterwards the dead. There cannot be assigned any noticeable interval between the resurrection of the bodies of the saints, and their coming forth from the tomb. The first who rose from the dead to die no more was Christ; he had however companions. After His resurrection, that of the saints also took place; but it is recorded that their egress from the tombs, and their ingress into the Holy City, occurred after His resurrection; because those many persons, to whom the saints appeared, knew the time of their ingress and appearance, but had not seen their actual resurrection. The silence of St Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:23, does not prove, as Artemonius has inferred, ad Init. Ev. Joh. p. 571, that the bodies of the saints came forth from the tombs without their souls, and that their souls afterwards ascended to heaven without their bodies.— ἐνεφανίσθησαν, appeared) singly to individuals, or several at once, to more than one. An instance of real apparition.

Matthew 27:54. τηροῦντες, watching) In their turn.— ἀληθῶς, truly) This refers antithetically to Matthew 27:40; Matthew 27:43.— θεοῦ υἱὸς, Son of God) He had said that He was so, and they acknowledge the truth of His assertion from the signs.¹²¹⁴

Matthew 27:56. ἡ τοῦ ἰακωβου καὶ ἰωσῆ μήτηρ, the mother of James and Joses) When St Matthew wrote, the sons were better known than their mother; wherefore she was denominated from them.

Matthew 27:57. ὃς καὶ αὐτὸς, κ. τ. λ., who also himself, etc.) As well as those pious women.— ἐμαθήτευσε, was a disciple) and was anxious to make disciples.¹²¹⁵

Matthew 27:58. ἠτήσατο, begged) Then the power of the Prætor was great over the bodies of those who had been executed; cf. in Mark 15:45, ἐδωρήσατο, he gave as a gift. Buxtorf in his Lexic. Talm. fol. xix. 62, says, “For this cause, perchance, did Joseph of Arimathea beg that the body of Christ might be given to him, lest it should be committed to the public sepulchre of criminais.”— τὸ σῶμα, the body) All the Evangelists use this word for our Lord’s frame when dead, since it would not have been becoming to designate it by the expression corpse (cadaver). Such is the Divine propriety of style, which has indeed been abandoned by human commentators.— ἀποδοθῆναι, to be restored¹²¹⁶) The Jews had alienated it; Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrim, as it were in the public name received it from the Gentiles, and together with Nicodemus restored it to the Jews; cf. the conclusion of John 19:40.

Matthew 27:59. σινδόνι, a very fine linen or muslin cloth) Such as had not hitherto been worn by our Lord. The beginnings of honour¹²¹⁷ already appear. Joseph is called in Mark 15:43, εὐσχή΄ων βουλευτὴς, an honourable senator) It was not allowable to wrap the dead in anything more costly.

Matthew 27:60. καινῷ, new) Which had not been polluted by any corruption; and also lest any of the ancient saints should be said to have risen instead of Him, or to have given Him the power of rising.— αὐτοῦ, his own) Jesus Christ, the leader and guide of life, was placed in the tomb of another.¹²¹⁸— τῇ θύρᾳ, the door) The sepulchre was not a narrow trench, but a crypt.— ἀπῆλθεν, he departed) Not hoping those things which soon were to come to pass.

Matthew 27:61. καθήμεναι, sitting) A holy and salutary delay.¹²¹⁹

Matthew 27:62. τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον, but on the morrow) A periphrasis for the Sabbath (cf. ch. Matthew 28:1), which St Matthew employed for an important reason; perhaps because he did not choose to call the Jewish Sabbath any longer The Sabbath.— καὶ οἱ φαρισαῖοι, and the Pharisees) They had taken no part in the actual trial; see ch. Matthew 26:3; Matthew 26:57, yet they had not been altogether inactive; see John 18:3. Perhaps there were also Pharisees among the Scribes and the Elders. Perhaps the Pharisees, from their extreme zeal, did many things which did not exactly belong to their office.

Matthew 27:63. δέγοντες, κύριε, saying, my Lord) They cringe to Pilate: they had not addressed him so before.— ἐκεινος, that) They already desired Jesus to be obliterated from the memory of all.— ἐγείρομαι, I am raised) The present tense.

Matthew 27:64. ἀσφαλισθῆναι, to be made sure, to be secured) They ignorantly minister to the confirmation of the truth. No human ἀσφάλεια (making sure) hinders God; see Acts 5:23; Acts 16:23-26.— τῷ λαῷ, unto the people) The Pharisees supposed that they should not believe it themselves. They wish (as they persuade themselves) to take precautions for the people.— καὶ ἔσται ἡ ἐσχάτη πλάνη, κ. τ. λ., and the last error shall be, etc.) The latter victory of truth, however, spread more widely than the first.— ἡ ἐσχάτη, the last) A similar mode of expression occurs in 2 Samuel 13:16.

Matthew 27:65. ἔχετε, κ. τ. λ., ye have, etc.) Pilate gives the guards quickly: and yet, as it were with indignation (cf. ch. Matthew 28:11-12), dismisses the calumniators quickly also.

Matthew 27:66. ἠσφαλίσαντο, they secured) This is the whole: the parts were the seal, and the watch.