Judas' death

Jesus is handed over to Pilate

1) Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2) They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

The Sanhedrin gave Jesus over to Pilate, the Roman appointed governor over Judea, because they had not the authority to put Him to death.

Essentially, they did this on the basis of three totally false, politically motivated charges: that Jesus was a revolutionary; that He was inciting the people not to pay their taxes, and that He was claiming to be a king in opposition to Caesar.

This whole trial was not only illegal by Jewish law, but in some sense, of no practical value because they were attempting to try Him for blasphemy, the punishment for which was a capital crime. The person who was guilty for blasphemy was to be put to death and they did not have the power to put anyone to death. They were a Province of Judea under the ruler-ship of Rome. Rome put in a puppet king, an Idumaean, a non-Jew, by the name of Herod. The Jewish authorities lost the power of capital punishment many years before.

Legal Irregularities:

The binding of a prisoner before he was condemned was unlawful unless resistance was offered or expected. Jesus offered none. - John 18:12, 24

It was illegal for judges to participate in the arrest of the accused. - John 18:3

No legal transactions, including a trial, could be conducted at night. - John 18:28

The arrest was affected through the agency of an informer and traitor. - John 18:5; Exodus 23:6-8

While an acquittal could be pronounced the same day, any other verdict required a majority of two and had to come on a subsequent day. - Matthew 26:65, 66

No prisoner could be convicted on his own evidence. - Matthew 26:63-65

It was the duty of a judge to see that the interest of the accused was fully protected. - John 18:14

Preliminary hearings before a magistrate were completely foreign to the Jewish legal system. -John 18:13

It was illegal to carry weapons on a feast day. - John 18:3

The use of violence during the trial was apparently unopposed by the judges. - John 18:22, 23

The judges sought false witnesses against Jesus. - Matthew 26:59; Mark 14:56

In a Jewish court the accused was to be assumed innocent until proved guilty by two or more witnesses. - John 11:53

The Jews failed to find two witnesses agreeing against Jesus. - Mark 14:59

When the witnesses first disagreed, the prisoner should have been released. - Mark 14:56-59

No witness was ever called for the defense.

The trial under Caiaphas took place in his home rather than the council chamber where it should have been held. - John 18:13-16

The Court lacked the civil authority to condemn a man to death. - John 18:31

It was illegal to conduct a session of the court on a feast day. - John 18:28

A guilty verdict was rendered without evidence. - John 18:30

The balloting was illegal. It should have been by roll with the youngest voting first. Here it is simultaneous. - Matthew 26:66

The sentence in finally passed in the palace of the high priest, but the law demanded it be pronounced in the temple, in the hall of hewn stone. -John 18:28

The high priest rends his garment. - Matthew 26:65

They wanted to put Jesus to death, but had no legal authority to do so. They had to politic their way to get Jesus put to death. In Lev 24 the punishment for blasphemy is death, but they still have a problem. In Genesis 49:10, means that their authority (the scepter) would not be relinquished until the Messiah came (Shiloh). There was a time when they lost their authority for capital punishment, and they mourned believing that the Messiah had not yet come as the verse had indicated. However, at that time, Jesus was growing up in Nazareth.

Judas' miserable end

3) When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4) "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5) So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6) The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7) So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8) That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9) Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10) and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

Judas is filled with remorse, not repentance; there is a huge difference in being sorry about your sin, and being sorry for your sin.

The hypocrisy of the chief priests is transparent; they don't want to "defile" themselves with the price of blood, even though it was a price that they themselves paid.

They could not use blood money for the Temple treasury. However, they could prepay some expenses. Whenever someone came to Jerusalem and died, they would have to pay for the burial. Thus, they bought the potter�s field for this use.

Cf. Zechariah 11:12-13 which predicts that Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and that the transaction would occur in the House of God, and that the money would end up in the hands of the potter. All prophesied around 800 years earlier!

There has been much question about the quotation attributed to Jeremiah, because it is found in Zechariah 11:12-13. Why does Matthew say the word was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet? It could be a copyist error; perhaps the original did say Zechariah, but an early copyist put Jeremiah instead. Perhaps Jeremiah spoke it and Zechariah records it; this may be the word spoken by Jeremiah, but recorded by Zechariah. Or, it may refer to the scroll of Jeremiah, which included the book of Zechariah.

Jesus before Pilate

Jesus greatly impresses Pilate

11) Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
12) When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13) Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14) But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor.

History shows us Pontius Pilate was a cruel and ruthless man, unkind to Jews, and contemptuous of almost everything but raw power. Here, he seems almost out of character in the way he handles Jesus; Jesus must have profoundly affected him.

Can�t help but think that Pilate�s question is sarcastic as here he is as the seated authority of the world empire responsible for this territory.

Here Jesus answers Pilate (unlike the last trial).

The crowd chooses Barabbas; Pilate wants to release Jesus

15) Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16) At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17) So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18) For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19) While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
20) But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21) "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they answered.
22) "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify him!"
23) "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

Pilate seeks a reason to release what he knows is an innocent man; he is familiar enough with Jewish political intrigue to know why Jesus is before him.

The voice of the crowd is not always the voice of God; here, the mob will not answer Pilate's request for reasons, they only call for not only Jesus' death, but His death in the most tortuous manner possible: crucifixion.

The embrace of Barabbas (a false son of the father) instead of Jesus prefigures a Jewish embrace of the ultimate Barabbas - the one popularly called the Antichrist.

The Romans were unwelcome; they were the oppressors, the conquerors. They put in power Herod, who tried to win popularity through building projects. At these feast, there were three which required that every able-bodied male attend in Jerusalem. Pilate is nervous about an insurrection. So one gimmick to win popularity was an amnesty, they would let the people pick one prisoner which they would release.

�Barabbas�: Some of the older manuscripts indicate his name was Jesus Barabbas. �Bar� (Son of) �Abba� (The Father). Satanic pun involved?

This was Pilate�s big hope. Here is a guy who is a known felon, and another guy who is up due to some religious argument by the envious chief Priests.

Claudia Procula - tradition and legends hold that she was actually a Jewish gal who converts to be a Christian. We have no evidence of these being correct. The Romans were also very superstitious.

�Crucify�: This is a very strange request on the part of the Jewish crowd. They must have been bribed to do that. If they were seeking a religious execution they would plead for Him to be stoned. The form of capital punishment throughout the Old Testament and throughout

Israel�s history has been stoning. When someone was guilty of blasphemy, they stoned him or her.

There is a bitter hatred between the Jews and the Romans. Normally, when they see someone crucified, it is one of them, the Jews, which the Romans are trying to shame.

Pilate tries to avoid responsibility for Jesus' fate

24) When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
25) All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Pilate could never wash his hands of this; it was a responsibility that could not be avoided, and his guilt is echoed in the creeds (crucified under Pontius Pilate) throughout the centuries.

Hidden in Pilate's attempt at self-justification is a declaration of Jesus' innocence (this just Person); this makes Pilate's decision all the more damnable.

The Jewish mob asked that Jesus' blood be on us and on our children; if they only knew what they were asking for, both in the sense of the glory of Jesus' cleansing blood, and the horror of the guilt for His death, and the judgment that would be visited on their children some forty years later.

Ceremonially showing �washing his hands� to resolve himself from the responsibility. This is a Jewish procedure, not a Roman procedure (Cf. Deuteronomy 21; 2 Samuel 3; Ps 26).

The pride of Rome was that you were under the protection of Rome.

What made the Romans so strong was their regard for discipline and law. Pilate had concluded and announced that Jesus was innocent.

Therefore, Pilate was responsible to protect Him. By Roman standards, Pilate blew it!

Why did he do it? He�s frightened of an insurrection.

The sufferings of Jesus Christ

Scourging: a customary prelude to crucifixion

26) Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The blows, administered by a whip with many leather strands, each having sharp pieces of bone or metal at the ends, would reduce the back to raw flesh - it was not unusual for a criminal to die from a scourging, even before being crucified.

�Scourging�: A whip with multiple lashes with pieces of bone which would tear the flesh when the person was whipped.

The blows would lessen as crimes were confessed; since Jesus remained silent, having no crimes to confess, the blows continued with full strength.

A severe beating, with great mocking

27) Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28) They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29) and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30) They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31) After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Man cannot be content in torturing God (in this sense); he must also glory in his triumph, mocking the sinless One.

�Crown of thorns�: Meant to inflict pain and to make a mock symbol of authority. In a symbolic Biblical sense, when God curses the earth in Genesis 3, the symbol of that curse is thorns. Thus, that curse is symbolically carried on the head of our Savior. The crowns that start in Genesis, find their climax here at the crucifixion. Indeed, He bore the curse that was put on creation because of sin.

Not described here in the New Testament, but found in Isaiah 50 is that they tore off His beard! Cf. Isaiah 50:6

On the way to Golgotha (in Latin, Calvary)

32) As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33) They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34) There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

The march to the place of crucifixion was used as advertising by Rome, warning potential troublemakers that this would be their fate for challenging Rome; it was led by a centurion on horseback, with a herald shouting the crime of the condemned.

Simon of Cyrene (probably a visiting pilgrim) was forced to help Jesus (already weakened by the beating) to carry the cross; Cyrene is on the North African coast.

Jesus refuses any numbing drug; He will face the terror with full consciousness.

�Golgotha� is the Hebrew. The Latin phrase is �Calvary.�

Jesus is crucified

35) When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

We have yet to see an accurate depiction of crucifixion in our media; if it were ever made, it would be limited to adult audiences, because of its sheer horror and brutality. The Bible spares us the gory descriptions of Jesus' agony, simply stating then they crucified Him; this is because everyone in Matthew's day was well acquainted with the terror of crucifixion, and because the greater aspect of Jesus' suffering was spiritual, not physical.

The Roman statesman Cicero said of crucifixion: "It is a crime to bind a Roman citizen; to scourge him is an act of wickedness; to execute him is almost murder: What shall I say of crucifying him? An act so abominable it is impossible to find any word adequately to express".

The Roman historian Tacitus deemed crucifixion "A torture fit only for slaves" that were seen as sub-human.

No Roman citizen could be crucified except by direct order of Caesar; it was reserved for the worst criminals and lowest classes.

Jesus is mocked on the cross

36) And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37) Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38) Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39) Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40) and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
41) In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42) "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43) He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44) In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

In amazing precision, Jesus fulfills prophecy, even in His death.

We might understand Jesus being reviled by those He is crucified with; but even the religious leaders joining in the mocking; A.T. Robinson says this word speaks of those "Acting like silly children who love to mock one another".

The challenge to vindicate Himself by coming down from the cross must have been tempting to Jesus; but as William Booth said, "It is precisely because He would not come down that we believe in Him". Jesus did greater than come down from the cross; He rose from the dead, yet they did not believe even then.

This is the epitome of God's love for man, to go through this for our salvation; but it is also the epitome of man's hatred for God; God came to earth, and this is what man did to Him.

The whole concept of crucifixion was a slow painful, agonizing death.

It was invented by the Romans, specifically to be demeaning. It was physically very visible, it was elevated on a post so that lots could see, and it would serve as an example to the crowd. It was not quick, rather it was very extended.

The arms are pinned and the physical weight on the arms is enormous. What happens is that it puts so much strain on the chest cavity that ultimately the person dies of suffocation (or any of several other physiological things that can occur.) The way to get a breath is to relieve the pressure on your arms by pushing up with your feet.

Because it is such a slow and agonizing process, it becomes necessary from time to time, to get on with it, for whatever administrative reasons might prevail. One of the ways to speed up the process was to break the legs of the person being crucified because then they could not relieve the pressure on his chest cavity and he would suffocate more quickly.

Thus, since it is getting on towards evening, and as an accommodation to the Jews, they do not want the bodies on the cross at sunset because the Passover is about to start. So to make sure that they are all dead by sundown, they start to go through and break the legs of the ones that are still alive. We find that they do this to the others on the cross, but when they come to the Lord they find that He is already dead. But to make absolutely sure, the soldier throws a spear up in the Lord�s side and blood and water come out. However, it is fascinating that the Roman did not break the legs like all the rest, whether dead or alive. This was a fulfillment of Exodus 34, because the Passover lamb was not to have a bone broken.

Cf. Psalms 22. The real issue to Jesus was not the pain, but that God had forsaken Him! Colossians tells us that Jesus was made sin for us.

Jesus' death

An unusual darkness on the land

45) From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

The Christian apologist Tertullian says that this unusual darkness at the time of Jesus' death was documented in the Roman archives.

Jesus' cry of agony to the Father

46) About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
47) When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
48) Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49) The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

He bore our deserved wrath and judgment, now salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus and His work on our behalf.

Jesus was misunderstood in death as well as life.

The death of Jesus

50) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

No one took Jesus' life from Him; He, in a manner unlike any man, yielded up His spirit. As Augustine said: "He gave up his life because He willed it, when He willed it, and as He willed it".

Who killed Him? Nobody could if they tried. The only way was if

He voluntarily yielded His life, which is what He did for you and I. Part of the Everlasting Covenant between Jesus and the Father. �It is finished�: Final words of Jesus (see other Gospels). In that day if you were imprisoned, you had a certificate, which would be signed, and your debt marked off. When finished with your sentence, they would write Tetelestai, meaning �paid in full.� This is what Jesus said on the cross�Tetelestai�meaning �paid in full� (and can be translated �It is finished�).

The immediate results of Jesus' death

51) At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52) The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53) They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54) When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
55) Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56) Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

The barrier between God and man is removed; and the veil is torn from top to bottom; it was God who did the tearing!

Nature is shaken (this earthquake is confirmed by the Talmud).

Graves were opened; we really don't know what this was all about, but apparently these saints died again, and were raised from the dead in the sense that Lazarus was.

Observers are convinced; even a hardened Roman centurion confesses that this was the Son of God. The only thing wrong is his verb tense; Jesus is the Son of God; the Roman centurion seems to assume that He is no longer the Son of God.

This verse occurs only in Matthew, and we know very little about it.

We know that there are two resurrections. But don�t presume that the first resurrection happened at one time. Jesus was part of the first resurrection along with these saints, the first resurrection is a category not a moment in time. The first resurrection will be completed when the Millennium starts because there is 1000 years before the second resurrection.

Jesus' burial

Joseph of Armithea entombs Jesus

 57) As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58) Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59) Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60) and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61) Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Joseph of Arimathea, must have had clout, as he just went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus.

The tomb sealed and guarded; these security measures will provide greater testimony

62) The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63) "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64) So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
65) "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go; make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66) So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Jesus� enemies remembered what the disciples forgot! His enemies worried that His body would not be there on the third day!

The last error shall be worse than the first�: They must realize that they messed up. We don�t know their thoughts but it appears that by now they apparently have come to the conclusion that they blew it. They had made a martyr out of Him. 

CHAPTER 28

(Subscribe to Prophecy Updates)