Matthew 27:1-66
Judah Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver 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 pieces of silver, 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.”
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” 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.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest 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 the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
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, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
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. Then they 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.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
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. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 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 rebels 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 rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema 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 staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and 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 Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
The Burial of 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.
The Guard at the Tomb
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.
Matthew 27:1-61 takes us through the darkest hours of the Gospel narrative, beginning with the early morning delivery of Jesus to Pilate and the tragic end of Judas Iscariot...We witness the agonizing choice of the crowd to release Barabbas instead of the Messiah, leading to the brutal scourging and mockery of Jesus by the Roman soldiers...As He is led to Golgotha, we see the physical toll of the cross and the profound spiritual weight of His cry of dereliction before He yields His spirit...The tearing of the temple veil and the confession of the centurion signal that the old order has passed, while the faithful women and Joseph of Arimathea provide a dignified burial in a rock-hewn tomb...This sequence of intense suffering and physical death sets the stage for the silence that follows, as the heavy stone is rolled into place, marking the transition from the noise of the execution to the mystery of the grave...
The significance of Holy Saturday is often found in the profound silence that exists between the agony of the Cross and the triumph of the Resurrection...This day represents a unique "in-between" time where the physical body of Christ rested in the tomb while the spiritual implications of His sacrifice began to take hold in the unseen world...Matthew 27:62-66 provides the most historical detail regarding this day, describing how the chief priests and Pharisees approached Pilate to express their lingering fear of Jesus’ promise to rise again...They remembered His words even when the disciples seemed to have forgotten them, leading to the placement of a Roman guard and the sealing of the tomb...This irony shows us that even the enemies of Christ sensed that the story was not yet over, despite the apparent finality of the grave...
From a theological perspective, we learn from this chapter and the supporting witness of 1 Peter 3:18-20 that Holy Saturday was not a day of inactivity for the LORD...While His body was dormant, many traditions believe He descended into the depths to proclaim His victory to the souls who had passed before His coming...This teaches us that even when God seems silent or "dead" in our lives, He is often working at a level we cannot see or comprehend...The silence of the tomb was not the silence of defeat, but the silence sound like a seed germinating beneath the soil, preparing for a burst of life that would change the world forever... It reminds us that our "waiting periods" are often the most fertile grounds for God's Greatest Miracles...
The spiritual significance of Holy Saturday is illuminated by St. Peter’s first epistle...St. Peter provides a roadmap for what occurred in the unseen realm while Christ's body lay in the tomb...Peter explains that although Christ was "put to death in the body," He was "made alive in the Spirit"...In this state, He went and "made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits" who had been disobedient in the days of Noah...This reveals that Holy Saturday was not a day of inactivity, but a moment of profound victory where the message of redemption was announced even to those long held in the shadow of death...By bringing this into our study, we see that the silence of the tomb was actually the quiet confidence of a victor reclaiming every corner of creation...
Furthermore, Peter connects the waters of the great flood to the water of baptism that "now saves you also"...He clarifies that this salvation is not merely the "removal of dirt from the body," but the "pledge of a clear conscience toward God" through the resurrection of Jesus Christ...This teaching elevates Holy Saturday from a day of mourning to a day of preparation, where the tomb functions much like the Ark—a vessel of passage through judgment into a new world...Just as the eight souls in Noah’s day were saved through water, we are saved by the rising of the One who has now gone into heaven and sits at God’s right hand, with all angels and powers in submission to Him...
For the believer, this means that the "Saturday" periods of our lives—those times of waiting and uncertainty—are overseen by a King who has already conquered the most rebellious forces of the universe...We learn that resting in God’s promise is an act of spiritual warfare; by maintaining a "clear conscience" and trusting in the finished work of Christ, we participate in the same Spirit that brought Jesus out of the grave and into the highest place of honor...Whether we are reflecting on the universal reach of God's LOVE or the pledge we made at our own baptism, Holy Saturday calls us to a deeper faith, proving that no stone is too heavy and no prison is too deep for the reach of God's LOVE and Grace...
Furthermore, Holy Saturday teaches us about the nature of faith during times of grief and uncertainty...The disciples were scattered and hidden, likely feeling that their three years with Jesus had ended in a tragic mistake...We can learn that it is natural to feel lost when we cannot see the next step, but the "Sabbath rest" of Jesus in the tomb proves that God’s timing is perfect and cannot be rushed by human anxiety...The transition from the "earthly" or limited love of the world to the "Universal" love the Jesus teaches, as He prepares to break the bonds of death for everyone, not just a select few...The stone was sealed by man, but it was destined to be moved by God, showing that no human effort can contain the power of the Divine...
In our own lives, Holy Saturday serves as a reminder that the dark is just before the dawn and is a sacred space...It is a day to reflect on the weight of the sacrifice made on Good Friday before we jump into the celebration of Easter Sunday...We learn that patience is a form of worship and that resting in God's promises is just as important as working for His kingdom...Even when the world feels like a cold tomb, we have the assurance that the seal will be broken and the light will return...The guard stood watch over a body, but they were actually standing watch over the beginning of a new creation...This gives us hope that no matter how deep our "Saturday" feels, the Sunday morning is already written into the fabric of eternity...It is a bridge between the physical suffering of the flesh and the spiritual glory of the spirit...We must learn to trust the silence as much as we trust the shout of victory...