St Matthew Chapter XXVII : Verses 11-26
Contents
- Matt. xxvii. 11-26. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
Matt. xxvii. 11-26
 |
| Let him be crucified. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Jesus autem stetit ante prþsidem, et interrogavit eum praeses, dicens : Tu es rex Judæorum? Dicit illi Jesus : Tu dicis.
12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and ancients, he answered nothing.
Et cum accusaretur a principibus sacerdotum et senioribus, nihil respondit.
13 Then Pilate saith to him: Dost not thou hear how great testimonies they allege against thee?
Tunc dicit illi Pilatus : Non audis quanta adversum te dicunt testimonia?
14 And he answered him to never a word; so that the governor wondered exceedingly.
Et non respondit ei ad ullum verbum, ita ut miraretur præses vehementer.
15 Now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would.
Per diem autem solemnem consueverat præses populi dimittere unum vinctum, quem voluissent :
16 And he had then a notorious prisoner, that was called Barabbas.
habebat autem tunc vinctum insignem, qui dicebatur Barrabas.
17 They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: Whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ?
Congregatis ergo illis, dixit Pilatus : Quem vultis dimittam vobis : Barabbam, an Jesum, qui dicitur Christus?
18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
Sciebat enim quod per invidiam tradidissent eum.
19 And as he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
Sedente autem illo pro tribunali, misit ad eum uxor ejus, dicens : Nihil tibi, et justo illi : multa enim passa sum hodie per visum propter eum.
20 But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people, that they should ask for Barabbas, and take Jesus away.
Principes autem sacerdotum et seniores persuaserunt populis ut peterent Barabbam, Jesum vero perderent.
21 And the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two to be released unto you? But they said, Barabbas.
Respondens autem præses, ait illis : Quem vultis vobis de duobus dimitti? At illi dixerunt : Barabbam.
22 Pilate saith to them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They say all: Let him be crucified.
Dicit illis Pilatus : Quid igitur faciam de Jesu, qui dicitur Christus?
 |
| Taking water washed his hands. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Dicunt omnes : Crucifigatur. Ait illis præses : Quid enim mali fecit? At illi magis clamabant dicentes : Crucifigatur.
24 And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.
Videns autem Pilatus quia nihil proficeret, sed magis tumultus fieret : accepta aqua, lavit manus coram populo, dicens : Innocens ego sum a sanguine justi hujus : vos videritis.
25 And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children.
Et respondens universus populus, dixit : Sanguis ejus super nos, et super filios nostros.
26 Then he released to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified.
Tunc dimisit illis Barabbam : Jesum autem flagellatum tradidit eis ut crucifigeretur.
Notes
Note. — From St Luke’s gospel we gather that Jesus was brought twice before Pilate, and that between these two arraignments He was sent to Herod. In order to understand more clearly St Matthew’s account of the trial before Pilate, the student should compare it with that given by St John, which is much fuller.
11. Jesus stood before the governor. Our Lord at first was in the prætorium,” while the chief priests and scribes remained outside. They avoided entering the house of a pagan, lest they should unwittingly come in contact with a false god or a crumb of leavened bread, and thus become legally impure till sunset, and these were the men who had no scruples about planning a judicial murder !
Art thou the King of the Jews ? Pilate only refers to the third charge ; from his question, we learn the accusation brought against Christ by the council, which St Matthew omits. St Luke gives it in full : And they began to accuse him, saying : We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, and saying that he is Christ the king (xxiii. 2).
Pilate knew that the Jews expected a Messias who should deliver them from a foreign yoke. All the Evangelists give this question in the same words. The pronoun is emphatic, and implies that, in Pilate’s opinion, Jesus looked very unlike a king. Nevertheless the governor must have been struck by the calm, dignified demeanour of our Lord and His silence, which contrasted so strongly with the loud, vindictive accusations of the chief priests and the ancients.
Thou sayest it. This is equivalent to an affirmation.
From St John’s account we learn further details —
(a) Jesus inquired why Pilate questioned Him as to His royalty.
(b) He explained to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world.
(c) Pilate asked What is truth ? but did not wait for an answer.
St Paul refers to our Lord’s reply to Pilate when he speaks of Christ Jesus who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession (1 Tim. vi. 13).
he was accused by the chief priests. St Mark records that the chief priests accused him in many things.
They evidently repeated before Jesus the accusations which they had previously made. But they were more earnest, saying : He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all J udea, beginning from Galilee to this place (St Luke xxiii. 5).
Our Lord had been brought outside of the prætorium that He might hear the accusations of His enemies. We learn this from Pilate’s question, Dost not thou hear how great testimonies they allege against thee ?
12. he answered nothing. During the trial Jesus kept silence while false evidence was being given, but He spoke when questioned concerning His claims and authority. Thus was the prophecy fulfilled. The Messias was to be like a sheep brought to the slaughter, and he shall not open his mouth (Is. liii. 7).
14. the governor wondered exceedingly. The calm, majestic bearing of Christ was a strong contrast to the loud, vindictive accusations of His foes.
Note. — The trial before Herod intervenes here. (See St Luke xxiii. 7-12.)
It was probably somewhere between 6 and 7 a.m. when Pilate sent Jesus to Herod.
15. Now upon the solemn day, — i.e. at a feast (Κατὰ δὲ ἑορτὴν), evidently that of the Pasch. When and how this custom sprang up is unknown. It may have been a Jewish custom, for it certainly fitted in admirably with the spirit of the feast which celebrated their deliverance out of Egypt. Perhaps Herod or Pilate may have initiated this custom, in imitation of a similar usage which prevailed among the Romans at the “ lectisternium,” or feast in honour of the gods. A similar custom obtained at Athens.
was accustomed. From the third gospel we learn that he was bound to grant this favour : Now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast-day.
one prisoner. One of the state prisoners, who were confined in the fortress of Antonia.
whom they would. From the fact that Pilate himself suggested the name of Barabbas, it has been inferred that the Jews were not free to choose any prisoner, but could select one from a list of names put forth by the governor. St Matthew, however, states that the people chose one prisoner, whom they would.
16. Barabbas. This has been interpreted in two ways : Bar- Abbas, son of a Father, or Bar-Rabbas, son of a Rabbi.
From the different gospels we learn that—
(a) He was a notorious prisoner.
(b) He had headed some seditious men (who were with him in prison).
(c) Barabbas was a robber.
(d) He was cast into prison for sedition made in the city, and for murder.
Barabbas had committed one of the crimes of which Jesus was falsely accused. The sedition in the city probably led to the murder, which appears to have been committed elsewhere.
17. Whom will you that I release ? etc. Pilate was evidently anxious to release Jesus, or at least to have no responsibility in the matter, and from the four gospels we gather that he made six attempts to do so, viz.—
(a) Pilate four times proclaimed the innocence of Jesus. I find no cause in him.
(b) He tried to throw the responsibility on the Jews. Pilate therefore said to them: Take you him, and judge him according to your law (St John xviii. 31).
(c) He endeavoured to give Jesus the benefit of the custom of releasing a prisoner at the Paschal time,
(d) He sent Him to Herod.
(e) He proposed to scourge Jesus, instead of crucifying Him.
(f) He tried to move the people to pity. Behold the man.
18. for envy. The chief priests and ancients could not deceive Pilate, who must have heard of the wonderful deeds done by Jesus of Nazareth.
It is also probable that Pilate had employed spies to watch Jesus, for when vast multitudes constantly followed Him, and when He rode in triumph into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Romans would naturally have been on the alert, lest the popularity of Jesus of Nazareth should lead to a tumult, such as Pilate had previously been obliged to quell on more than one occasion.
19. as he was sitting in the place of judgment. When judging cases Pilate would have the bema or seat of judgment brought out and placed on the raised tessellated pavement called the Gabbatha. Judgment was always given in the open air, since the Jews could not enter a pagan’s house.
his wife sent to him. This incident is peculiar to St Matthew, and it shews his accuracy as an historian, since not long before, a permission, hitherto refused, had been granted to the Roman governors, by which they were allowed to take their wives with them when stationed in a provincial district, (See Tac., Annal., ii. 33, 34.)
According to the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, Pilate’s wife was named Procla, and she is said to have been a convert to Judaism, and afterwards a Christian. The Greek Church has placed her name on the list of the saints.
20. the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people. While Pilate was occupied in reading the letter, or listening to the messenger, the chief priests and ancients were cunningly doing their best to stir up the people, since Pilate had, as it were, taken the cause of Christ out of their hands and appealed to the multitude, for it was the people who had the right to ask for the release of a prisoner, not the rulers.
23. they cried out the more. They vociferated. Crucify him., crucify him. St John alone gives this double cry. All the Evangelists note the vehemence of the crowd, which explains why their voices prevailed (St Luke).
(a) They cried out the more : Crucify him (St Matt, and St Mark).
(b) They cried again .... they were instant with loud voices (St Luke).
(c) They cried out saying : Crucify him, crucify him (St John).
Nothing short of condemnation to the death of a slave would satisfy the implacable vengeance of the Jews.
24. Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing. Also being willing to satisfy the people he yielded at last, although he knew Jesus to be innocent (see St Luke xxiii. 4, 14, 22). He had, besides, the testimony of Herod and the warning of his own wife Procla, but he had not the courage to oppose the Jews, because he feared that they might report him to the emperor, as they hinted when they cried out saying : If thou release this man, thou art not Cæsar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Cæsar (St John xix. 12).
taking water, washed his hands, etc. The Jews would understand the symbolism of Pilate’s action, by which he endeavoured to cast the blame on them, as though they were the judges in the matter. But Pilate washed his hands in vain, for the responsibility of giving up Christ to the Jews rested on his shoulders, and as long as the Creed exists, the name of Pilate will be handed down to posterity as that of an unjust, time-serving judge. Not only ther Jews performed this ceremony as a protestation of innocence, but it was practised among the Romans and the Greeks.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment