Chapter 27
Verses 1- 10 Read the Bible verses.
Morning was beginning and the priest and Jewish leaders had decided to have Jesus killed.
They had made a decision about Jesus and then they took him to the Roman governor, Pilate.
The Jewish leaders under Roman rule were not allowed to put someone to death. If they thought that someone should die for what they did, they had to ask the Roman ruler to have them killed.
So Jesus went to the Roman leader.
Judas sees that the decision has been made to have Jesus die.
Judas is sorry that he sold Jesus.
He took the 30 pieces of silver back to the Jewish leaders and said, “I have sinned. I have betrayed an innocent (not guilty) person.”
The Jewish leaders said to him, “What do we care?”
Judas threw the money down and left.
He was so upset with what he did that he killed himself by hanging himself. It is really sad, that he did not go ask Jesus for forgiveness–or go talk to some other disciples about his sin. He probably felt that they would not forgive him. And he probably felt Jesus wouldn’t either. I think Jesus would have forgiven him, but then it would have been almost impossible to go see Jesus at this time.
Judas may have thought he would never see Jesus again.
The Jewish leaders had the money–but they didn’t know what to do with it. They said, “We can’t put the money into the church offering because it was used to buy a man’s life.”
So they used the money to buy some land where poor people could bury their families when they died.
It was a potters field–meaning that people who made clay pots went there to dig the clay dirt to use for making the pots.
People learned how the land had been bought with the silver from Judas–so they began calling the field “the field of blood”.
Hundreds of years before a prophet in the Old Testament said that this would happen. Zechariah 11:12
Zechariah is telling what Jeremiah said long before. Jeremiah 18:4 and 19:1-3.
It is interesting to see the Jewish leaders worried about not using “blood money” for the church, yet they were not worried about paying “blood money” for a man’s life!
Verses 11-18 Read the Bible verses.
Jesus stood in front of the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say it.”
The Jewish leaders told the Roman ruler what they thought about Jesus. Jesus did not say anything.
Pilate was much surprised that Jesus never answered, no matter what they said against him.
It was a custom (special thing done at a special time) for the Roman ruler to let a prisoner go free at Passover time.
There was a Jewish man in prison named Barabbas.
Pilate asked the Jewish leaders, “Whom shall I let go free? Jesus or Barabbas?”
Pilate could see that the reason the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus dead was because they were jealous of him.
Verses 19- 25 Read the Bible verses.
When Pilate sat down to think things over, his wife came and said to him, “Don’t have anything to do with this man. He is not done anything wrong. I have had a dream that has made me upset and sick all day.”
The Jewish leaders talked to the crowd of people outside. They told the people to say they wanted Barabbas to go free instead of Jesus.
Pilate asked them, “What shall I do with Jesus?” They all shouted, “Crucify him!”
Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But the people shouted more, “Crucify him!”
Pilate could see that he was not going to change their minds.
He took a bowl of water and washed his hands saying, “I am not guilty of this man’s blood, this is your decision.”
The people shouted, “Let his blood be on us and on our children.”
Jewish people today seem to have forgotten that the Jewish people said those words 2000 years ago. Jewish people do not take responsibility for killing Jesus. They say the Romans killed Jesus.
Jewish people sometimes get upset if they are blamed for crucifying Jesus.
Verses 26- 33 Read the Bible verses.
Barabbas was let out of prison.
Jesus was scourged (beaten) with whips. These whips were long strips of leather. Each strip had little sharp pieces of metal or stone in them.
When the whip hit the body, the metal pieces would tear out little pieces of skin. It was very painful and made a lot of bleeding.
The soldiers took Jesus to another room where many soldiers were together. They took Jesus’ clothes off and put a scarlet (red) robe on him.
Then they put a “crown” on him. The “crown” was made of long stems from a plant that had long thorns. They were very sharp.
When the crown was put on Jesus’ head, the thorns pushed into the skin. It was painful and made a lot of bleeding.
They put a reed (a long stem of a plant) into his hand, like a king holds a scepter ( a silver or gold rod).
The soldiers bowed down to Jesus and made fun of him. They called him the “King of the Jews”.
They spit on him. Then they took the reed and hit him on the head.
(Some kinds of reeds can be very sharp on each side–it would cut the skin.)
Then they took the robe off and put his own clothes on him again. They led him away to be crucified.
Jesus was to carry his own cross, but he was not able to do it. As they were going on the road, they saw a man (named Simon, from Cyrene) and made him carry the cross for Jesus.
Some people who study history say that men did not carry the whole cross, but that they carried just the cross beam.
They went to a place called Golgatha, or a place of the skull. It was called that because on the rocky side of the hill–the rocks looked like a skull.
Verse 34-38 Read the Bible verses.
They gave him vinegar to drink with gall (a poisonous plant). Jesus tasted it but would not drink. Psalm 69:21 King David wrote these words hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified.
Then Jesus was crucified.
They took his garments (clothes) and they “cast lots” (threw dice or “drew straws” to see who would get the clothes). Psalms22:18 This was written years before Jesus was crucified.
Over Jesus’ head was a sign saying, “Jesus King of the Jews”.
There were two men who were crucified the same day. They were blamed for stealing.
Verses 39-44 Read the Bible verses.
People who walked by the 3 crucified men wagged their heads and many said blaming things to Jesus.
Some said, “You said you would destroy the temple and build it again in 3 days. If you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross.”
Jesus said these words when he chased out the men out of the temple when they were selling animals and things. The men who changed the money were cheating people as they sat in God’s temple. To change money is like when we go to Canada and our US money is changed for Canadian. People who came to Jerusalem came from all over and had different kinds of money, so they changed it to money used in Jerusalem.
Jesus said, “My house shall be called a House of Prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”
Everyone was in shock when Jesus took a whip and chased them out.
The Jewish leaders, the temple police, and the disciples all just stood and looked.
The Jewish leaders said to Jesus, “What sign can you show us that you have the right to do these things?” John 2:18, 19
Jesus answered in a way that was a puzzle for them to understand. He said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in 3 days.”
Jesus was not talking about the stone temple. Jesus was talking about his own body–his own temple of God–when it was destroyed in death–he would raise it up in 3 days.
If Jesus had told them that he had a right to chase out those men because he was God’s son, or because he was God –or because he had power over all of them—the Jewish leaders would not have believed him.
Jesus had said many times that he was the Messiah. That he was born of God. The Jewish leaders did not receive it. So Jesus did not see any need to say it again.
Jesus gave them a sign that would happen in the future. When they saw him resurrected from the dead–they would believe he was who he said and that he had the right and power to chase men out of the temple.
The priests also said things to make fun of him. They said, He saved others but he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down off the cross and then we will believe him. He trusted in God, let God deliver him now, because he said he was the Son of God.”
The two thieves (men who steal) said the same kind of things.
These people were trying to get Jesus to show his power and save himself.
Jesus could have saved himself. But Jesus could not save himself and save others (us), too.
If Jesus came down off of the cross–then there would be no death for sin. We would have to pay our own death penalty.
Jesus was on the cross for the purpose of paying the death penalty for us.
By Adam sin came into the world to all men, by one man’s disobedience sin came to all —-so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Romans 5: 12, 19
Verses 45-51 Read the Bible verses.
It was about the ninth hour (12:00 noon), the sky became dark.
Darkness stayed until about 3:00pm. This was a prophecy from the Old Testament. (Amos 8:9)
Then Jesus cried in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” These are words taken from Psalm 22:1.
The Father does not come to rescue him—nor would Jesus want him to, because it has already been decided—Jesus was going to do the will of the Father—Jesus was going to die.
Some thought Jesus was calling for Elijah, they misunderstood his words.
The soldiers gave him vinegar again.
Some said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
Jesus cried with a loud voice. “Father into thy hands I give my spirit.” Luke23:46 and “It is finished.” John 19:30 “I have finished the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4
The veil (curtain) in the temple was ripped from the top to the bottom.
Hundreds of years ago, when the Jewish people left Egypt and came to Mount Sinai and God gave them the 10 Commandments —God also told them to make a tabernacle (church) in a tent.
The tabernacle had two rooms in it. A veil divided the two rooms. The small room behind the veil was called the Holy of Holies. In it was the golden box with the 2 angels on it–called the Ark of the Covenant.
This was a very holy room. Only the High Priest could go in and only one time in a year to bring in the blood for the sin offering for the-people.
God’s presence-spirit would come into the room after the offering.
God’s presence came into that room at other times also.
In Jesus’ time, the tent church (tabernacle) was gone.
King David’s son, Solomon, had made the most beautiful temple there ever was. But it was destroyed when King Nebuchadnezzer from Babylon came and took over Jerusalem.
The Ark of the Covenant disappeared then, too.
In Jesus’ time, King Herod wanted to please the Jews that he ruled over, so he built for them a beautiful temple. It had the two special rooms, including the Holy of Holies where the Ark used to set. Now there was no Ark, but it was still a very Holy room.
Just like long ago, the was a veil or curtain that divided the two rooms. This is the veil that ripped all by itself.
Jewish history tells us that this was a very thick veil. It was about 6 inches thick. It was said that two teams of oxen pulling on each end could not tear it. The Bible does not tell this—history books say this.
At the same time that the veil ripped, the earth shook with an earthquake. Probably some of the Jewish leaders thought that the earthquake made the veil rip. But it really ripped by itself–really God ripped it.
The ripped open veil has an important spiritual lesson.
Now that the veil is open–everyone can see into the Holy room.
Anyone can walk into the Holy room.
People do not have to take a sacrifice to the priest and let him take it in the room—they can go into the room themselves.
They can go into the room without fear.
Jesus’ blood was the sacrifice. It was a perfect sacrifice.
There was no need for any more sacrifice to be made. It was finished.
For many years the sacrifice was an animal. The animal was in place of the person who sinned. Sin has a punishment of death. The animal died in the person’s place.
The animal was not a perfect sacrifice. A person had sinned. A person had to die. Jesus was the person who died in our place. He was perfect. He had no sin. He paid the death penalty one time and it is forever.
There is no need for another animal or a person to die for sin anymore.
The debt of sin is paid in full.
This payment of sin is for everyone in the world. Anyone who wants their sins forgiven can be forgiven. They can come right into the Holy room and talk to God themselves.
Just like the High Priest had to a make a sacrifice for himself and put the blood on himself to cover his sins before he went in the Holy room– we have the Blood Covering of Jesus over us.
Jesus’ blood covers our sin. The Bible says is washes away the sin.
We do not need to go through a priest to talk to God. The Holy room is open–just walk in and talk to God.
You can have your sins covered in Jesus’ blood if you just ask for it.
Verses 52-53 Read the Bible verses.
At the time Jesus said, “It is finished.”, the veil ripped, and an earthquake happened. The earthquake spit open some rocks. Something else happened that was really amazing (hard to believe).
Graves were opened up and dead people came to life again. They got up and walked into the city and many people saw them.
Now that would give you a shock!
What if someone you knew was dead showed up at your door?
Verse 54 Read the Bible verse.
One Roman soldier, who was a leader, and also some of his men, watched Jesus. They saw the strange darkness from noon to 3:00 pm, they felt the earthquake. They were afraid. They said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
These Roman men who did not even worship the God in heaven–they worshipped idols–were more willing to believe that Jesus was God than the Jewish church leaders.
Verses 55-61 Read the Bible verses.
Many women were watching from far away. These were women who had believed in Jesus. They were from Galilee. They had tired to help Jesus.
Some of the women were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John.
It was evening, about 6:00 pm. Sunset started the Sabbath. The Sabbath was the day of rest. This was a special Sabbath because it was at the time of the Passover.
A rich man named Joseph, from Arimathaea, asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. He took the body and put it in his own tomb. He owned a tomb that he bought to use for his own family. No one was buried in it yet. It was cut out of the side of a rocky hill. Joseph rolled a big rock in front of the opening. (Isaiah 53:9 told about this hundreds of years before.)
Because it was almost Sabbath time, Joseph had to hurry and get finished. He quickly wrapped the body in linen and put it in the tomb.
Usually, the body was washed, then a lot of spices were put on it and then it was buried. Bodies were buried right away because it was a hot country and they did not embalm the bodies like we do here in America.
The two women sat in front of the tomb. They were probably hoping to take care of the body the way they usually did, but because there was not time, things were left undone. The women were probably crying because Jesus died and feeling bad that they could not fix the body right.
Then the women left too because it was the Sabbath.
Verses 62-66 Read the Bible verses.
The next day, after the Sabbath, the priest came to Pilate and wanted the tomb “sealed”. A ruler had a ring that had an image of himself on it. The ring would be pushed down onto warm wax so the image went into the wax. There could have been other ways to make a seal, too.
The idea was that the priests wanted the rock in front of the tomb marked with a seal from the ruler so no one would move the rock. If they saw the seal, they would leave it alone. They would not want to be punished for bothering something that had the ruler’s seal on it.
The reason the priests wanted the seal was because they remembered that Jesus said he would rise again the 3rd day. They were afraid his disciples would come and take the body and then say that Jesus rose from the dead.
Pilate gave them the seal and he sent Roman soldiers out to guard (watch) the tomb so that no one bothered it.