translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: MAT

label: NET study note

text: The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.


text: The source of this citation is debated (see the tc note on Jeremiah in v. 9 above for a related discussion). The quotation is most closely related to Zech 11:12-13 , but the reference to Jeremiah in v. 9 as the source leads one to look there as well. There is no exact match for this text in Jeremiah, but there are some conceptual parallels: In Jer 18:2-6 the prophet visits a potter, and in Jer 32:6-15 he buys a field. D. A. Carson argues that Jer 19:1-13 is the source of the quotation augmented with various phrases drawn from Zech 11:12-13 (“Matthew,” EBC 8:563). W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison argue that the reference to Jeremiah is not meant to refer to one specific text from that prophet, but instead to signal that his writings as a whole are a source from which the quotation is drawn ( Matthew [ICC], 3:568-69). Although the exact source of the citation is uncertain, it is reasonable to see texts from the books of Jeremiah and Zechariah both coming into play here.


text: “ Are you the king of the Jews? ” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.


text: The reply “ You say so ” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 26:64 .


text: The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15 ; John 18:39 ).


text: This is a parenthetical note by the author.


text: You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4 . The expression is identical except that in 27:4 it is singular and here it is plural.


text: See the note on crucified in 20:19 .


text: A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.


text: The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king.


text: The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18 ) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.


text: Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio , mentioned in Matt 27:26 ; Mark 15:15 ; John 19:1 ), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum , since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon. Mark 15:21 names him as father of two people apparently known to Mark’s audience.


text: A place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). This location is north and just outside of Jerusalem. The hill on which it is located protruded much like a skull, giving the place its name. The Latin word for the Greek term κρανίον ( kranion ) is calvaria , from which the English word “Calvary” is derived (cf. Luke 23:33 in the KJV).


text: It is difficult to say for certain who gave Jesus this drink of wine mixed with gall (e.g., the executioner, or perhaps women from Jerusalem). In any case, whoever gave it to him most likely did so in order to relieve his pain, but Jesus was unwilling to take it.


text: Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.


text: There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “s ave yourself! ” and “ come down from the cross! ” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.


text: An allusion to Ps 22:8 .


text: Matthew’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43 ).


text: This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10 ; Amos 8:9 ; Zeph 1:15 .


text: A quotation from Ps 22:1 .


text: Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca , a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.


text: See the note on the word centurion in Matt 8:5 .


text: Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Mark 15:43 , Luke 23:51 ). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.


text: See the note on Pharisees in 3:7 .