Matteo 27:27 Commento

When the morning was come,.... Or, as soon as it was day, as Luke says, Luk 22:66. The sanhedrim had been up all night, which, after eating the passover, they had spent in apprehending, trying, and examining Jesus, and the witnesses against him; and had come to an unanimous vote, that he was guilty of death; upon which they either put Jesus out of the room for a while, or went into another themselves, to consult what further steps should be taken: or if they went home to their own houses, they very quickly got together again, and met in the temple, where they seem to be, Mat 27:5, unless the story of Judas is, by anticipation, inserted here; and in their council chamber, where they led Jesus, and examined him again concerning his being the Son of God; see Luk 22:66, all which shows how intent they were upon this business, and with what eagerness and diligence they pursued it; their feet ran to evil, and they made haste to shed blood. This was the time of their morning prayers, of their saying their phylacteries, and reciting the "shema", "hear, O Israel! the Lord our God is one Lord", according to their canon, which is this (e): "from what time do they read the "shema" in the morning? from such time that a man can distinguish between blue and white: says R. Eliezer, between blue and green; and he finishes it before the sun shines out. R. Joshua says, before three hours had elapsed:'' but religion, rites, ceremonies, and canons, must all give way to the accomplishment of what their hearts were so much set upon: all the chief priests and elders of the people. The Syriac and Persic versions leave out the word "all", but it is retained in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and that very rightly. The Scribes and elders met at Caiaphas's house before, Mat 26:57, but it being in the night, they might not be all together; Annas particularly seems to have been absent, Joh 18:24, but now they all assemble together, as in a case of necessity they were obliged to do: their rule was this (f); "the sanhedrim, consisting of seventy and one (as this was), are obliged to sit all of them as one, (or all, and everyone of them,) in their place in the temple; but at what time there is a necessity of their being gathered together, , "they are all of them assembled"; but, at other times, he who has any business may go, and do his pleasure, and return: yet so it is, that there may not be less than twenty three sitting continually all the time of their sitting; (their usual time of sitting was from the morning daily sacrifice, to the evening daily sacrifice (g);) one that is under a necessity of going out; this looks upon his companions that remain, and if twenty three remain, he may go out; but if not, he may not, until the other returns.'' This being now a case of necessity, and great importance, they are all summoned and gathered together, unless we except Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus; who yet might be there, though they did not consent to their counsel and deed, as is certain of the former, Luk 23:51, these took counsel against Jesus; God's holy child Jesus, his anointed, the Messiah; and which was taking counsel against the Lord himself; and so the prophecy in Psa 2:2, had its accomplishment: what they consulted about was to put him to death; it was not what punishment to inflict upon him, whether scourging or death; that was before determined; they had already condemned him to death: but now they enter into close consultation what death to put him to, and in what manner; whether privately, he being now in their hands; or whether by the means of zealots, or by the Roman magistrate; or whether it should be by stoning, which must have been the case, if they put him to death according to their law; and by their authority; or whether by crucifixion, which they chose as the most ignominious and painful; and therefore determined to deliver him up to the Roman governor, and use their interest with him to put him to death, according to the Roman law. (e) Misn. Beracot, c. 1. sect. 2. (f) Maimon. Hilch. Sanhedrin, c. 3. sect. 2. (g) lb. c. 3. sect. 1. Bernidbar Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 177. 3.

And they stripped him,.... Of his clothes; at least of his upper garment: for one man to spit upon another, as these soldiers afterwards did on Christ, or to strip him of his garment, according to the Jewish canons, were punishable with a fine of four hundred pence (z), which amounted to twelve pounds and ten shillings of our money; but the soldiers were in no danger of being prosecuted, for stripping Christ. This is one part of the low estate Christ submitted to: his clothes on his back seem to be all he had in this world, and of these he is stripped: and put on him a scarlet robe, or "a red coat", as the Persic version renders it; very likely an old coat of one of their officers. The Evangelists Mark and John say it was "purple", Mar 15:17, and so the Arabic version renders it here: whether there were two garments put upon him, the one a purple vest, and the other a scarlet robe over it; or whether scarlet was used instead of purple, is not certain; which was a colour wore by kings, and a sign of imperial dignity (a); and therefore put upon Christ by way of mockery, upbraiding him with the character he bore, as king of the Jews. This was an emblem of his being clothed, as it were with our sins, which are as scarlet, and of his bloody sufferings in the human nature. (z) Misn. Bava Kama, c. 8. sect. 6. (a) Alexander ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 28.

As though on some signal the devil then was entering in triumph into all. For, be it that Jews pining with envy and jealousy were mad against Him, as to the soldiers, whence was it, and from what sort of cause? Is it not clear that it was the devil who was then entering in fury into the hearts of all? For indeed they made a pleasure of their insults against Him, being a savage and ruthless set. I mean that, when they ought to have been awestruck, when they ought to have wept, which even the people did, this they did not, but, on the contrary, were despiteful, and insolent; perhaps themselves also seeking to please the Jews, or it may be doing all in conformity to their own evil nature. And the insults were different, and varied For that Divine Head at one time they buffeted, at another they insulted with the crown of thorns, at another they smote with the reed, men unholy and accursed! What plea shall we have after this for being moved by injuries, after Christ suffered these things? For what was done was the utmost limit of insolence. For not one member, but the whole entire body throughout was made an object of insolence; the head through the crown, and the reed, and the buffeting; the face, being spit upon; the cheeks, being smitten with the palms of the hands; the whole body by the stripes, by being wrapped in the robe, and by the pretended worship; the hand by the reed, which they gave him to hold instead of a sceptre; the mouth again by the offering of the vinegar. What could be more grievous than these things? What more insulting? For the things that were done go beyond all language. For as though they were afraid lest they should seem to fall short at all in the crime, having killed the prophets with their own hands, but this man with the sentence of a judge, so they do in every deed; and make it the work of their own hands, and condemn and sentence both among themselves and before Pilate, saying, "His blood be on us and on our children," and insult Him, and do despite unto Him themselves, binding Him, leading Him away, and render themselves authors of the spiteful acts done by the soldiers, and nail Him to the cross. and revile Him, and spit at Him, and deride Him. For Pilate contributed nothing in this matter, but they themselves did every thing, becoming accusers, and judges, and executioners, and all.

(Verse 27 onwards) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe around him. And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' The soldiers, since Jesus had been called the King of the Jews and the scribes and priests had accused him of claiming to be the ruler of the people of Israel, did this mockingly. They dressed him in the scarlet robe as a symbol of royalty, put a crown of thorns on his head, gave him a reed as a scepter, and pretended to worship him as a king. But we must understand all these things mystically. For just as Caiphas said, 'It is necessary for one man to die for all' (John 11:50), not knowing what he was saying, so these people, whatever they did, although they had different intentions, nevertheless gave us, who believe, the sacraments. In the scarlet robe, he bears the bloody works of the Gentiles; in the crown of thorns, he undoes the ancient curse; with the pen, he kills poisonous animals. Whether he held the pen in his hand to write the sacrilege of the Jews.

He had been styled King of the Jews, and the Scribes and Priests had brought this charge against Him, that He claimed sovereignty over the Jewish nation; hence this mockery of the soldiers, taking away His own garments, they put on Him a scarlet cloak to represent that purple fringe which kings of old used to wear, for the diadem they put on Him a crown of thorns, and for the regal sceptre give Him a reed, and perform adoration to Him as to a king. All these things we may understand mystically. For as Caiaphas said that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, (John 11:50.) not knowing what he said, so these, in all they did, furnished sacraments to us who believe, though they did them with other intention. In the scarlet robe He bears the bloody works of the Gentiles; by the crown of thorns He takes away the ancient curse; with the reed He destroys poisonous animals; or He held the reed in His hand wherewith to write down the sacrilege of the Jews.

(de Cons. Ev. iii. 9.) After the lord's trial comes His Passion, which Matthew thus begins, Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, &c.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and gathered unto Him the whole company of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet cloak. And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. Here was fulfilled the word of David, "Thou hast made Me a reproach to the foolish" (Ps. 38:8). For the soldiers were foolish, and did things that befitted their foolishness: they clothed Him with a cloak as if it were the imperial purple; they gave Him a reed for a scepter and a crown of thorns for a diadem; they paid Him homage, in mockery, for this is the meaning of "bowed the knee." See how they performed every sort of insult and abuse: His face they reviled with spit, His head with a crown, His hand with a reed, the rest of His Body with a cloak, and His ears with words of mockery. But if they did these things in derision, you, O reader, must understand them also in a more spiritual manner, as something not merely done to, but accomplished by, Jesus. The scarlet cloak reveals our nature, bloody and murderous, which He assumed and sanctified by wearing it. The crown is made of thorns which are the sins resulting from our cares for this life; these Christ consumes with His own divinity, for His head represents His divinity. The reed is a symbol of our weak and crumbling nature which the Lord assumed, as David also says, "The right hand of the Lord hath exalted me" (Ps. 117:16). By receiving insults in His ears, He healed Eve of the whispering of the serpent which had entered her ears.

After the condemnation has been treated, here the Passion and death are treated; second, the burial, at "when it was evening etc." Concerning the first, he does two things. For first, he narrates what Christ suffered unworthily; second, what he did magnificently, at "now from the sixth hour there was darkness." The first part is in three. In the first, he treats the mockery by the soldiers; second, the crucifixion; third, the derision of the crucified by the Jews. The second is at "and after they had mocked him"; the third is at "and they that passed by blasphemed him." Concerning the first, first the mockers are described; second, the mockery. He says therefore the soldiers gathered together the whole cohort. A cohort is a company of soldiers, and anyone who had judicial power had a cohort of soldiers for carrying out judgment. The praetorium is said to be the place where judgments were carried out. Hence both Gentiles and Jews were gathered together to him, so that none might be exempt, because he had to redeem all. Therefore what is found in Romans 11:32 is fitting: "God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all." And in Psalm 117:10: "they surrounded me like bees."