Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 27:22
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? [They] all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
22. all say unto him, Let him be crucified ] There is no further question even of a show of legality or justice: the traditional clemency is quite forgotten; the fanatical crowd, pressing round the doors of the Prtorium, which they cannot enter, join with excited gesticulation in one loud and furious cry for the blood of Jesus.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 27:22
What shall I do then with Jesus?
The question that must be answered
Perhaps we all feel more or less a certain satisfaction that we have not, as Pilate had, to make that terrible decision which, with the limited knowledge of that day, we might have made as he did. Nevertheless, this question which Pilate asked, and which he answered so fatally, is a question which we have every one of us, still to answer. It is far more awful for us than it was for Pilate. We have to answer it with a full knowledge of what Jesus was and is. We have to answer it, aided by the light of centuries streaming upon that Divine face. So long as Christ is popular, so long as being with Him means going on safely with a rejoicing, happy multitude, there is no doubt or difficulty as to what we will do with Christ. We will gladly follow Him. But oh! brothers, there come awful moments in every experience-the Passion Week of each life-when the Christ stands pleading before your soul. A wild, frenzied mob of passions, prejudices, indulgences, sins, raise their murderous clamour, and demand that we shall give Him up; that we shall take into our favour some other popular idol, and each of us has then to answer the question, What shall I do then with Jesus? (T. T. Shore, M. A.)
Our treatment of Jesus
This is no dried or withered question, but one that throbs with warm and quick pulses in the heart of each one. We must do something with Jesus. He is here. What shall it be?
I. You can let Him stand without a word of recognition. But surely your sense of common courtesy will not allow that.
II. You can thrust Him back from your heart, and tell Him to stand aside. But surely you will not. Even Pilate treated Him better than that.
III. You can look on Him merely as an optician to help blind eyes, or an aurist to retune deaf ears, a friend, a good friend, a helpful companion, a cheerful passenger on shipboard. Yet what good will all that do you? Surely He is something more.
IV. You can take Him into your heart. That is the best thing you can do with Him, and the only safe thing. Trust Him. Love Him. What more could He do, than He has done, for you? (T. de Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The changed question
The question will, after a while, change, and it will not be any longer, What shall we do with Jesus? but What will Jesus do with us? Ring all the bells of eternity at the burning of a world! On that day, what do you think Christ will do with us? Why, He will say, There is that man whom I called, that woman whose soul I importuned; but they would not any of My ways. I gave them innumerable opportunities of salvation. They rejected them all. Depart. I never knew you! Blessed be God, that day has not come. Halt, ye destinies of eternity, and give one more chance! (T. de Witt Talmage, D. D.)
What shall we do with Jesus?
I. Some kind of answer must be given to this question.
1. It cannot be evaded. You must answer it.
2. Jesus Christ is offered to you as a means of salvation, etc., and you are free to accept or reject; but one of these two things you must do.
3. We know how Pilate answered this question.
4. This is the great question of the age.
5. It is a personal question.
II. Consider some of the answers that have been given to this question.
1. Some answer it by placing themselves in direct opposition to Christ, they give it a bold negative, they deny His Divinity, His gospel, and His claims.
2. Others give an answer that seems more respectful: they say, Probably His claims are well founded; but association with Him would involve separation from friends and pursuits we love-we will do without Him, etc.
3. Others give a somewhat imposing reply, but think they need not be too intimate with Him, etc.
4. Others admit His claims but delay their decision.
5. Others accept Him as their Guide and Saviour, etc.
III. The answer God expects us to give. Welcome Him to our hearts. Love Him supremely. Obey Him fully. Serve Him faithfully and constantly. (S. Smith.)
What will you do with Jesus?-I
remember a young man in New York city, whose father I knew. He was a great prodigal, and had broken his mothers heart, and brought her down to the grave in sorrow. Every night he was out carousing with boon companions. The fathers heart was just broken too, and one night a few weeks after the mothers death the young man was just starting out; the old man said, My son, I want one favour of you. I would like you to stay at home and spend one night with me. The young man said he did not want to stay, it was so gloomy. But, said the father, will you not stay and gratify your aged father? You know your conduct killed your poor mother. My boy, wont you say? The old man pleaded with him, and just begged him to stay, but the boy said, No, I am not going to stay at home. The old father put forth one more effort to save his prodigal boy, and he threw himself down before him in the hall. What did that boy do? He just leaped over the body, and went out to join his comrades. There is not one of you but would say, That was an ungrateful wretch, not fit to live. Ah, sinner, what would you do with Christ in such a case? Why, many of you, I believe, if He were to throw Himself down before you and plead with you, you would step right over Him. And now, sinner, what will you do with Christ? Will you send back the insulting message that you do not want Christ to rule over you. Oh, may God forbid it, and this very night may there be hundreds who shall receive Him. (D. L. Moody)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. What shall I do then with Jesus?] Showing, hereby, that it was his wish to release him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Pilate saith unto them,…. As one astonished at their choice: he could not have thought they would have asked the life of so vile a wretch, that had been guilty of such capital crimes, crimes to be abhorred by all men:
what shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? Surely you would not have me put him to death, and that for no other reason but this, because he is called either by himself or others, Christ, or the Messiah, or the king of the Jews!
they all say unto him, let him be crucified; which was a Roman punishment, inflicted on the meanest and worst of men; as wicked servants, thieves, robbers, and cut-throats o; and so was not only a torturing and painful death, but a very shameful and ignominious one; yea, an accursed one: in this they all agreed, being instigated to it by the chief priests and elders.
o Lipsius de Cruce, l. 1. c. 12, 13.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What then shall I do unto Jesus which is called Christ? ( ;). They had asked for Barabbas under the tutelage of the Sanhedrin, but Pilate pressed home the problem of Jesus with the dim hope that they might ask for Jesus also. But they had learned their lesson. Some of the very people who shouted “Hosannah” on the Sunday morning of the Triumphal Entry now shout
Let him be crucified (). The tide has now turned against Jesus, the hero of Sunday, now the condemned criminal of Friday. Such is popular favour. But all the while Pilate is shirking his own fearful responsibility and trying to hide his own weakness and injustice behind popular clamour and prejudice.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
22. What then shall I do with Jesus? Perceiving that they are so blinded by madness, that they do not hesitate, to their own great dishonor, to rescue a robber from death, Pilate resorts to another expedient for touching them to the quick, and bringing them to a sound mind. He argues that the death of Christ would bring disgrace on themselves, because it had been commonly reported of Jesus, that he was the King and the Christ. As if he had said, “If you have no compassion for the man, pay some regard, at least, to your own honor; for it will be generally thought by foreigners, that he was put to death for a chastisement to you all.” (261) Yet even this did not abate the fierceness of their cruelty, or hinder them from proceeding to manifest a greater degree of opposition to the public interests than of private hostility to Christ. Thus, according to Mark, Pilate, in order to wound them still more deeply, says that even themselves call Jesus the King; meaning, that this title was constantly used, as if it had been his ordinary surname. Yet, throwing aside all shame, they obstinately insist on the murder of Christ, which brought along with it the disgrace of the whole nation. The Evangelist John (Joh 14:15) states a reply, which the other three Evangelists do not mention; namely, that they had no king but Caesar. Thus they choose rather to be deprived of the hope of the promised redemption, and to be devoted to perpetual slavery, than to receive the Redeemer, whom God had offered to them.
(261) “ Pour vous chastier, et vous faire despit à tous;” — “to chastise you, and pour contempt on you all.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) Let him be crucified.It may be noted that this was the first direct intimation of the mode of death to which the priests destined their prisoner. It was implied, indeed, in their fixed resolve to make the Roman governor the executioner of their sentence, as shown in the dialogue recorded by St. John (Joh. 18:31); but now the cry came from the multitude, as the result, we may believe, of the promptings described in Mat. 27:20, Crucify Him!punish Him as the robber and the rebel are punished.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Let him be crucified This was the decisive utterance of the fatal word.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Pilate says to them, “What then shall I do to Jesus who is called Messiah?” They all say, “Let him be crucified.” ’
Pilate then made a further attempt to avoid the inevitable. Perhaps he could get the crowds to suggest leniency for Jesus. So he asks them what he should do to Jesus. But by doing so he has handed the initiative over to the crowds, and the Chief Priests and Elders had done their work too well. They had no doubt incited the crowds by talk of blasphemy and contrasted Jesus with the heroic insurrectionists. Thus it was now the crowds who yelled out, “Let him be crucified.” They were well aware of what had been intended for Barabbas. Thus in their view it would be a suitable end for One Whom Pilate was trying to protect, a ‘favourite’ of the Romans.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 27:22 ;] What, then (if Barabbas is to be released), am I to do with Jesus , how shall I dispose of him? On this use of the double accusative with , in the sense of doing good or evil to any one, comp. Khner, II. 1, p. 277; Wunder, ad Soph. Phil. 684 . ] , , (as a rebel) , Euthymius Zigabenus. Doubtless it was also at the instigation of the hierarchs that they demanded this particular form of punishment.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
Ver. 22. Let him be crucified ] He whom erewhile they had little less than deifed. See how soon evil company and counsel had altered them, like as walnut tree roots embitter the roots of all the trees about them. Si quis obsequatur Calliae, statim reddet cum temulentum Callias; si Alcibiadi, iactatorem; si Crobylo, coquum, &c., saith Aelian. A man easily conformeth to his company.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22. ] They chose crucifixion as the ordinary Roman punishment for sedition, and because of their hate to Jesus. The double accusative after verbs of doing and saying of or to any one is the common construction. See Khner, Gr. ii. p. 225. Cf. Xen. Cyr. iii. 2. 15, .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
crucified. See App-162.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] They chose crucifixion as the ordinary Roman punishment for sedition, and because of their hate to Jesus. The double accusative after verbs of doing and saying of or to any one is the common construction. See Khner, Gr. ii. p. 225. Cf. Xen. Cyr. iii. 2. 15, .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Our Lord was brought before the Roman governor Pilate. He was anxious to let Jesus go; but he was a weak-minded man, easily swayed by the noisy cry of the people, prompted by the chief priests and elders.
Mat 27:22-23. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
A blind, unreasoning hate had taken possession of the people. They gave no answer to Pilates wondering enquiry, Why, what evil hath he done? for he had done nothing amiss; they only repeated the brutal demand, Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified! The worlds hatred of Christ is shown in similar fashion today. He has done no evil, no one has suffered harm at his hands, all unite to pronounce him innocent; and yet they practically say, Away with him! Crucify him!
Mat 27:24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Ah, Pilate, you cannot rid yourself of responsibility by that farce! He who has power to prevent a wrong is guilty of the act if he permits others to do it, even though be does not actually commit it himself. If you are placed in positions of power and responsibility, do not dream that you can escape from guilt by merely allowing other people to do what you would not do yourself.
Mat 27:25. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
All the people willingly took upon themselves the guilt of the murder of our dear Lord: His blood be on us, and on our children. This fearful imprecation must have been remembered by many when the soldiers of Titus spared neither age nor sex, and the Jewish capital became the veritable Aceldama, the field of blood.
Mat 27:26. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Why scourge him before delivering him up to be crucified? Surely this was a superfluity of cruelty. The Roman scourging was something which I scarcely care to describe, one of the most terrible punishments to which anyone could be subjected; yet Pilate first scourged Jesus, and then gave him up to die by crucifixion.
Mat 27:27-28. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
Some old soldiers coat, that they found lying about, they cast upon Christ in imitation of the royal robes of Caesar or Herod.
Mat 27:29-31. And when they had platted 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. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
By that fact, though they did not intend it, our Lord was recognized in the street as the same person who had been taken into the Praetorium by the soldiers. Had Jesus been brought forth in the scarlet robe, persons looking at him might not have known him to be the same man who wore the garment woven from the top throughout; but in his own seamless raiment, they readily recognized the Nazarene.
Mat 27:32. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
I wonder if he was a black man. There was a Simon in the early Church; and it certainly was the lot of the Ethiopian to bear the cross for many and many an age. This Simon was a stranger, anyhow, and a foreigner; truly honoured was he to be compelled to bear the cross after Christ.
Mat 27:33. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
From its shape. There appears to be to this day a hill still in the form of a human skull outside the gate of Jerusalem. When they came to that common place of execution, the Tyburn or Old Bailey of the city,
Mat 27:34. They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
A stupefying draught was given to the condemned that is the only mercy that there was about the whole thing. The Romans did give to the crucified a draught of myrrh to take away something of the agony of crucifixion; but our Lord came not to be stupefied, he came to suffer, therefore he would not take anything that would at all impair his faculties. He drank even to the dregs the bitter cup of grief and woe.
Mat 27:35. And they crucified him,
Horrible scene, to see those blessed hands and feet pierced with nails, and fastened to the cross!
Mat 27:35. And parted his garments, casting lots:
Rattling the dice-box at the foot of the cross! Gambling is the most hardening of all vices. I believe that crimes have been committed by persons, under the influence of gambling, which never could have been committed by them in any other condition of mind: They parted his garments, casting lots. See here, ye gamblers! With Christs blood bespattering them, these soldiers dared still to raffle for his robe.
Mat 27:35-36. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there;
His enemies gloating their cruel eyes with the sight of his sufferings; his friends with many tears watching his amazing griefs. It is for us, tonight, with humble faith and grateful love, to mark the incidents connected with his painful death.
Mat 27:37-38. And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
Giving him the place of honour, which means in this case the place of dishonour. He was the apex of that terrible triangle.
Mat 27:39-40. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
This is the cry of the Socinians today, Come down from the cross. Give up the atoning sacrifice, and we will be Christians. But, by rejecting his vicarious atonement, they practically un-Christ the Christ, as those mockers at Golgotha did.
Mat 27:41-42. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Just so. Get rid of a crucified Saviour, then they will believe in Him. Atonement, substitution, vicarious sacrifice, this staggers them. They will have Christ if they can have him without his cross.
Mat 27:43-46. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Every word in this terrible cry from the cross is emphatic; every syllable cuts and pierces to the heart.
Mat 27:47. Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
They knew better, yet they jested at the Saviours prayer.
Mat 27:48. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge,
It always seems to me very remarkable that the spunge, which is the very lowest form of animal life, should have been brought into contact with Christ, who is at the top of all life. In his death, the whole circle of creation was completed.
Mat 27:48-50. And filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Christs strength was not exhausted; his last word was uttered with a loud voice, like the shout of a conquering warrior. He need not have died on account of any infirmity in himself; but voluntarily, for your sake, for your sake and mine, he yielded up the ghost. Blessed be his holy name!
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Mat 27:22. , …, what shall I do then? etc.) Pilate did not suppose that the Jews would demand any very severe punishment to be inflicted. He ought not to have asked. It would have been safer to have simply dismissed the prisoner; cf. Act 18:14-16.-, let Him be crucified) Barabbas had deserved the cross: hence they demand that Jesus should be crucified.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the Stain Water Could not Wash Away
Mat 27:22-31
No judge ought to have asked the crowd what he should do. But every man has to do with Christ. He is ever standing before the bar of conscience, and each of us must accept or condemn, do homage or crucify. If we do not pronounce for Him, we pronounce against Him; and there is a moment when our verdict becomes irrevocable. What I have written, I have written. We are all writing our legend, and affixing it to the Cross for the universe to read, and a day comes when it is irreversible.
We may wash our hands after the deed of treachery is done, but water will not avail for Pilate, for Lady Macbeth, or for us. We need the blood of Christ, ere we can be cleansed from all sin, 1Jn 5:6.
The King of men must wear a crown of the thorns with which sin is so closely identified. See Gen 3:18. Only thus can the crown of universal empire be won! The robe of mockery must precede His Ascension vesture. The reed is appropriate, for it is through such that he wins and rules. See Isa 42:3; Isa 57:15.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
What: Mat 27:17, Job 31:31, Psa 22:8, Psa 22:9, Isa 49:7, Isa 53:2, Isa 53:3, Zec 11:8, Mar 14:55, Mar 15:12-14, Luk 23:20-24, Joh 19:14, Joh 19:15, Act 13:38
Reciprocal: 1Sa 30:6 – the people 2Sa 15:13 – The hearts Mat 1:16 – who Mar 9:30 – through Luk 23:21 – General Joh 19:6 – the chief priests Act 13:28 – General Act 28:6 – said
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
PILATES QUESTION
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
Mat 27:22
What shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ? Pilate in his relation to Christ is typical of many to-day.
I. The expression of a miserable indecision.Many a man face to face with Christ and religion is the subject of conflicting feelings, is restless, agitated, a prey to the wretchedness of indecision; seeing the beauty of religion, yet fearing to embrace it.
II. An attempted evasion of responsibility.Throughout the history of Christianity, while granting the greater guilt of priest and Pharisee, Pilate stands responsible for the crucifixion of Christ. Personal responsibility can never be resigned. Others may influence us, the circumstances of life may affect us, but our conduct towards Christ is our own.
III. The declaration of a felt necessity.A decision is necessary. He must release or condemn. We have to do with Christ. We cannot separate ourselves from Him. We cannot stand apart from Him. We must do something with Jesus which is called Christ.
IV. The precursor of a speedy and fatal decision.The man who refuses to do what he knows to be right will end in doing what he knows to be wrong. In a little while the decision was declared. The voices of the chief priests and of the multitudes prevailed, and he delivered Jesus to be crucified.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE RIGHT ANSWER
What shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ? Let me try to tell you what I think is the right way to answer this question.
I. Listen to Him.Pilate asked, What is truth? and never waited for an answer (St. Joh 18:38). Even our Lords enemies confessed, Never man spake like this Man (St. Joh 7:46). His Words are living Words (St. Joh 6:63). Unchanging, empires rise and fall, but these remain.
II. Come to Him. (See Illustration.)
III. Live for Him.If you have felt the magic touch of His grace, you will wish and long to live for Christ. He asks us not to die for Him, but to live for Him.
The Rev. F. Harper.
Illustration
There was kneeling one day in the church a poor collier lad, some ten or twelve years of age. His hair was rough, his clothes were worn and ragged, his feet were bare. His hands were clenched as in prayera sad, wistful look was on his face. I knelt by his side: I want to be good, he said, I want to belong to the Saviour; but I could trust Him if only I could be sure that He loves me. His had been a hard life in the world, poor heart; how shall I convince him of the fact of the love of God? I spoke to him of friends and playmates: Is there any one you know who would, if need be, die for you? He was silent as I pressed the question. Is there one you have ever known who, if you had to die, would be willing to die in your stead to save you? A moments silence, and then with a sweet smile he looked up and said, I believe my mother would. In that brief pause he had looked back on life and measured a mothers love. Perhaps there passed before his mind the vision of her toil late at night to mend his clothes, or earn to-morrows bread, and, convinced of the reality of a mothers love, his heart told him it could be strong unto death. Then see what Jesus has done; and I spoke to him of the bleeding Hands and Feet of the Crucified. He bowed his face into his hands as he said, I can love Him back again, and trust Him too. That is coming to Christ.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
7:22
If such a notorious criminal as Barabbas was to be given his freedom, surely as just a man as Jesus would not be dealt with very severely, hence the somewhat challenging question was asked as to what should be done with the man who was called Christ. Their answer that he was to be crucified, was to carry out the sentence imposed by the Sanhedrin but which it did not have the authority to execute.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 27:22. What then shall I do unto Jesus? An effort to escape the consequences of his previous false step by appealing to the people, perhaps also an expression of surprise.
Let him be crucified. Pilate did not expect this. Their own law would have punished Jesus by stoning. But Pilate had placed Jesus on a level with Barabbas and they ask the punishment due to him. They put the Innocent One in the place of the guilty. Thus the details of prophecy in regard to the manner of Christs death were to he fulfilled. Contrast this demand with the Hosannas of the previous Sunday. Popular movements which do not rest on moral convictions are as shifting as the sand. The voice of the people, when misguided, may be the voice of Satan; yet God overrules even this for good.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Pilate tried to reverse his tactical error by asking more questions, but mob sentiment against him and his choice became stronger with each question he asked the crowd. First, Pilate offered a milder sentence for Jesus, but the crowd would have none of it (Mat 27:22). Second, he attested Jesus’ innocence, but the crowd’s original answer had become a mob chant that the governor could not change or silence.
"One can almost picture this scene, somewhat like a football stadium in which the crowd shouts ’Defense!’ Their cheer was ’Crucify, crucify!’" [Note: Barbieri, p. 87.]
The Jews wanted Pilate to crucify Jesus rather then to punish Him another way because, for the Jews, a person hanging on a tree was a demonstration that he was under God’s curse (Deu 21:23).