Bible Study series Mathew 27:1-2. These two verses introduce a longer section of his trial before the Roman governor. They are a good introduction as to who he was.
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 27:1-2
1 When early morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 After they bound him, they led him away and handed him over to Pilate. (Matt. 27:1-2)
Comments:
This scene carries on from the previous chapter. The Jewish leaders turn Jesus over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. The chief priests and elders go with him too.
Let’s introduce these characters in the drama one more time.
“chief priests”:
“elders”:
The Sanhedrin had seventy members (modeled on the Old Testament seventy elders), plus the high priest. Twenty-three made a quorum.
Please see this post for more information:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
And now let’s introduce Pilate for the first time.
The Christian creeds remember him as the governor under whom Jesus Christ suffered (1 Tim. 6:13) (see the Apostles Creed).
The NT calls him governor while other sources call him prefect (his official title). Pontius was his nomen (tribal name) and Pilate was his cognomen (family name). His praenomen (personal name) is nowhere recorded.
He came to power in A.D. 26. He was an anti-Semite. He brought into Jerusalem the insignia of the Roman military bearing the image of Caesar.
He planted armed Roman soldiers, disguised as civilians, among the populace. This may have been the historical occasion for Luke 13:1, which says that Pilate mingled Galilean blood with their sacrifices. It is surprising then that he felt pressure from the Jewish authorities to put Jesus to death.
However, he could have believed his position in the empire was precarious; John 19:12 says that if he released Jesus he would be no friend of Caesar.
The NT writers were eager to show that he was innocent in regards to Roman law.
Yet the only way the Jewish Council could convict Jesus was to accuse him of claiming to be king.
Pilate’s name does not appear in Judea after A.D. 36/37, and this indicates he was removed shortly after he slaughtered Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim (Holman’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
We will get to a GrowApp at the fuller trial before Pilate in Matthew 27.11-31, below.
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9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 