Mat 27:1-25 | Family | STEP | Put him to death ; he had professed to be the Christ, and said that hereafter they should see him coming in the clouds of heaven. This they said was blasphemy, and for it they condemned him to die.

Matthew 27:1-25

Put him to death; he had professed to be the Christ, and said that hereafter they should see him coming in the clouds of heaven. This they said was blasphemy, and for it they condemned him to die. Pilate; the Roman governor. As the Jews had no authority to put any one to death, it was needful, in order to accomplish their design, that the Roman governor should condemn him. They brought him to Pilate for this purpose; and Christ had foretold that the Gentiles, to whom Pilate belonged, would put him to death. Mt 20:19. Repented himself; he knew that Jesus was innocent, and yet he had been instrumental in delivering him to his murderers. He was therefore tormented by a conviction of his guilt. The evil of committing known sin is greater than sinners imagine; while the pleasure which they derive from it is less, and is nothing compared with the pain which it will give them. The commission of one sin not only opens the door and prepares the way for the commission of others, but leads to consequences which the sinner little imagines, and the contemplation of which fills him with horror. A deep conviction of sin, and the most pungent distress on account of it, full confession of guilt, and readiness to return the wages of iniquity, may all exist without true repentance, without any love to God and holiness, or any preparation for heaven. What is that to us? the language of men hardened in wickedness, and determined to execute their murderous purpose. Tempters to iniquity are hard-hearted and cruel; they will get men into trouble, but will not relieve them. They are of their father the devil, and like him they will tempt men to sin, and then torment them on account of it. There are two kinds of sorrow on account of sin. One is in view of its having been committed against God: this is godly sorrow, which worketh repentance unto salvation, and needeth not to be repented of. The other is sorrow on account of the evil to which sin exposes the sinner, and is wholly selfish. This is the sorrow of the world, which worketh death. 2Co 7:10. The sorrow of Peter exemplified the one, and that of Judas the other. Treasury; the place where the offerings or contributions of the people were kept. Hypocrites and formalists are sometimes exceedingly scrupulous about little things, while they commit the greatest and most aggravated transgressions without hesitation, and without remorse. While practising the grossest deception, and even killing the friends of God, they profess to be doing him service. Potter's field; a place where earthen-ware had been made.

Strangers; those who came from other countries, and died at Jerusalem. This day; the time when Matthew wrote his gospel, perhaps thirty years after the events here recorded. Jeremy; Jeremiah. The event here referred to is not mentioned in Jeremiah, but in Zec 11:12,13. The name Jeremiah in several ancient translations and manuscripts is not mentioned, and it reads, that which was spoken by the prophet. Slander and abuse, reviling and persecution may sometimes be best met by silence: and perfection of character requires such a control over one's own spirit as to be able not to speak, when it is manifest that no good will result from it. Envy; the uneasiness they felt in witnessing his increasing influence among the people. The indulgence of envy is a great sin. Nothing to do with that just man; do nothing against him, or towards condemning him. All efforts of unrighteous magistrates to screen themselves from guilt in knowingly condemning the innocent or acquitting the guilty, will be fruitless. They may deceive themselves and their fellow-men, but they cannot deceive God. He will hold them responsible; and the measures they take to hide their guilt will only increase their wickedness, and aggravate their condemnation. It is a fearful thing to incur the guilt of blood. When unrighteously shed, it rises to heaven for vengeance. Pilate was stripped of his authority, and died in exile, it is said by his own hand. The state of the Jews for eighteen hundred years shows that the guilt of shedding the blood of Christ was awful, and that God is just. His blood be on us; we will bear the blame of his crucifixion: if divine judgments come, let them come on us and our children.