In Matthew 27, we see Jesus taken before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate's main concern was avoiding a riot occurring during Passover. His job was already in jeopardy even before Jesus was taken before him to be questioned. This could at least partially explain why Pilate decided to allow Jesus to be executed when the Pharisees and chief priests stirred up the crowd and demanded Jesus' crucifixion.

Verse 11 records that, when Pilate asked if Jesus was King of the Jews, Jesus answered, "It is as you say." While the chief priests and elders were bringing all kinds of false accusations against him, Jesus did not answer their charges with even a single word. The other gospels record that their charges contradicted one another. The Pharisees and chief priests demanded that Jesus be executed, even though they had not proven any charge that even remotely warranted execution.

Verse 15 says that it was customary for the governor to release one prisoner that the people chose. A prisoner named Barabbas was being held for insurrection and murder. Pilate asked the people whether they wanted him to release Jesus or Barabbas. It is important to note that during Jesus' trials before both Pilate and Herod neither one of them found any basis for the charges against him. He was never actually convicted of anything. Verse 19 records that Pilate's wife had a message sent to him warning him not to have anything to do with Jesus and that she had suffered greatly in a dream because of him.

The chief priests and Pharisees protested and stirred up the crowd to support their demand that Barabbas be released and that Jesus be crucified. It needs to be remembered that in that culture, crucifixion was considered to be so shameful that it wasn't even mentioned in polite speech. Even though we preach on Jesus' death often in church, which we absolutely should do, in that culture it was considered impolite to even mention the cross.

When Pilate saw that he wasn't getting anywhere in convincing the crowd of Jesus' innocence, but instead a riot was starting, he told the crowd that he washed his hands of Jesus' blood and that they are responsible for what is going to happen to him. The people accepted the responsibility for what was about to happen. Barabbas was then released but Jesus was beaten severely and handed over to be crucified.

The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus and put a scarlet robe on him. Purple or scarlet were associated with royalty. They twisted thorns together and put a crown of thorns on his head and put a reed in his hand. They mockingly knelt before him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" After that they took the scarlet robe off of him and gave back his own clothes. Then they took him to be crucified.

Because of the amount of blood he had lost in the severe beating, Jesus had difficulty carrying his cross to the site where he and two thieves were to be crucified. Verse 32 records that the Roman soldiers pressed a man named Simon of Cyrene into service to carry Jesus' cross for him. Cyrene is in modern Libya. Church history has it that Simon of Cyrene's sons were instrumental in founding the church in Cyrene. Perhaps he is mentioned by name in Matthew's gospel because he would have had a fair amount of notoriety for his role and that of his sons in founding the church in Cyrene.

Jesus, Simon of Cyrene, and the two robbers who were also being crucified were led to a place outside of Jerusalem called Golgotha. "Golgotha" is Aramaic for "The Skull." The writer has visited one of the sites that could possibly be Golgotha and recalls that it actually does look like a skull. The name "Calvary" does not appear in Scripture, but the Latin word for "skull" is "calvaria," which is where we get the English word, "Calvary."

Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall to drink, but Matthew records that Jesus was unwilling to drink it. It appears that this was a kind of painkiller, but since Jesus was doing this to pay for human sin, it was necessary that he bear its full weight. That rules out having it mitigated by a mild painkiller. While Jesus was on the cross, the soldiers cast lots for the clothes of those condemned. "Casting lots" was a form of gambling, but exactly what the rules of this game were or what form the game took is unclear to us.

Onlookers were also mocking him, challenging Jesus to save himself if he could indeed tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days. The people failed to understand that when Jesus talked about tearing down the temple, he was referring to his death and resurrection. The actual temple was destroyed some forty years later by the Romans. Other people mocked Jesus by saying that they would believe if he saved himself or, since Jesus was the Son of God, let God save him if God indeed approved of him. They didn't know that God was paying the price for their sin and that they were witnessing the fulfillment of hundreds of years of Scriptural prophecy.

Verse 45 says that darkness fell over the whole land about the sixth hour, that is, around noon. About the ninth hour, or 3 PM, Jesus cried out in Aramaic, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He was quoting Psalm 22:1 when he said this. Some thought he was calling Elijah at that point. Jesus then again cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit. It is believed the last words out of his mouth before he died were, "It is finished." He was saying that his work of paying for human sin was complete.

At that point, the veil that sealed off the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn in two. Previously, only the high priest could enter that place once a year on the Day of Atonement. This torn veil symbolized our immediate and unlimited access to God, which is what God had actually wanted from the beginning. Matthew records that the tombs were opened and many bodies of saints who had died were raised from the dead. These saints came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and appeared to many people.

The centurion, who was close to the place where Jesus had been crucified, proclaimed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, when an earthquake struck just after Jesus died.

Jesus was then laid in a borrowed tomb, which belonged to Joseph of Aramathea. Joseph of Aramathea was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He had not consented to the plot to kill Jesus, but had rather become a disciple of Jesus. After Jesus' body had been laid in the tomb, some Roman soldiers were stationed outside of the tomb to keep anyone from stealing the body. In addition, the governor's seal was put over the tomb.

Some later argued that the disciples could have taken the body, but this is highly unlikely, since they were afraid the Romans were going to come after them, too. Besides this, in the Roman army at that time, allowing a prisoner to escape, falling asleep on duty, or breaking the governor's seal were all capital offenses. It seems highly unlikely that disciples who were afraid for their lives could have overpowered the soldiers or that the soldiers would have fallen asleep on duty and given someone the opportunity to take the body.

 
* from the Expositor's Bible Commentary