Matthew 27:16-17 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 27:11-25

We have here an account of what passed in Pilate's judgment?hall, when the blessed Jesus was brought thither betimes in the morning. Though it was no court?day, Pilate immediately took his case before him. We have there, I. The trial Christ had before Pilate. 1. His arraignment; Jesus stood before the governor, as the prisoner before the judge. We could not stand before God because of our sins, nor lift up our face in his presence, if Christ had not been thus made sin for us. He was arraigned... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 27:16

And they had then a notable prisoner ,.... The Vulgate Latin reads, "he had"; that is, Pilate, who had committed him to prison, and under whose power he was: for the Jews had lost all authority of this kind, at least in capital cases. This prisoner is called a "notable" one; that is, a famous, or rather an infamous one: he was a thief, and a robber, and had been guilty of sedition; had made, or joined with others in an insurrection, and had committed murder in it; and so, on more accounts... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 27:17

Therefore when they were gathered together ,.... Meaning not the chief priests and elders; for these were together before, but the common people; and so the Persic version renders the words, when the people increased into a multitude: for it was to them the release of a prisoner was to be made, and so the proposal of one; and it was at their option, who should be the person; for it was "whom they would", as in Matthew 27:15 , and where the Ethiopic version adds, "and should choose". ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:16

A notable prisoner - Barabbas - This person had, a short time before, raised an insurrection in Jerusalem, in which it appears, from Mark 15:7 , some lives were lost. In some MSS., and in the Armenian and Syriac Hieros., this man has the surname of Jesus. Professor Birch has discovered this reading in a Vatican MS., written in 949, and numbered 354, in which is a marginal note which has been attributed to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch, and to Chrysostom, which asserts that in the most... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:11-25

Christ before Pilate. I. THE ACCUSATION . 1 . Pilate ' s question. Pilate was proud and cruel; he despised and hated the Jews. But he had something of the old Roman love of justice—he would not condemn the Lord unheard, as the Jews at first desired ( John 18:30 , John 18:31 ). He rejected their request contemptuously, "Take ye him, and judge him according to your Law." They kept back at first the charge of blasphemy, which they knew Pilate would dismiss at once, as Gallio... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:11-31

The actors in a momentous tragedy. The scene is laid in Jerusalem, in the palace of the Roman governor. The occasion is the trial of the Lord Jesus for his life. The whole human race and all the ages are interested. Behold— I. THE PRISONER AT THE BAR . 1 . " Now Jesus stood before the governor. " 2 . Listen to his confession. 3 . Mark his silence . II. THE WITNESSES IN COURT . 1 . The leaders were the rulers of the Jews . (a) In their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:15-26

Barabbas preferred to Jesus. ( Mark 15:6-15 ; Luke 23:17-25 ; John 18:39 , John 18:40 .) read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:15-30

Christ before Pilate. No. 2. The other evangelists tell us of Pilate's first and fatal mistake, in offering, while convinced of his Prisoner's innocence, to chastise him and let him go. He showed the Jews he was afraid of them; and from this point onwards we see him tossed between his own convictions and his fears—a type of all who in their own souls have convictions about Christ and their duty to him, which they do not act out lest they thereby incur loss or abuse. Apparently, before the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:16

They had then a notable prisoner. The plural verb must refer to the multitude, to whose class the man belonged. The Vulgate, with Origen, reads, "he had," habebat, referring to Pilate, whose prisoner he was. The man was notorious; as St. Mark tells us, "He lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, men who had committed murder in the insurrection." We have no account elsewhere of this particular rising, nor of its leader, but such commotions were very common, and under the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:17

Therefore when ( when then, οὖν ) they were gathered together. The illative particle refers to the fact just mentioned that the notorious Barabbas was at that time in prison. The multitude, together with the Sanhedrists summoned from their meeting in the temple, were gathered at the doors of the Praetorium, when Pilate came out and spoke to them. Whom will ye that I release unto you? He had great hope that their answer would favour Jesus. When it came to choosing between a vile... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 27:11-25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 27:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 27:17

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:11-25

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:11-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:15-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:15-30

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:17

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