Matthew 27:2

27:2 They ¹  tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate ²  the governor. ³ 

Matthew 27:11

Jesus and Pilate

27:11 Then ⁴  Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, ⁵  “Are you the king ⁶  of the Jews?” Jesus ⁷  said, “You say so.” ⁸ 

Matthew 27:14-15

27:14 But he did not answer even one accusation, so that the governor was quite amazed.

27:15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, ⁹  whomever they wanted.

Matthew 27:21

27:21 The ¹⁰  governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!”

Matthew 27:27

27:27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence ¹¹  and gathered the whole cohort ¹²  around him.

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¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² tc Most mss (A C W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 Ï latt) have Ποντίῳ (Pontiw, “Pontius”) before Πιλάτῳ (Pilatw, “Pilate”), but there seems to be no reason for omitting the tribal name, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding “Pontius,” however, is a natural expansion on the text, and is in keeping with several other NT and patristic references to the Roman governor (cf. Luke 3:1; Acts 4:27; 1 Tim 6:13; Ign. Magn. 11.1; Ign. Trall. 9.1; Ign. Smyrn. 1.2; Justin Martyr, passim). The shorter reading, supported by א B L 0281 33 pc co, is thus strongly preferred.

³ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it from being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁵ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁶ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 26:64.

⁹ sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39).

¹⁰ tn Grk “answering, the governor said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹¹ tn Or “into their headquarters”; Grk “into the praetorium.”

sn The governor’s residence (Grk “praetorium”) was the Roman governor’s official residence. The one in Jerusalem may have been Herod’s palace in the western part of the city, or the fortress Antonia northwest of the temple area.

¹² sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.