27When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death.聽2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.聽4He said, 鈥業 have sinned by betraying innocent blood.鈥� But they said, 鈥榃hat is that to us? See to it yourself.鈥櫬�5Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.聽6But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, 鈥業t is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.鈥櫬�7After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter鈥檚 field as a place to bury foreigners.聽8For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.聽9Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, 鈥楢nd they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price,聽10and they gave them for the potter鈥檚 field, as the Lord commanded me.鈥�
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, 鈥楢re you the King of the Jews?鈥� Jesus said, 鈥榊ou say so.鈥櫬�12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer.聽13Then Pilate said to him, 鈥楧o you not hear how many accusations they make against you?鈥櫬�14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted.聽16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas.聽17So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, 鈥榃hom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?鈥櫬�18For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over.聽19While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, 鈥楬ave nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.鈥櫬�20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed.聽21The governor again said to them, 鈥榃hich of the two do you want me to release for you?鈥� And they said, 鈥楤arabbas.鈥櫬�22Pilate said to them, 鈥楾hen what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?鈥� All of them said, 鈥楲et him be crucified!鈥櫬�23Then he asked, 鈥榃hy, what evil has he done?鈥� But they shouted all the more, 鈥楲et him be crucified!鈥�
24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 鈥業 am innocent of this man鈥檚 blood; see to it yourselves.鈥櫬�25Then the people as a whole answered, 鈥楬is blood be on us and on our children!鈥櫬�26So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
"New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
Transcript
Matthew follows Mark鈥檚 basic structure, though he includes the additional episodes of Judas鈥� suicide and a warning being sent to Pilate by his wife on the basis of a dream. Most importantly, he expands upon the exchange between Pilate and the crowd. Although as in Mark, the chief priests induce the crowd to insist on Jesus鈥� crucifixion, the Matthean Pilate takes the dramatic step of washing his hands of the affair. The crowd then takes the responsibility for the shedding of Jesus鈥� blood upon themselves and on their children.
Over the centuries, Christians claimed that all Jews in all times and places were thus placed under a divine curse. Such a construal has been rejected in Catholic teaching. As聽Nostra Aetate聽states, 鈥淛ews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from Holy Scripture.鈥� But what argument was聽Matthew聽making in presenting the scene in this way? Two parables told a little earlier by the Matthean Jesus while teaching in the Temple are important.
In the parable of the guests invited to a wedding feast, the messengers are ultimately killed. In Matthew鈥檚 version of this parable, unlike Luke鈥檚, the king sends his troops and destroys the city of the murderers. Clearly, Matthew, writing after the event, is alluding here to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70. In the parable of the Wicked Tenants, the Matthean Jesus directly warns the chief priests that their leadership of the people of Israel is going to be taken from them because they have not produced the fruits desired by God. Instead, leadership of Israel will be transferred to other Jews who聽shall聽do God鈥檚 will. These others are Jews who follow the teaching of Jesus, the members of the Matthean church.
Considering all these passages together, it should be noted that the destruction of the Temple, about forty years after Jesus鈥� crucifixion, was a traumatic event for Jews, including the members of Matthew鈥檚 church. After the Temple was destroyed, different Jewish groups blamed one another for the calamity. Matthew does the same thing, but, of course, his explanation focuses on Jesus. He shows the chief priests as leading the people astray by persuading them to demand Jesus鈥� death. Matthew argues that that generation of Jerusalemites and the next one, their children, was therefore punished by the Roman devastation of the city.
Matthew contends that the leadership of Israel now belongs to those Jews who follow the Torah given by Jesus, in other words, leadership now belongs to the Jewish churches. In Matthew鈥檚 view, the Jewish churches are now living the way God wants Jews to live in a world with a Temple. As part of the competition for leadership, Matthew warns his fellow Jews not to follow the emerging leadership of the Pharisees. Comparing them to the corrupt chief priests of Jesus鈥� time, Matthew warns that following them will also bring disaster. Matthew鈥檚 presentation of the scene of Jesus before the Roman prefect, then, is shaped according to the particular situation of Matthew鈥檚 Jewish church in the aftermath of the Temple鈥檚 destruction.