Matthew 27:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

NIV: They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

NASB: And they stripped Him and put a red cloak on Him.

CSB: They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe.

NLT: They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.

KJV: And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

NKJV: And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

Matthew has written that all the soldiers in the battalion stationed at the governor's headquarters in Jerusalem have taken Jesus inside. Now they strip off the clothes He is wearing and drape a robe over His shoulders.

Much is made over the gospel accounts alternately describing the cloth as "purple" or as "scarlet" (Mark 15:17; John 19:5), as if this were a contradictory detail. It should be noted that color words can be vague, even in the modern world. Likewise, cultures don't assign individual words to a color unless they consider them notably different. Ancient peoples referred to the sea as "green," when modern people almost universally call the exact same colors "blue." The color "orange," likewise, was depicted as a shade of red or yellow until relatively recently. To ancient eyes, the difference in these terms is no more meaningful than modern debates over whether something is green-blue or blue-green.

Bible scholars suggest the robe was one of those worn by Roman military and civilian officials. The purpose is to dress Jesus in a deliberately silly caricature of a king. By giving Jesus a shoddy version of royal robe and crown, the soldiers can even more thoroughly mock Him for His "crime" of claiming to be the King of the Jews.

Matthew 27:27–31 describes Roman soldiers abusing Jesus inside the governor's headquarters. Most of this mistreatment occurred before His final sentencing, but Matthew continues to group events by theme more than by time. The soldiers strip off Jesus' clothes and dress Him as a mock king. They place a robe on Him, along with a crown made of thorns, and a reed for a scepter. Then the soldiers kneel before Jesus and sarcastically praise Him as the "King of Jews!" Finally, they spit on Jesus and hit Him with the reed before putting His own clothes back on His tattered body and leading Him off to be crucified. Further details are found in John 19:1–6.

When Judas learns Jesus has been condemned, he regrets betraying the Lord. He throws down his ill-gotten money and hangs himself. Jesus is taken to Pilate, who finds nothing to charge Him with. Given the choice, the people shout for the release of a convicted murderer and insist on Jesus' death. Jesus is mocked by a battalion of soldiers and then taken to be crucified. On the cross, He is mocked for not being able to save Himself. After three hours of darkness, Jesus dies. He is buried by a rich follower in a new tomb. This location is tightly guarded to prevent anyone from stealing the body.

Matthew 27 begins with an official meeting of the Jewish ruling council. They affirm Jesus' condemnation from the previous night, described in chapter 26. Judas confesses his betrayal and hangs himself. Pilate tries to release Jesus, but the mob shouts for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus is humiliated by Roman soldiers and marched to be executed. On the cross, He is mocked by Jewish religious leaders and others. He dies and is buried in a never-used tomb. Extensive efforts to secure His body from being stolen only serve to prove the miraculous nature of His resurrection, which is detailed in chapter 28.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.