Matthew 27 - IVP New Testament Commentaries

The Crucifixion and Burial

The rest of the passion narrative merely carries through the expected plan set in motion by the events in the earlier part of the Gospel: Jesus' refugee status in childhood, the way his teachings infuriated the religious establishment, and his deliberate provocation of the rulers of the temple. Jesus' death defines the nature of his messiahship for a world accustomed to identifying rulers with human power.