The Meaning of Matthew 27:42 Explained

Matthew 27:42

KJV: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

YLT: 'Others he saved; himself he is not able to save! If he be King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him;

Darby: He saved others, himself he cannot save. He is King of Israel: let him descend now from the cross, and we will believe on him.

ASV: He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He saved  others;  himself  he cannot  save.  If  he be  the King  of Israel,  let him  now  come down  from  the cross,  and  we will believe  him. 

What does Matthew 27:42 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The reference to His saving others probably goes back to Jesus" healing ministry. The religious leaders threw doubt on Jesus" healing ministry by claiming that He could not even heal His own condition. Perhaps these Jerusalemites were also recalling Jesus" triumphal entry and the cries of His mainly Galilean followers: "Save us now!" ( Matthew 21:9; Matthew 21:15). Of course, Jesus could have saved Himself from His suffering on the cross, but He could not have done so and provided salvation for humankind. In one sense the religious leaders spoke the truth.
The critics continued to point out Jesus" apparent helplessness. They implied that their failure to believe on Jesus was His fault. They promised to believe on Him if He would come down off the cross. If He had done Song of Solomon , there would have been no salvation for anyone (cf. Matthew 1:21; Matthew 8:16-17; Matthew 20:28; Matthew 26:26-29; Matthew 28:18-20). They may also have been ridiculing the belief of the simple Galileans who had become His disciples.

Context Summary

Matthew 27:32-44 - "where They Crucified Him"
He will not drink what would dull His keen sense of the momentous issues of the Cross. Those taunts were true. None who save themselves can save others. The cry of forsakenness, the midday midnight, the yielded spirit, the rent veil, the opened tombs, the sympathy of nature-all these proved that this was no common death, and were in keeping with everything that Scripture had foretold, 1 Peter 1:11.
Our Lord was wrapped in midnight, that He might be our "bright and morning star." He became obedient to death, that He might give eternal life. His heel was sorely wounded, that He might break the head of him that had the power of death, and might wear forever at His girdle the keys of death and Hades. Make His soul an offering for thy sin. Hide in the cleft which the soldier's spear opened in His side. He has made peace by the blood of His Cross; we have but to accept and be at rest. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 27

1  Jesus is delivered bound to Pilate
3  Judas hangs himself
19  Pilate, admonished of his wife,
20  and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands, and releases Barabbas
27  Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns;
33  crucified;
39  reviled;
50  dies, and is buried;
62  his tomb is sealed and watched

Greek Commentary for Matthew 27:42

He saved others; himself he cannot save [αλλους εσωσεν εαυτον ου δυναται σωσαι]
The sarcasm is true, though they do not know its full significance. If he had saved himself now, he could not have saved any one. The paradox is precisely the philosophy of life proclaimed by Jesus himself (Matthew 10:39). [source]
Let him now come down [καταβατω νυν]
Now that he is a condemned criminal nailed to the Cross with the claim of being “the King of Israel” (the Jews) over his head. Their spiteful assertion that they would then believe upon Jesus (επ αυτον — ep' auton) is plainly untrue. They would have shifted their ground and invented some other excuse. When Jesus wrought his greatest miracles, they wanted “a sign from heaven.” These “pious scoffers” (Bruce) are like many today who make factitious and arbitrary demands of Christ whose character and power and deity are plain to all whose eyes are not blinded by the god of this world. Christ will not give new proofs to the blind in heart. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 27:42

Luke 4:23 Physician, heal thyself []
A saying which Luke alone recordsand which would forcibly appeal to him as a physician. Galen speaks of a physician who should have cured himself before he attempted to attend patients. The same appeal was addressed to Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:40, Matthew 27:42). [source]
Luke 23:35 Scoffed [εχεμυκτηριζον]
Imperfect active, perhaps inchoative, began to turn up (out, εχ — ex) at the dying Christ. The language comes from Psalm 22:7.The Christ of God (ο Χριστος του τεου — ho Christos tou theou). He had claimed to be just this (Luke 22:67, Luke 22:70). The sarcastic sneer (he saved others; let him save others, for himself he cannot save) is in Mark 15:31; Matthew 27:42. Luke alone gives the contemptuous use of ουτος — houtos (this fellow) and the fling in “the elect” (ο εκλεκτος — ho eklektos). These rulers were having their day at last. [source]
Luke 23:35 The Christ of God [ο Χριστος του τεου]
He had claimed to be just this (Luke 22:67, Luke 22:70). The sarcastic sneer (he saved others; let him save others, for himself he cannot save) is in Mark 15:31; Matthew 27:42. Luke alone gives the contemptuous use of ουτος — houtos (this fellow) and the fling in “the elect” These rulers were having their day at last. [source]
Luke 4:23 This parable [την παραβολην ταυτην]
See discussion on Matthew 13. Here the word has a special application to a crisp proverb which involves a comparison. The word physician is the point of comparison. Luke the physician alone gives this saying of Jesus. The proverb means that the physician was expected to take his own medicine and to heal himself. The word παραβολη — parabolē in the N.T. is confined to the Synoptic Gospels except Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 11:19. This use for a proverb occurs also in Luke 5:36; Luke 6:39. This proverb in various forms appears not only among the Jews, but in Euripides and Aeschylus among the Greeks, and in Cicero‘s Letters. Hobart quotes the same idea from Galen, and the Chinese used to demand it of their physicians. The point of the parable seems to be that the people were expecting him to make good his claim to the Messiahship by doing here in Nazareth what they had heard of his doing in Capernaum and elsewhere. “Establish your claims by direct evidence” (Easton). This same appeal (Vincent) was addressed to Christ on the Cross (Matthew 27:40, Matthew 27:42). There is a tone of sarcasm towards Jesus in both cases.Heard done (ηκουσαμεν γενομενα — ēkousamen genomena). The use of this second aorist middle participle γενομενα — genomena after ηκουσαμεν — ēkousamen is a neat Greek idiom. It is punctiliar action in indirect discourse after this verb of sensation or emotion (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 1040-42, 1122-24).Do also here Ingressive aorist active imperative. Do it here in thy own country and town and do it now. Jesus applies the proverb to himself as an interpretation of their real attitude towards himself. [source]
John 18:33 King of the Jews []
The civil title. The theocratic title, king of Israel (John 1:49; John 12:13) is addressed to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:32) in mockery. [source]
1 Corinthians 1:23 Stumbling-block [σκανδαλον]
Papyri examples mean trap or snare which here tripped the Jews who wanted a conquering Messiah with a world empire, not a condemned and crucified one (Matthew 27:42; Luke 24:21). Foolishness (μωριαν — mōrian). Folly as shown by their conduct in Athens (Acts 17:32). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 27:42 mean?

Others He saved Himself not is He able to save King of Israel He is Let Him descend now from the cross and we will believe in Him
Ἄλλους ἔσωσεν ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται σῶσαι Βασιλεὺς Ἰσραήλ ἐστιν καταβάτω νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ πιστεύσομεν ἐπ’ αὐτόν

Ἄλλους  Others 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄλλος  
Sense: another, other.
ἔσωσεν  He  saved 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐκσῴζω 
Sense: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.
ἑαυτὸν  Himself 
Parse: Reflexive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἑαυτοῦ  
Sense: himself, herself, itself, themselves.
δύναται  is  He  able 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δύναμαι  
Sense: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
σῶσαι  to  save 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἐκσῴζω 
Sense: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.
Βασιλεὺς  King 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
Ἰσραήλ  of  Israel 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰσραήλ  
Sense: the name given to the patriarch Jacob (and borne by him in addition to his former name).
ἐστιν  He  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
καταβάτω  Let  Him  descend 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: καταβαίνω  
Sense: to go down, come down, descend.
νῦν  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
σταυροῦ  cross 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: σταυρός  
Sense: an upright stake, esp.
πιστεύσομεν  we  will  believe 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.