The Meaning of Matthew 27:37 Explained

Matthew 27:37

KJV: And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

YLT: and they put up over his head, his accusation written, 'This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.'

Darby: And they set up over his head his accusation written: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

ASV: And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  set up  over  his  head  his  accusation  written,  THIS  IS  JESUS  THE KING  OF THE JEWS. 

What does Matthew 27:37 Mean?

Study Notes

This is
Cf Mark 15:26 ; Luke 23:38 ; John 19:19 These accounts supplement, but do not contradict one another. No one of the Evangelists quotes the entire inscription. All have "The King of the Jews." Luke adds to this the further words, "This is"; Matthew quotes the name, "Jesus"; whilst John gives the additional words "of Nazareth." The narratives combined give the entire inscription: "This is Matthew, Luke Jesus Matthew,John of Nazareth John the King of the Jews" all.

Verse Meaning

Often the Romans wrote the charge against the crucified criminal on a white tablet with red or black ink and attached it to his cross. Pilate had Jesus" charge written in Aramaic, Greek, and Latin ( John 19:20). He meant it to be insulting to the Jews. The title "King of the Jews" meant "Messiah" to the Jews. Pilate meant that Jesus was a messianic pretender, but of course He was indeed the Messiah. Pilate ironically stated what Matthew wanted his readers to understand, that Jesus was the Messiah that the Old Testament had predicted: Son of God and Suffering Servant.
""This is Jesus the King of the Jews" is actually the theme of the book, though it here is used in sheer derision." [1]
The full accusation, compiled by comparing the various Gospel accounts, was evidently "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (cf. Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19).
"In one sense, this title proved to be the first "Gospel tract" ever written." [2]
I regard this verse as the key verse in Matthew"s Gospel because it states concisely Matthew"s message.

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 27:37

His accusation [την αιτιαν αυτου]
The title This inscription gave the name and home, Jesus of Nazareth, and the charge on which he was convicted, the King of the Jews and the identification, This is. The four reports all give the charge and vary in the others. The inscription in full was: This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. The three languages are mentioned only by John (John 19:20), Latin for law, Hebrew (Aramaic) for the Jews, Greek for everybody. The accusation (charge, cause, αιτια — aitia) correctly told the facts of the condemnation. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 27:37

Mark 15:26 The superscription of his accusation []
Matthew, simply accusation; Luke, superscription; John, title. See on Matthew 27:37. [source]
Mark 15:26 The superscription [η επιγραπη]
The writing upon the top of the cross (our word epigraph). Luke 23:38 has this same word, but Matthew 27:37 has “accusation” See Matthew for discussion. John 19:19 has “title” (τιτλον — titlon). [source]
Luke 23:38 A superscription [επιγραπη]
Mark 15:26 has “the superscription of his accusation” Matthew 27:37, “his accusation,” John 19:19 “a title.” But they all refer to the charge written at the top on the cross giving, as was the custom, the accusation on which the criminal was condemned, with his name and residence. Put all the reports together and we have: This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. This full title appeared in Latin for law, in Aramaic for the Jews, in Greek for everybody (John 19:20). [source]
John 18:38 Fault [αἰτίαν]
Properly, cause of accusation. Rev., crime. See on Matthew 27:37, and compare note on Matthew 19:10. [source]
John 18:38 What is truth? [τι εστιν αλητεια]
This famous sneer of Pilate reveals his own ignorance of truth, as he stood before Incarnate Truth (John 14:6). Quid est veritas? The answer in Latin is Vir est qui adest as has been succinctly said by the use of the same letters. Pilate turned with indifference from his own great question and rendered his verdict: “I find no crime in him” For this use of αιτια — aitia see Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26. Pilate therefore should have set Jesus free at once. [source]
John 19:19 Pilate wrote a title also [εγραπσεν και τιτλον ο Πειλατος]
Only John tells us that Pilate himself wrote it and John alone uses the technical Latin word titlon (several times in inscriptions), for the board with the name of the criminal and the crime in which he is condemned; Mark (Mark 15:26) and Luke (Luke 23:28) use επιγραπη — epigraphē (superscription). Matthew (Matthew 27:37) has simply αιτιαν — aitian (accusation). The inscription in John is the fullest of the four and has all in any of them save the words “this is” (ουτος εστιν — houtos estin) in Matthew 27:37. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 27:37 mean?

And they put up over the head of Him the accusation written This is Jesus the King of the Jews
καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ τὴν αἰτίαν γεγραμμένην ΟΥΤΟΣ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΙΗΣΟΥΣ Ο ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΩΝ

ἐπέθηκαν  they  put  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐπιτίθημι  
Sense: in the active voice.
ἐπάνω  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπάνω  
Sense: above.
κεφαλῆς  head 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: κεφαλή  
Sense: the head, both of men and often of animals.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
αἰτίαν  accusation 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: αἰτία  
Sense: cause, reason.
γεγραμμένην  written 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.
ΟΥΤΟΣ  This 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ΙΗΣΟΥΣ  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ  King 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
ΤΩΝ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ΙΟΥΔΑΙΩΝ  Jews 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: Ἰουδαῖος  
Sense: Jewish, belonging to the Jewish race.

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