39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
Matthew now turns to those who mock Jesus (vv. 39-44).
27:39
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
The general populace now mocked Jesus. They were probably walking down the road near Golgotha. Blasphemy here means derision. The Greek indicates that they were constantly hurling derision at Jesus (imperfect tense).
27:40
and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
The Bible prophesied that the general public would mock Jesus (Ps 22:6-8). They used His own words against Him and mocked His claim to be God and viewed Him as a charlatan. They threw His claims in His face.
27:41
Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
Not only did the general public mock Jesus, but religious leaders did as well. This probably refers to the Sanhedrin, the major leadership body of Israel.
27:42
“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
The mockery by the religious leaders accused Jesus of duplicity; they said He claimed to save others but could not save Himself. But If Jesus had come down from the cross, He would have aborted His mission.
27:43
He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
They added the word “now” to Ps 22:8. The religious leaders put their own time schedule on things.
27:44
Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
Both robbers hurled insults against Jesus.
PRINCIPLE:
Mockery of Jesus is an expression of unbelief.
APPLICATION:
Many people hear the words of Jesus but miss the truth of what He said. There are always those who are awed by His miracles but have no desire to accept His sacrificial death for their sins. People want success and material wealth, but Jesus did not provide that. If Jesus had come down from the cross, those who saw it would not have believed.
