Matthew 27:41-44 41So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocking him said, 42“He saved others, but he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God; let him deliver now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44And in the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also insulted him.
The third mockery comes from the Jewish leaders, the ones who schemed to get him executed. These were the leaders of the people. The way the leaders go is usually the way the people go. But not everyone followed the way of mockery, as verses 55-56 indicate. The insults of the chief priest, scribes, and elders reveals a lot. They may have intended their words to be a rebuke and insult, but they actually contain a lot of truth, which shows that the leaders knew the truth but just refused to believe. They state the truth in three clear declarations, but then in three clarifications, they give the reason why they will not believe each truth. Matthew may have intentionally organized the narrative in this way.
The first statement expresses the focus of Jesus’ ministry: saving people. His very name means “Savior” (1:21). What the Jews meant by this claim cannot be known. They could be referring to how Jesus saved people from sickness and demons. They could not believe that he provided eternal life, as he stated in John 3:16. They attached the proof of his salvation to his ability to save himself. In their selfishness, they could not understand why someone would not defend himself and do whatever he could to get free. Their ridicule was a test of Jesus’ divinity.
The second declaration they make is that Jesus was the King of Israel. The problem for them was that he was not the type of king they wanted. They wanted a political king who would come in power and restore Israel to its glory days. They had a selective interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. They chose what parts they liked of Scripture they liked, and Jesus did not fit their interpretation. They also wanted to stay in power and influence, and Jesus was a threat to that. Their condition is like the first. Jesus had to save himself and come down from the cross. They missed the whole theological significance of the cross because of their calloused and selfish thinking.
The third declaration recognizes Jesus’ relationship of trust in the Father. The Jews saw something unique with Jesus that could not be denied but could be rejected. Everything Jesus did was according to the will of his heavenly Father. They even heard what he claimed as the Son of God. Matthew does not record Jesus ever saying that explicitly, but much of what he said and did implies that. Other entities recognize his deity, such as the devil (4:3, 6), demons (8:29), and disciples (14:33). The condition is for God to come to Jesus’ rescue and get him off the cross. God’s deliverance would not come this way but in the even more powerful and dramatic way of resurrection.
The three statements of mockery echo the temptations of Satan during Jesus’ fasting in the desert. Satan tried to get Jesus to prove his sonship. Jesus’ proof would come in the form of perfect obedience to death on the cross. There was no greater way to model the goal of discipleship. The cross calls for total faith, the complete consecration of ourselves to the will of God.
Sadly, the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus followed the way of the world in rejecting Jesus. Luke 23:39-43 expands that part of the story, but Matthew is brief and focuses on people’s rejection of his power and authority as King and Savior. The way he recounts this story may intentionally both warn the readers about rejecting Jesus and invite them to recognize who Jesus truly is.
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