a sovereign (abstractly · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
Israel
ἸσραήλIsraēl
G2474
Israel (i.e. Jisrael) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a place
him
καταβάτωkatabatō
G2597
to descend (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
now
νῦνnun
G3568
"now" (as adverb of date · adverb
down
καταβαίνωkatabaínō
G2597
to descend (literally or figuratively)
from
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
cross
σταυροῦ,staurou
G4716
a stake or post (as set upright) · noun — genitive singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
believe
πιστεύσομενpisteusomen
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — future active indicative, 1st person plural
him
αὐτόν.auton
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Matthew 27:37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Luke 19:38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
John 9:24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lo…
John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Acts 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 27:9
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying-- (Zac 11:12-13). Never was a complicated prophecy, otherwise hopelessly dark, more marvellously fulfilled. Various conjectures have been formed to account for Matthew's ascribing to Jeremiah a prophecy found in the book of Zechariah. But since with this book he was plainly familiar, having quoted one of its most remarkable prophecies of Christ but a few chapters before (Mat 21:4-5), the question is one more of critical interest than real importance. Perhaps the true explanation is the following, from LIGHTFOOT: "Jeremiah of old had the first place among the prophets, and hereby he comes to be mentioned above all the rest…
He saved others, himself he cannot save,.... This was not so much a concession of theirs, that he had done many saving works, as healing the sick, cleansing lepers, causing the blind to see, and the lame to walk, and raising the dead; but rather a suggestion, that these were only pretensions and illusions; that either they were not really done, or done by the help of the devil; since now he himself was in the utmost extremity, he could not save himself: but of this they might have been convinced by his striking many of them to the ground, that came to apprehend him in the garden, and of which these men were eyewitnesses; and he, as man, could easily have obtained of his Father more than twel…
Matthew 27:39-44
Matthew 27:39-44
Mark 15:29-32
Luke 23:35-37, 39-43
39. And they that passed by reviled him, shaking their heads, 40. And saying, Thou who destroyedst the temple, and buildedst it in three days, save thyself; if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41. In like manner also the chief priests 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 descend from the cross, and we will believe him. 43. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now, if he favors him; for he said, I am the Son of God. 44. The robbers also, who were crucified with him, upbraided him in the same manner.
29. And t…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 42.) He saved others, but he cannot save himself. Even unwillingly, the scribes and Pharisees confess that he saved others. Therefore, your own judgment condemns you. For if he, who saved others, had wanted to, he could have saved himself.
Even the Scribes and Pharisees reluctantly confess that He saved others. Your own judgment then condemns you, for in that He saved others, He could if He would have saved Himself. But unworthy of credit is that promise, And we will believe him. For which is greater, to come down while yet alive from the cross, or to rise from the tomb when dead? Yet this He did, and ye believed not; therefore neither would ye have believed if He had come down from the cross. It seems to me that this was a suggestion of the dæmons. For immediately when the Lord was crucified they felt the power of the cross, and perceived that their strength was broken, and therefore contrive this to move Him to come down from the cross. But the Lord, aware of the designs of His foes, remains on the cross that He may destroy the Devil.
(V. 43) If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver him now if He wants. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.' A fraudulent promise. What is more difficult, to come down from the cross while still alive, or to rise from the grave when dead? He has risen, and you did not believe. Therefore, even if he were to come down from the cross, you would not believe. But it seems to me that demons are sending him this message. For as soon as the Lord was crucified, they sensed the power of the cross and understood that their powers had been broken. And they are doing this in order for him to come down from the cross. But the Lord, knowing the snares of his adversaries, remains on the cross to destroy the devil.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Infidelity · 1:12; — 1:12;
Malefactors (Criminals) · Crucified with Jesus — Crucified with Jesus
Miracles · The wicked: Desire to see — The wicked: Desire to see
Mocking · The persecutors of Jesus mock him — The persecutors of Jesus mock him
Righteousness · The wicked: Speak contemptuously against those who follow — The wicked: Speak contemptuously against those who follow
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
if you are the Son of God: This taunt recalls Jesus’ temptation at the very beginning of his public ministry (4:1-11), in which the devil appealed to Jesus’ privileged status in order to tempt him to avoid suffering (see also 16:21-23).
