Examining Matthew 27:25

For nearly two millennia, Matthew 27:25 has been tragically misused to justify antisemitism and persecution of Jewish people. The verse records the Jewish crowd’s response to Pilate’s declaration of innocence regarding Jesus’ death: “And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’” This single verse has been weaponized to support claims of corporate Jewish guilt, inherited culpability across generations, and even a divine curse upon all Jewish people. However, a careful examination reveals that such interpretations are unfounded and contradict the overall message of the New Testament.

Historical and Biblical Context

Who were “all the people” who shouted for Jesus’ blood to be upon them and their children? In the context of the passage, this phrase refers specifically to the Jewish people who had gathered at the Praetorium—Pontius Pilate’s judicial courtyard—to witness Jesus’ trial. This crowd represented a tiny fraction of the Jewish population, numbering at most several hundred individuals.¹

To put this in perspective, the Jewish historian Josephus estimated that up to 2.7 million Jewish people traveled to Jerusalem for Passover celebrations every year.² The crowd at the Praetorium represented less than 0.01 percent of the Jewish people present in Jerusalem during that Passover, and a significantly smaller fraction of the broader Jewish population throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. The phrase “all the people” in this context is a localized reference, not a universal declaration encompassing all Jewish people across time and space.

We also need to keep in mind that this group excluded the large crowds of Jewish people who had welcomed Jesus as Messiah and King during His humble, yet triumphal, entry into Jerusalem just days earlier on, what Christians eventually call, “Palm Sunday” (Matthew 21:1–11; Zechariah 9:9). The crowd at the Praetorium was specifically composed of Jesus’ opponents, not representatives of the entire Jewish people.

The apostle Paul’s testimony in Acts 13:26–28 further confirms this limited scope. When preaching to Jewish people in a synagogue in present-day Turkey, Paul placed responsibility for Jesus’ death specifically on “those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers” (Acts 13:27). Significantly, Paul—himself a Jewish man speaking to fellow Jewish people—does not claim corporate Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death. Instead, he identified a specific group of people in a specific place at a specific time.

A Common Jewish Saying

Far from being a unique declaration of eternal guilt, Matthew 27:25 employs language that was a recognized saying in ancient Jewish speech. Similar expressions appear throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and ancient Jewish literature as standard ways of accepting or assigning responsibility.

Examples from the Hebrew Bible include Joshua 2:19 (“His blood shall be on his own head”), 2 Samuel 1:16 (“Your blood is on your head”), and 1 Kings 2:32 (“The Lord will return his blood on his own head”). In all of these examples, the phrase was used in a serious manner to assign responsibility.

The Babylonian Talmud, a sixth-century rabbinic work, also contains similar usage. For example, it states that if someone drinks water at night despite the danger, “his blood is on his head” (Avodah Zarah 12b). The widespread use of the phrase in Jewish texts indicates that Matthew was recording an authentic statement and common saying made by the crowd at the Praetorium. The crowd, not understanding Jesus’ true identity, was saying they assumed responsibility for Jesus’ death, while employing familiar language.

The New Testament’s Own Interpretation

The best argument against antisemitic readings of Matthew 27:25 comes from the New Testament itself. First, rather than presenting the crowd as intentionally murdering the Son of God, the New Testament consistently portrays their actions as committed in ignorance.

Just months after Jesus’ crucifixion, the apostle Peter preached to fellow Jewish people in Jerusalem declaring, “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also” (Acts 3:17). In the Torah, killing with intention constitutes murder and carries the death penalty (Genesis 9:6; Numbers 15:30–31), while killing in ignorance is considered manslaughter with a lesser penalty of exile (Numbers 35:11; Deuteronomy 4:42). For this reason, some Bible scholars consider the Jewish crowd present at the Praetorium guilty of manslaughter.³

Second, Jesus Himself prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). For followers of Jesus, this prayer of forgiveness should be the definitive word on how to understand Matthew 27:25. The assumption that God honored the crowd’s request to bear bloodguilt contradicts the gospel message of repentance, redemption, and forgiveness.

The book of Acts records that many of the same Jewish people who were present at the Praetorium later repented of their actions and became faithful followers of Jesus, with their sins forgiven (Acts 2:37–41, 6:7). Rather than bringing curse and condemnation, the blood that the crowd called upon themselves became the very means of their redemption.

The apostle Paul’s salvation story was like that of those present at the Praetorium, “Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor [of followers of Jesus] . . . I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant. . . . Messiah Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:13–15).

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Jesus said He voluntarily gave up His life to pay for the price of our sin. No one else—not even Pilate or the crowd at the Praetorium—had the power to take His life: “No one has taken [my life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:18). Jesus chose to lay His life down to pay the price for sin for all humankind: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8).

In conclusion, although Matthew 27:25 has been tragically misused throughout history to argue for the eternal, corporate guilt of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus, the New Testament reveals a very different message.

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¹ Brian J. Crawford, “Antisemitism and the New Testament: Avoiding the Hermeneutics of Hate,” Power Point presentation.

² Josephus, Jewish War 6.423–25.

³ Brian J. Crawford, “Antisemitism and the New Testament: Avoiding the Hermeneutics of Hate,” Power Point presentation.