And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
Parallel translations
- WEB and they sat and watched him there.
- KJV And sitting down they watched him there;
- NKJV Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
- NASB And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.
- NLT Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The soldiers sit down to keep watch over the crucified Jesus. They guard Him as He suffers.
Overview
Having carried out the execution, the soldiers settle to watch and ensure the sentence is fulfilled. Their detached vigil contrasts with the cosmic significance of the death taking place before them. One of these very watchers will later confess Jesus as the Son of God when the signs appear.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 27:54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
- Mark 15:44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.
- Mark 15:39When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 27:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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