All
the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
Matthew 27:25
Matthew 27 [24.] So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.”
Matthew 27 [25.] All the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
Matthew 27 [26.] Then he released to them Barabbas, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. They stripped him, and put a scarlet robe on him. They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. When they had mocked him, they took the robe off of him, and put his clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Meaning:
Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was starting. He took water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it” (Matthew 27:24). The crowd answered with these words, found only in Matthew.
- “May his blood be on us”
In the Old Testament, “blood” on someone’s head meant responsibility for a death. The law even had a ceremony in which the elders of a town washed their hands over a sacrifice and said, “Our hands have not shed this blood” (Deuteronomy 21:6-7). Pilate used a similar gesture to deny responsibility, and the crowd shouted that they would take it. In the heat of the moment they were so sure Jesus deserved death that they accepted the guilt for it. Not long afterwards the high priest complained that the apostles intended “to bring this man’s blood on us” (Acts 5:28).
Pilate could not wash away his guilt with water, and the crowd could not take all of it from him. Pilate, the leaders and the crowd each bore responsibility for what they did that day.
- “and on our children!”
These words have been tragically misused. For centuries some claimed they placed a curse on all Jewish people, and this was used to justify hatred and violence. That reading is false to Scripture. God says plainly, “the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son” (Ezekiel 18:20). Jesus and all his first disciples were Jews. As he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
- The blood that cleanses
There is a deeper irony here. The crowd spoke of Jesus’ blood as guilt, but his blood is the means of forgiveness. At the Last Supper Jesus said, “this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Weeks later, in the same city, Peter preached to the people of Jerusalem, and thousands were “cut to the heart.” He told them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins,” adding, “For the promise is to you, and to your children” (Acts 2:38-39). The blood the crowd called down in judgment was offered to them and their children as mercy.
The Significance of Matthew 27:25
- No room for hatred
Every human being shares in the sin that sent Jesus to the cross, and every human being is offered forgiveness through it. Using this verse to blame a people is a denial of the gospel.
- Taking responsibility
Pilate tried to wash his hands of the matter. The way to God is not to shift blame, but to own our sin and come to the one whose blood cleanses.
Cross-References:
Matthew 27:24: "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it." Pilate’s attempt to escape guilt.
Ezekiel 18:20: "the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father," Each person answers for his own sin.
Acts 2:38-39: "For the promise is to you, and to your children," Forgiveness offered to Jerusalem.
Conclusion: When Pilate washed his hands, the crowd cried, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!” accepting responsibility for Jesus’ death. The verse must never be used to blame a people, for Scripture teaches that children do not bear their fathers’ guilt, and Jesus prayed for those who crucified him. The blood they called down in judgment became the blood of the new covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of all who repent.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible