Pilate


Matthew 27:11-26
11Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”
12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
13Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”
14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
15Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.
16And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
17So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
18For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.
19Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
21The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”
22Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”
23And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
24So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”
25And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

As The Passion progresses, Jesus now lay in the hands of the Romans. The Jews could not enforce a death sentence. That required the power of the government. So the chief priests and elders turn Him over to Pilate. Pilate is a Roman official who has been assigned this area. He has quite a bit of power but is himself under the thumb of the Caesars. There had been a few uprising in the area of Israel already and he was under pressure to keep the peace. The possibility of another riot made him wary of the threats from the Jews that they would cause trouble. Now Jesus stands before him and even Pilate can see that He is innocent.

Jesus silence before Pilate is remarkable. Whenever we are accused our first impulse is to defend ourselves. This is especially true if we know that we are innocent. But Jesus remains silent before Pilate other than to agree with the identity that Pilate has placed upon Him. How many of us could simply stand there and say nothing? Meanwhile, the Jewish leadership is stirring up the crowd. The mob has a voice and it is loud. “Crucify Him” is their cry. Even Pilate’s attempt to mollify the mob doesn’t work as they agree to free a convicted criminal instead of Jesus. Hatred runs deep.

As we stand on this side of history and observe these events we are shocked and horrified. Yet all of this plays out to our advantage because Jesus stays the course and completes His work. This appearance before Pilate is just a part of the process. Jesus has His eyes fixed on the cross and our salvation. He suffers mightily under Pilate’s control but all of it moves Him closer to the goal. We are horrified and saved all in the same moment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more