11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
The Crowd Chooses Barabbas
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, 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.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
24 So 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.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Matthew 27: 11-26 ESV
Matthew 27: 11-26
Jesus stood before the governor - Pilate was the representative of Rome. Rome held the power of execution, Pilate was there for the feast time, to keep the Pax Romana (Peace), and he had already had issues with the Jewish leaders before. According to history it didn't favor him very well, and it would seem that this could take him to the three strikes rule. This is the setting and some of the history given in a MacArthur sermon from 1985:
But what would Pilate do now? He knows He doesn’t deserve to die and yet he doesn’t want to irritate the crowd and create another incident. His life is on the line. His career is on the line. He’s got some real problems. You see, Pilate was in a very dangerous position. Let me tell you why. When he originally came to power, he made some big mistakes. The first thing he did to make a show of power when he was appointed governor was to ride into Jerusalem with a whole entourage of soldiers to show his power. And in came the soldiers and they had these banners, these flags. And on top of the flags in brass or some kind of metal was an eagle and on top of the eagle was a molded image of Caesar. Prior governors had had the sense to remove those kinds of things because the Jews believed them to be idols – any graven image. And the Jews had left idolatry since the Babylonian captivity, they didn’t tolerate it. And the other governors had been careful about that, but Pilate, wanting to show his power, came in with his whole group of soldiers, all with the image of Caesar, which of course the Romans believed to be a god. And so here was an idol in the city of Jerusalem, the holy city. The Jews rioted and protested and demanded that he take those off his banners. In a power play, he refused to do it.
After accomplishing what he wanted to in his splendorous appearance in Jerusalem, he turned to return the 60 miles to the seacoast in Caesarea where his basic operation was headquartered, and they followed him for five days, screaming and rioting and demanding – sometimes patiently, sometimes impatiently – that he remove those graven images. He refused to do it. He called a meeting of all these rioting Jews. He put them in the amphitheater, surrounded them with his soldiers and said if they didn’t stop the demands, he would cut off their heads. At which point they bared their necks, pulled their heads to one side and told his soldiers to go ahead and cut off all their heads. And they called his bluff. There was no way he could do it. There was no way he could report back to Rome that he had massacred a whole bunch of defenseless Jews in an amphitheater with their necks bared.
Furthermore, it could have led to a wholesale national revolution. He couldn’t have survived that situation because he was sent to keep the peace, not start a war. They called his bluff. He removed all of those images. And they were one up on him. They had him where they wanted him. A little later, he realized the need for a better water supply in Jerusalem. So he decided to build an aqueduct to bring water into the city of Jerusalem. And to do it, he took the money out of the temple treasury, money which was devoted to God. This so greatly irritated the Jews that it fomented another riot which he had to deal with by sending his soldiers into a huge crowd of people with clubs and spears and swords and at a given signal they clubbed and stabbed people to death to break up the riot.
The third and really most devastating thing that happened to Pilate was when he established a residence in the city of Jerusalem and made some shields for his soldiers, and on the shields he had engraved “Tiberius, The Emperor.” Which to the Jewish people again was an emblem of a false god and they demanded that the shields be changed. And he refused to do that. And so they sent word to Tiberius. They reported him actually to Caesar that he was doing this. Caesar sent word down to get those shields changed immediately. So they have him right where they want him. - J Mac
Are you the king of the Jews - Why does he ask Him this? Well the Jews first accused Him of plotting against the temple, and then they switched to blasphemy because He called Himself the Son of God. Now they're in front of a Roman representative, and they want the death penalty, so they need something that will peak his interest. Rome has put down insurrections in the past, and if this man claims to be a king in the face of Caesar then the Jewish leaders may convince Pilate that He is a threat to Rome and the Pax Romana.
You have said so - He doesn't deny it, and we get more of the story behind this accusation in John's gospel.
28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. John 18: 28-40 ESV
6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. John 19: 6-16
So that the governor was greatly amazed - Everyone has a story, an excuse, but not Jesus. Pilate has probably had hundreds of men grovel before him, begging for their lives, but this guy is quiet. As John points out, Pilate could find no wrong in Jesus worthy of death. The Jews would except nothing but the death penalty, and moreover, God had chosen this to be His time, the Passover.
A notorious prisoner called Barabbas - He was a thief and probably worse. Jesus will be most likely on the cross meant for this thief, between his fellow robbers. Pilate puts it out there, hoping that the people will choose the innocent over the guilty, that Pilate can let Jesus go, and it's not a horrible idea. Jesus had healed many, fed thousands, was well known in the land, and I think also that Satan does not want Christ to go to the cross. Everything in the OT points towards Him, His being the covering in the garden, the first sacrifice, the Ram that takes the place of Isaac, the suffering servant, even His betrayal is attested to, and this is the point of the Passover Lamb, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Sin has a price, and it is the slave master of all who practice it, are born into it. Satan wanted Jesus to fail at His temptation in the wilderness, and He even tempted Him through His friend Peter. The Lord was tempted once again in the garden, the anxiety, the anguish of the moment pouring out through His pours. In order for God to be just and yet save men, then He has to pay the price for their freedom, and the devil doesn't want Jesus to succeed. Certainly all of hell will come at Him as He goes to Calvary, but it is the wrath of His Father that burdens Him the most, being forsaken so that I won't be.
For he knew it was out of envy - Surely they will choose Jesus and not a known criminal. Pilate plays his hand, and he sees through their egos, but they have worked up the crowd, and it is more fickle than he could imagine. Only days ago they shouted, "Hosanna", they gathered in large groups to be healed and hear Him teach, but now they scream for Barabbas. How is this possible?
His wife sent word to him - Have nothing to do with that righteous Man. Jesus was innocent, and His accusers were guilty, but no matter who tries to stop it, it is His destiny, for this reason He was born into this world.
Let Him be crucified - They will except no less, and God will except no less, what a paradox. They seek His life for evil and God seeks it to perform the greatest good. His death is both unfair and yet fair in it's acquisition, what it accomplishes is the necessity of redemption. He goes to the cross and the criminal walks away.
When Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing - He sees a riot, embarrassment, and ultimately, like most of us, he fears men more than God. He doesn't love the truth, he even asked what truth is, but one thing he doesn't want is the disappointment of Rome. They will say he made a mistake if he let's Jesus go and it turns into a riot. In the minds of those in the ivory tower, far away from here, they will say, "what's one man? Give Him to them and be done with it. Just keep the peace, there are 2 million people here for this festival, so give them Jesus." He's a politician and he doesn't want to kill Jesus, but he's a politician.
Washed his hands - Symbolism, as good as being baptized not knowing Who you believed in or what it means.
See to it yourselves - And what sort of innocence is this that watches, that throws Jesus, the Innocent, to the mob?
His blood be on us and our children - Wow, just wow, and on so many levels. He is the blood that was pictured for us on the doorpost. This is so necessary, yet they don't want Him to go that they might be saved. Mob justifications are so impulsive and fraught with self righteousness. They don't see His blood as the covering that they need, and so they handle it as murderers. It is an outrage that they were concerned about getting close to the gentiles, being defiled and so not able to participate in the Passover, yet they were here guilty of the most heinous of sins and oblivious.
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