Recapitulation
In Matthew 27:11-31,
Jesus has just been condemned by the Jewish leadership but they cannot legally
execute anyone. Furthermore, the trial was rigged with false witnesses who
couldn’t even get their own stories straight.
And in the end, they justified their sentence based on a charge of
blasphemy. He couldn’t really be the
Messiah, the Son of God, they thought, so His claim in open court was blasphemy. But even this charge was an afterthought. They were not so concerned about God as much
as themselves. They did not want to lose
their current prestige, position, and power in the kingdom of Judea for a
position in the promised Kingdom of God. Jesus had said the kingdom of God must
be more important than anyone or anything in this world.
The Handoff
But there was just one legal snag in getting rid of the King.
Only the Romans could carry out capital punishment. So, they handed Him off to the Roman governor
with some completely false charges that had no connection with the blasphemy
charge by the Sanhedrin the night before.
Matthew does not go into the details of this exchange with
Pilate—nor does Mark—but Luke tells us more about how they misrepresented the
charges, saying that “He forbids giving tax tribute to Caesar” (and claims to
be a king). But in truth, less than a
week ago, Jesus had said clearly that they ought to “render to Caesar the
things that are his.” It is apparent,
when comparing the four gospel accounts, that Pilate had to go back and forth
between the palace gate (or, more likely, a window overlooking the gate) and
the judgment hall because Jesus was within while the Jews refused to enter the
home of a Gentile lest they be defiled and forbidden to eat the Passover. (It is okay to lie and murder but not okay to
miss eating the Passover! Later, Paul wrote that the Law can’t save you because
when you fail in one point you have failed in all)
Pilate’s Cross Examination
Matthew condemns this turn of events and gets straight to
Pilate’s questioning of Jesus. It is
obvious that Pilate felt he has benefited from his interview with the leaders standing
at the gate regarding the (false) charges.
So, he asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews.” This is one of Matthew’s great themes: Jesus
is the King. He replied the same way He had done with the Jewish leaders— “You
said it.”
But Jesus only seems to reply to questions about the truth
and will not reply to false accusations, Pilate’s frustration begins to grow as
noted by Matthew. Pilate is amazed by
this because the system expected the prisoner to defend himself by talking his
way out. Pilate quickly understands that
Jesus is innocent and these Jews are envious of Him but he can do nothing if
the charges go unanswered.
The Side Trip to Herod
It is at this point that Pilate decides to mix things up and
sends Jesus to Herod Antipas (the son of Herod the Great who tried to kill the
infant Jesus in Bethlehem). He happens to be present in his palace in
Jerusalem. This Herod is a provincial ruler that had local jurisdiction over
Galilee and Perea where Jesus was known to have done most of his ministry. Judea, Samaria and Idumea (former Edom) was
originally ruled by another son of Herod, Archelaus, but the rule had passed to
a Roman proconsul to keep better control of the unruly province. Matthew says nothing about this side trip
since Herod, too, thought Jesus was innocent, but for a joke he had Him arrayed
in a royal robe and sent back. This tag
team action endeared the two formerly quarreling rulers to each other.
Pilate’s wife
had even gotten involved, sending her husband a message to free Jesus because
she had suffered a disturbing dream about Him.
While the Romans were strong believers in omens, Pilate was also fearful
of how Tiberias Caesar would view his handling of things this day, should a
riot break out. He had previously
incurred the wrath of Caesar by ignoring the pleas of the Jews at his mounting
the shields of the legion on the outer walls of the fortress. Caesar had forced him to back down.
Let the People Decide
So, Pilate, like the Sanhedrin, was forced to make a
choice. On the one hand, it is evident
that he believed in fairness and justice as an ideal. He believed that Jesus was innocent. But he also feared for the wrath of Caesar if
he did not control these crazy Jews. To
promote goodwill, he had customarily released a prominent prisoner every
Passover. The people loved him for it. So, he decided to pit the will of the common
people against their leaders. He knew
Jesus had been very popular even here in Jerusalem as he had seen the previous
Sunday. So, he proposed to let the
people choose between two prisoners: Jesus Christ or Jesus Barabbas. Barabbas was a notorious leader of a failed
insurrection who was on death row for murder.
Many ancient Bible manuscripts include his first name (Jesus) but in
many others pious medieval copyists removed it feeling that the name was
preposterous blasphemy. In effect, the
people could choose which Jesus would be released. Pilate probably thought that if it were a
popularity contest, Jesus Christ would win and the leaders would lose and
justice would be served. No one manipulates Pilate.
The Rabble is Roused
It is at this point while the people are mulling over their
choice and Pilate was conferring with his wife that the high priests were
busily stirring up the people to vote for Jesus Barabbas. As Pilate returned to the window overlooking
the gate, the crowd had multiplied and seeing him, they cried, “Give us
Barabbas. Crucify Jesus Christ. His blood be on us and on our children.”
The King Rejected
So, Pilate washed his hands in front of them signifying that
he was allowing their condemnation (not his) to stand. This day, Jesus had been declared innocent
five times, but He would be crucified nevertheless. The people had chosen their Jesus (which means
Savior). In recording the ominous reply
of the people, (“His blood be upon us and on our children”), Matthew is not urging anyone to take action against
the Jews. He himself is a Jew. It is a grave injustice that many have used
this verse to justify the worst barbarities and all the other evil that has
fallen upon this people over the years.
But it would be a mistake to miss Matthew’s dire warning here—a terrible
future awaits anyone who rejects the rightful King.
Matthew has shown us Jesus’ mistreatment and rejection by
His own people through the betrayal of a partner in minister, to his mockery of
a trial at the hands of the leaders of His own faith group and nation—the
Sanhedrin, Caiaphas, Pilate (Representing Caesar) and Herod—all the power of
the kingdoms of this world.
Scourged
And now Matthew notes Jesus’ scourging which was the first
step in crucifixion. This was not a Jewish method of execution but was peculiar
to the Romans. It served as a serious
warning to any who might think about defying the will of Rome. Death came not from blood loss but by
asphyxiation. One’s own strength merely
prolonged the agony so the victim was whipped to sap their strength. It was considered merciful in Roman eyes. The victim was bent over a low post and tied
there with his back arched to best receive the 39 lashes which always brought
the victim close to death.
Mocked
And then, the bloodthirsty Roman cohort (which could number
500-600 soldiers) was allowed to torment and mock the victim. They removed His own clothes and put a royal
robe on Him—perhaps the one Herod sent over—and a crown of thorns and handed Him
a reed for a scepter. They mocked him in
similar fashion to their fellows who had mistreated him at Caiaphas’ palace
early that morning. Then, their fun
over, they stripped him again and put his own clothing back on him and prepared
to march him to the place of crucifixion. They were going to finish killing the rightful
King.
The Wrong Jesus Chosen
This cruel choice was made not by Jews alone but by Romans
as well. By rich and poor, commoners and
elite, all had complicity in choosing the wrong Jesus. It is a choice we all are called to make. Who will you serve?
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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