The King Or Criminal? Matthew 27:15-26 Introduction

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1 Introduction The religious leaders have rejected their king. The crowd has gathered. Pilate has declared Jesus not guilty. The religious leaders will not accept Pilate s verdict. Pilate appeals to the crowd. Will the people of God have enough sense to make the right choice? Will they choose a King or a criminal (vv.16-17)? God has a plan. Satan has a plan. God wants to redeem mankind. Satan wants to cloud our thinking with lies, deception and false accusations. The religious leaders conspire together and fabricate three charges: They accuse Jesus of being a revolutionary, inciting the people to not pay taxes to Caesar and claiming to be a king. Pilate has been trying to release Jesus. What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? (v.22). Indeed what will Pilate do with Jesus? What will I do with Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? You must make a decision. Not just a decision to determine his guilt or innocence but your guilt or innocence before God! What was the true identity and mission of Jesus? What you believe about Jesus and do with Jesus has eternal consequences! The Bible and the Bible writers invite us to form an opinion and make a judgment about Jesus! A judgement has been defined as an authoritative opinion or a formal decision. One of my favorite definitions is the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing (see Webster s NCD). The adjective form of the word judgment is judgmental. Is it wrong to be judgmental? Most of us when accused of being judgmental are clearly made to feel wrong or narrow-minded or perhaps even evil. I can t recall a single person who said; I love being called judgmental. If you have decided that Jesus is the Christ, if you believe Jesus is the only solution to the sin problem, if you believe Jesus provides the only real hope for forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and if you believe Jesus is the only person who can both promise and deliver heaven, you will face the stern charge of being judgmental. You might think; I don t want to judge. I certainly don t want to run the risk of being called judgmental. You must. Jesus stands before you. He claims to be your king. He claims He came from God. He claims if you know Him and love Him and believe Him and accept His claims, He will forgive your sins and present you faultless before His Father in Heaven. He further claims that if you fail to accept Him, fail to love Him, fail to believe in Him, fail to accept His claims, you will be branded a rebel an insurrectionist, a malcontent, a mutineer on the ship called earth. Pilate is a reluctant judge. When we profiled him in an earlier study, we discovered he has already made several grievous errors. Pilate has managed to upset, inflame, infuriate and enrage the local Jewish leadership. Pilate has caused Tiberius to question his competency and leadership in this Roman Province of Judea. For Pilate the seat of judgment is a hot seat! Do not be alarmed if you start to hear and smell the sizzle of burning flesh in this study. You are sitting in the hot seat. You are smelling the consequences of making the most important decision of your life. You might think; I don t want to decide. You can t make me decide. Pilate thought the exact same thing. Indecision is decision. You will decide. Why didn t Pilate let 1

2 Jesus go? Was it fear of the crowd? Fear of the Emperor? Fear of losing his job? Lack of moral courage? Pilate has heard the accusations hurled against Jesus. He claims he is a king (Matt. 27:11; John 18:37). He admits He is a king. But not like you think Pilate. His kingdom is not of this world. Other wise His servants would fight (John 18:6). Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice (John 18:37). Jesus claims He was born to bear witness of the truth. That must mean that there is such a thing as truth. The Opposition Of The People (vv.15-23) (v.15) Pilate has decided to let Jesus go. The religious leaders are determined to see Jesus dead. Pilate is supposed to render a fair and impartial judgment based on the facts, evidence and law. But the religious leaders are determined to see Jesus die. Pilate is supposed to test the accusation, weigh the evidence and make the decision. He has done that found Jesus not guilty. Now Pilate will try a new tactic. In Roman law an imperial magistrate could acquit a prisoner not yet condemned or pardon one already condemned (D.A. Carson; p.568). The Jews have a custom or ritual of releasing a prisoner during the feast of Passover. Pilate knows the mainstream religious leadership want Jesus dead. But what about the common people? Pilate will make a direct appeal to the populace. (v.16) Who is this notorious prisoner called Barabbas? His name means Son of the father but some ancient manuscripts list his name as Jesus Barabbas (NU text). He is called robber (John 18:40) but robbery was not always a capital crime. Barabbas had been imprisoned for insurrection and murder (Luke 23:19;25; Mark 15:7). I am reasonably certain three prisoners were fitted for crosses that day. The rough hewn cross was made and fitted for one Yeshua Barabbas. The cross meant for Yeshua Barabbas would now become the cross of Yeshua Ben Joseph. Jesus or Barabbas. Two Jesus one cross. Who will die? Pilate would have the rebel and killer of his own countrymen die on that cross. Barabbas the son of a father becomes a type of all sons of all fathers born into this world. Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote; We are all of Adam s race. We have been bound over for our sedition against God. We are robbers of his glory. We are murderers of our souls and the souls of others. We find ourselves bound in the darksome prison house of sin. We feel in our hearts that we merit the sentence announced to us and we wait in trembling for the time of judgment. But we don t want to die. We deserve to die. We deserve our punishment. I understand condemned prisoners will often practice breathing exercises; holding their breath so they can avoid inhaling the fatal fumes in the gas chamber. The prisoners condemned to hang will rub their neck in anticipation of the noose. Sometimes we pretend we won t die. (v.17) Pilate presents an option to the people. Who do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ? Who do you want? A known killer or a giver of 2

3 life? Do you want a rebel or a ruler? (v.18) Pilate know the true motive for handing over Jesus. Envy. This is a hatchet job. Jesus has been framed. The religious leaders hate Jesus and are envious of his appeal to the people. The very fact that he was envied means there was something appealing about Jesus that even hard hearts recognized. The brothers of Joseph envied Jacob s favorite son. They tossed him into a pit and sold their brother into slavery. What they meant for evil God meant for good. (v.19). While Pilate sits on the hot seat his wife sends him a note (found only in Matthew). Pilate s wife was Claudia Procula allegedly the grand-daughter of Augustus (I could find no convincing evidence). Livia the mother of Tiberius was the third wife of Augustus (Tiberius was born from a previous marriage). Augustus adopted Tiberius. Some historians suggest that Claudia had converted to Judaism. Some say after the death and resurrection of Jesus she became a convert to Christianity (no evidence). What happened? Did God give her this dream? Was this the superstitious attempt of a woman on the fringes of discipleship to Jesus? Gentile Magi sought to save Jesus from Israel s Herod. Now a Gentile (Queen?) seeks to save Jesus from His own people. Here righteous means innocent. Adam listened to his wife and ate the forbidden fruit. Pilate fails to listen and instead takes the bait. Not all advice from women is bad. In the ancient world some Greeks and Romans believed dreams served as omens. God had spoken to Jospeh in a dream and warned the wise men to go in a different direction at the birth of Jesus. The dream sufficiently disturbed Pilate s wife to record her concerns. (vv.20-23) People are sheep. They do not always arrive at a just conclusion based on evidence and facts. The religious leaders stack the deck against Jesus and encourage the crowds to shout for Barabbas. The crime of leadership is selecting the wrong Jesus and persuading the people to agree (Brunner p. 1031). Which Jesus do we choose? Which Jesus do we follow? Do we choose the Jesus as He is described in the New Testament? Do we choose the Jesus of the cults or the Jesus of the popular culture? Of course the world chooses Barabbas. Barabbas is the guy who is going to destroy the system. Barabbas was going to burn them out. Barabbas was going to kill them. Why would they want Barabbas? Its very simple. If you let Barabbas go, and he starts another disturbance or another riot, you can always call in the national guard, the federal troops or the Marines to put this thing down. All you have to do is push a few tanks into his neighborhood and you can squash whatever he s up to. You can find out where he s keeping his guns and raid his apartment. You can always stop Barabbas. But the real question is... How do you stop Jesus? How do you stop a man who has no guns, no tanks, no ammunition but is still shaking the whole Roman Empire? (quote: Source Unknown). What is your conscience saying right now? Who does your soul cry out for? Which Jesus? Do you hear your voice mingled with the crowd? Shouting for Jesus. But which Jesus? The crowds are crying out for a different Jesus. They are crying out for a Jesus who won t require suffering, persecution or a cross. The call for Barabbas is a call to ignore the demands of the Cross. The cross that Jesus will die on was intended for Barabbas. The wrath, the punishment, the 3

4 consequences were meant for someone else (you). The true believer longs for release from the tyranny of the self. The true believer wants to die (to self) so that Jesus Christ can live in them. (v.22) Pilate still holds out hope! Jesus called Christ does not deserve to die. What then shall we do with Jesus? Pilate is putty. Pilate is no commander! He lets the people decide for him! He lets the mob tell him what to do. He knows Jesus is innocent. Do you let other people tell you what to do with Jesus? Are you committed to their agenda or are you unwilling to examine the facts and make a decision for yourself? You must do something with Jesus. O.K. I am ready to accept Jesus was a good man, a great and moral man who was unjustly accused and unjustly executed. Jesus was a good man maybe even the best man who ever lived. I think of C.S. Lewis famous quote; I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people say about Him. I m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be a lunatic on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. We come to the key question that every person must answer. What shall I do with Jesus? Does Pilate realize the enormity of his own question? Pilate had a choice. He was after all the judge. Would Pilate stand up for truth and justice? Will Pilate cave to the cries of the crowd? In order to deliver Barabbas Jesus must die. The Option Of Pilate (vv.24-26) (v.24) The commander who asks a mob for counsel forfeits the right to command (Bruner p. 1032). The crowds would not listen to facts, or reason or law or mercy. Pilate attempts to distance himself from his own responsibility by washing. This was a distinctly Jewish custom. Critics have complained that Pilate a Roman would never have engaged in this custom. Barclay points out that this Jewish custom began in Deuteronomy 21:1-9. If a dead body was found, and it was not known who the killer was measurements were made to the nearest town or village. The elders of that town or village would sacrifice a heifer and wash their hands to rid themselves of guilt (see Barclay p. 362). We follow from the criminal Barabbas to the concern of Pilate s wife to the attempted cleansing in order to avoid implication with condemning the innocent. We can wash our hands but we cannot scrub our souls. We can try to run away from our guilt but we cannot really divorce ourselves from our responsibilities. (v.25) Some people are simply not worried about guilt. 4

5 His blood be upon us and our children and their children. You cannot reject Jesus and still claim to be the people of God. Matthew is not making an anti-semitic statement. The author of the Gospel was a Jew. Matthew is not implying every evil that falls on every Jew is because of that day. Matthew is teaching that the horrible circumstances surrounding the future destruction of the Temple in part is traceable to this moment. This scripture passage does not give any Christian the right or permission to hurt Jews. All scripture is given by God. It is profitable for teaching (doctrine) reports, correction, instruction in righteousness that the man and woman of God will be equipped for service to God. Scripture reveals Jesus and exalts Jesus. Scripture was never given for Gentiles to hurt Jews. The Jewish people have yet to experience the time known as the time of Jacob s sorrow. It is future. (v.26) Pilate keeps his promise and releases Barabbas. He scourged Jesus to illicit sympathy. Pilate now delivers Jesus to be crucified. This further delay fulfills another prophecy: By His stripes we are healed. Mercifully Matthew leaves out the gruesome details of the awful scourging. The Romans practiced scourging to weaken prisoners and sometimes hasten death. The usual procedure was to bare the upper half of the victim s body. Tie the victim to a post (or in this case a stone pillar). Dignitaries would be beaten with a stick. Common people a three pronged whip laced with bone or glass or lead. This would tear the victim s skin sometimes exposing bone. The number of lashes was determined by the severity of the crime. In Jewish culture the number was 40 minus one (for mercy s sake). Roman Law did not limit the number of lashes. The facts pointed to the innocence of Jesus. Pilate s conscience pointed to the innocence of Jesus. Pilate s wife s dream pleaded for His innocence. Pilate was given repeated opportunities to exercise justice. Roman Law said that an innocent man should not be put to death. Over and over again Pilate attempts the release of the prisoner. Render a verdict of not guilty. Return the prisoner to the Jewish leaders. Send Him to Herod (Luke 23:6-12). Suggest Jesus be the one prisoner set free (27:17). Have Him beaten to illicit sympathy and compassion and then let him go. Ceremonially wash his hands to cleanse his conscience. Conclusion Max Lucado: He (Pilate) tries to give the people Jesus; but they want Barabbas. He sends Jesus to the whipping post; but they want him sent to Golgatha. He states he finds nothing against the man; they accuse of Pilate of violating the law. Pilate afraid of who Jesus might be, tries one more time to release him; the Jews accuse him of betraying Caesar. So many voices. The voice of compromise. The voice of expedience. The voice of politics. The voice of conscience. And the soft firm voice of Christ. The only power you have over me is the power 5

6 given to you by God. Jesus voice is distinct. Unique. He doesn t cajole or plead. He just states the case. Pilate thought he could avoid making the choice. He washed his hands of Jesus. He climbed the fence and sat down. But in not making a choice, Pilate made a choice. Rather than asking for God s grace, he asked for a bowl. Rather than invite Jesus to stay, he sent him away. Rather than hear Christ voice, he heard the voice of the people. Legend has it that Pilate s wife became a believer. And legend has it that Pilate s eternal home is a mountain lake where he daily surfaces, still plunging his hands into the water seeking forgiveness. Forever trying to wash away his guilt...not for the evil he did, but for the kindness he didn t do. Alas it is only a legend. The Bible gives no such option. When you choose Jesus you choose heaven. When you fail to choose Jesus you opt for an eternal consequence that eliminates heaven and God and Jesus. People who reject Christ embrace existence apart from God and Christ. C.S. Lewis: You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. 6