The King’s Hearing (Matthew 27:1-26)

The King’s Hearing

Matthew 27:1-26

Preached on the Lord’s Day, March 22, 2026, to the Saints of Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

Please take out your Bibles and open with me once more to the Gospel According to Matthew. This morning we will be looking at Matthew 27:1-26 (2x). If you do not have a copy of the Bible, we have some Red Bibles there in your seats that we would encourage you to take out. And in that Bible, our passage can be found on page #...

In Disney’s the Lion King, the young lion, Simba, has a desire to be King early on. From the song of, I Can’t wait to be King, to going and doing whatever he wants. Including his going to what he thinks is an Elephant graveyard, though he was told he must never go there by his father.

Because of these things, Simba must be told by his dad, Mufasa, that there is more to being king than getting your way all the time. A lesson that sets the stage for the Messiah King who we turn our eyes to this morning.

For you see, there is more to being the Messiah than just coming with power and glory. For yes, as from the beginning of the Gospel According to Matthew, we have seen that Jesus is the Christ. Christ means Anointed One, Messiah. For Jesus is the Messiah King who has come to fulfill the promise to David to have a son who sits on his throne forever. We saw this back In Matthew 1, in verse 1 and verses 16-17.

However, there is more to being the Messiah than just inheriting the throne and sitting on it forever. The Messiah King was also to be the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. One who was to serve his people by being stricken, smitten, and afflicted as he bears our griefs and our sorrows. As he is crushed for our iniquities.

And so, yes Jesus is the King of the Jews, but he must first suffer, then glory. And this is what we will continually see in these coming weeks as we draw near to Resurrection Sunday. The Suffering Servant who willingly laid down his life for ours.

Let us then begin to see this from our passage here in the word of the Lord found in Matthew 27:1-26 …

Main Idea: Trust in Jesus for though he was innocent of all guilt, his blood was shed to set the guilty free.

1. The guilt of the self-condemned (Matthew 27:3-10)

2. The guilt of the self-deceived (Matthew 27:11-23)

3. The guilt of the self-justified (Matthew 27:24-26)

4. The innocence of the Suffering Servant (Matthew 27:26)

I. The Guilt of the Self-Condemned (Matthew 27:3-10)

The night had been long. Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper with his disciples gathered in the upper room. He had gone out to pray there in Gethsemane, before then Jesus being betrayed by a kiss, seized, and then brought before the High Priest and all the scribes and elders to be tried by them according to the law of the Jews.

A night of interrogation and false testimony, that finally gave them grounds in their own minds to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Of course, these grounds were not true. But following all this, we read in verse 1 of our passage this morning that morning has now come. And as morning now comes, once more this group of religious leaders made up of the chief priests and scribes assemble themselves together to plot against Jesus, the Lord’s Anointed.[1]

Then in verse 2, we are told that they bind Jesus for the purpose of leading him away and delivering him into the hands of Pilate.

There are many allusions here. First and foremost, there is the fulfilling of Jesus’s own words to his disciples. For previously he said:

Matthew 20:18–19 ESV

18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

And so, here he was delivered into the chief priests’ and scribes’ hands by that betrayer, Judas. And now he is being delivered over to the Gentiles as he is delivered to the Roman governor.

But there is another allusion found here in verse 2. For as Jesus is bound, he is bound like another back in Genesis 22. He is bound just as Isaac was bound before being laid on the altar as a test to Abraham. For Jesus here is bound as one who will be laid on the altar as a sacrifice in place of sinners. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

As all of this is happening though, there is a change of mind for Judas. For like a chameleon changes its colors, he changes his mind. Verses 3-4…

Judas handed Jesus over out of greed, but now in seeing that Jesus has been condemned, the guilt of his actions overwhelmed him. For Judas knew that Jesus was innocent of all of these claims. For even as this trial is underway, he would have stood to gain much by speaking up if there were any true accusations against our Lord.

Hear this great observation made by the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, J.C. Ryle,

If there was any living witness who could give evidence against our Lord Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot was the man. A chosen apostle of Jesus, a constant companion in all His journeyings, a hearer of all His teaching, both in public and private,—he must have known well if our Lord had done any wrong, either in word or deed. A deserter from our Lord’s company, a betrayer of Him into the hands of His enemies, it was his interest for his own character’s sake, to prove Jesus guilty. [2]

Judas more than any other could have pointed out the faults of Jesus. From false claims to false teaching. He would have been there with Jesus through it all. And yet, here following everything, he himself declares to have betrayed innocent blood.

And so, Judas comes and confesses this sin to the chief priests, and what miserable counselors he found. For their response is simply, “What is that to us?” there in verse 4.

But even in this confession, we see much about Judas. For he is right to feel his guilt. He has betrayed innocent blood and is guilty according to the law of God. And as a further sign of him being guilty, he not only confesses his sin, but he also tosses the thirty pieces of silver into the temple there in verse 5.

However, the guilt should have moved Judas to repentance. But instead, it led him to a tree with a noose in his hand where he hanged himself to escape the guilt. For Judas felt the self-condemnation of his sin. But self-condemnation apart from repentance is an evil thing. Self-condemnation feels the weight of the sin without ever turning from it.

For even the money that Judas had returned was not fit for anything except to buy a potter’s field to bury the dead of the sojourners and strangers within the land. This fulfilling prophecy from both Jeremiah and Zechariah. Matthew here quoting from the larger known work of Jeremiah.

But both were foretold. Zechariah 11:13 tells of thirty pieces of silver being thrown into the house of the Lord, to the potter which we see there in verses 6-10. But Jeremiah prophesies in Jeremiah 32:1-15 about a field being bought during a siege as a promise of restoration. A restoration that is being fulfilled even through all this wickedness.

And so, there is a great need for us to see the danger of self-condemnation that leads to such misery. Let any who are tempted to wallow in it beware of the snare tightening around their neck just like that around the neck of Judas. Instead, as you feel the guilt of your sin, let it led you to repentance.

For repentance is an act of God’s grace. For in repentance, a person is made sensible of the manifold evils of his sin by the Holy Spirit, and by faith in Christ, humbles himself for it with godly sorrow, detesting and self-abhorring his sin, pleads for pardon and strength of grace, with a purpose and endeavor, by the supplies of the Spirit, to walk before God in all his ways.[3]

Beloved, is this the natural pattern for your life? As you look into the perfect law of God and see your guilt, does it lead you not into self-condemnation but to feel godly sorrow for your sin and an increasing hate of that sin? A sorrow that then turns to our Gracious Master and our God to plead for both pardon and grace to turn from such wickedness and cling more fully to the Savior?

It should be! For there is no sin so great that damnation will come on them who repent.[4] The guilt of self-condemnation leads to death, but repentance leads to life! So let us then rightly turn from self-condemnation to the forgiveness offered in Jesus as we repent of our sin! That is point #1.

II. The Guilt of the Self-Deceived (Matthew 27:11-23)

Those who have betrayed Jesus over to Pilate consider themselves faithful in the ways of God, but they are self-deceived. For they have accused Jesus of blasphemy and handed him over to Pilate, the Governor declaring him to be an enemy of Rome, that he has declared himself the King of the Jews. We see this from what Pilate asks Jesus there in verse 11.

And yet, Jesus here refuses to answer any of the accusations thrown against him there in verses 12-14 that the Jews throw at him, this being to the amazement of Pilate.

Jesus’s only answer echoes what he previously gave back in Matthew 26:25; 64, “you have said so.”

This brings great amazement as the temptation for all men is to defend oneself as accusations are being hurled at us. This is the way of the flesh, but not the Spirit. Jesus doesn’t rise up to defend himself. He stands there and endures the false accusations and verbal assaults against him from this self-deceived crowd.

And as a result of Jesus’s most remarkable response, Pilate sees through the self-deception of the crowds who have handed Jesus over. As noted down in verse 18, Pilate sees that it is out of envy that they have delivered Jesus over to him.

And so, in an attempt to de-escalate things with the crowds hurling accusations at Jesus and demanding him be put to death, Pilate turns to a custom that Rome has with the Jews. We see this custom there in verse 15, that the custom was to release any one prisoner.

But to get at the scene further, Pilate gives them two choices, found there in verses 16-17. He presents to them this notorious prisoner called Barabbas who is also known as Jesus Barabbas. Or they can set free this Jesus who is called Christ. Two Jesus’s presented to the crowd, one to be chosen for release. One who no wrong has been found in or this one who is a notorious criminal presumably for leading a charge of insurrection against Rome.

We see here then what should have been the easy choice. For even Pilate’s wife has dreams about this Jesus who is called Christ there in verse 19. How she sent word to her husband that in her dreams she had suffered because of this righteous man.

However, here in lies the depth of their self-deception. For rather than being those who desire justice against this one who truly is a notorious criminal, they seek his release while seeking to destroy Jesus. For these chief priests and elders we are told in verse 20, persuaded the crowds towards this. And then in answering Pilate, they say to him they want Jesus Barabbas released. All while telling Pilate that they want him to crucify him, though no evil has been found in Jesus, the Christ.

The choice should have been obvious.

Let me again borrow from the words of J.C. Ryle:

And what had our Lord done, that the Jews should hate Him so? He was no robber, or murderer. He was no blasphemer of their God, or reviler of their prophets. He was one whose life was love. He was one who “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.” (Acts 10:38.) He was innocent of any transgression against the law of God or man. And yet the Jews hated Him, and never rested till He was slain! They hated Him, because He told them the truth. They hated Him, because He testified of their works that they were evil. They hated the light, because it made their own darkness visible. In a word, they hated Christ, because he was righteous and they were wicked,—because He was holy and they were unholy,—because he testified against sin, and they were determined to keep their sins and not let them go.[5]

You see, as Ryle stated, the Jews hated Jesus and yet in their self-deception, became marked among the transgressors. For they here declare the guilty innocent and the innocent guilty.

For does not Solomon in his wisdom warn against this?

Proverbs 17:15 ESV

15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

Or Isaiah when he writes,

Isaiah 5:23 ESV

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

Even still the Psalmist,

Psalm 94:21 ESV

21 They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Truly as we read earlier in our Scripture Reading from Jeremiah, the heart is truly deceitful and sick. How easy is it for us to become so self-deceived in thinking ourselves to be the righteous ones.

For this is not just an issue for these hypocritical leaders in Jesus’s day, it is something that we continually must guard ourselves against.

We must guard ourselves against the self-deception of thinking ourselves more holy and righteous than we are. From the self-deception in thinking we have it all figured out.

But is this not the beauty of the local church? Of brothers and sisters covenanting themselves together as a body of believers around a mutual faith in Christ, laboring to watch out for one another and laboring for the good of one another? A people laboring for the good of one another, laboring to stir one another[6] and to bring one another to maturity in Christ[7]

This grace of God in the local church and the Scriptures are how we fight against the guilt of self-deception. For in both, we are exposed of the sinfulness that still remains in us and pointed over and over again to God’s grace in us in Christ and the law of Christ that is to guide us as we live as disciples of Christ!

Let us then fight against this guilt of self-deception. That is point #2.

III. The Guilt of the Self-Justified (Matthew 27:24-26)

Pilate has sought to release Jesus. He has declared that he has found no fault in him. And yet, the crowd has demanded the release of Jesus Barabbas and to have Jesus, the Christ crucified.

Now, Pilate is at the point that he can no longer hold off the crowd. He must give into their demands or risk another uprising in Jerusalem and put his own title, and even possibly his own life on the line. Ceasar will not tolerate another failure for Pilate. So, Pilate seeing no fault in Jesus makes a declaration. Verse 24…

And though we see there in verse 25 that the crowd says that the blood of Jesus, the Christ be upon them and their children, Pilate is not innocent of this blood.

Pilate had the authority to do what was just and right in releasing Jesus. But the fear of man causes Pilate to cave to the demands of the crowd. And he releases Jesus Barabbas and has Jesus, the Christ scourged and then delivered to be crucified.

Pilate’s judgment meant that not only would Jesus be nailed to a tree and suffer a cruel death, he was first beaten with a whip interwoven with pieces of bone and metal that would have ripped through the flesh of Jesus, leaving his insides exposed.

Pilate may have declared himself innocent in an attempt to self-justify himself, but he is as guilty as those who delivered Jesus over and demanded him to be crucified.

For justification does not come according to our own terms. One is only justified in accordance to the law, and in matters of faith, this law being that of the law of God.

Therefore, Pilate was not innocent in this matter. And the reality is, not one is justified before God according to the law of God. For all have fallen short of the glory of God in the breaking of that law to its fullest intent. We have all been guilty of telling that lie and bearing false testimony against others. We have been guilty of coveting, that is desiring what our neighbor has and becoming jealous of them. We have been guilty of lust filling our hearts in committing adultery and of hatred filling our hearts, declaring us guilty of murder.

Yet, like Pilate, how often do we seek to attempt to justify ourselves in these matters. For even in looking at a child in how they seek to declare themselves innocent because they only drew on the wall because their sibling was doing it. Or the student declaring that they were talking in class because everyone else was talking.

This self-justification is of no use, for one is as guilty as the other. And the same goes here with Pilate.

Self-justification leaves one still guilty. We need not justified then according to self, but according to the ways of God. To be justified by receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness.[8]

That is our hope. For self-justification will not stand against a good judge. And so, let us beware of the guilt of such. That is point #3. 

Self-condemnation, self-deception, and self-justification are deadly, for they leave us in our guilt. And yet there is hope for the guilty, and that is where we turn here in point #4.

IV. The Innocence of the Suffering Servant (Matthew 27:26)

Judas, the chief priests, elders of the people, the crowds, and Pilate all played a part and were guilty in condemning Jesus to death on the cross. As one innocent was sacrificed for the guilty.

Back in verse 4, Judas himself had declared that he had betrayed innocent blood. Pilate had declared that he had found no fault in Jesus, the Christ. And it is noted that it was only out of envy that the Jewish leaders had betrayed Jesus, marking him innocent.

Is this not the surprise and wonder of the gospel though? That one innocent would be numbered among the transgressors[9]. That he would be pierced for our transgressions. All so that we who were guilty could become the righteousness of God?

Gospel affirmation (Christian) and invitation (for non-believer)…

[1]Psalm 2 allusion

[2]J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860), 379–380.

[3]Paraphrase of LBCF 15.3

[4]LBCF 15.4 and 15.5 allusion

[5]J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860), 387.

[6]See Hebrews 10:24

[7]See Colossians 1:28

[8]LBCF 11.2 paraphrase

[9]See Isaiah 53:12