Jesus Before the Gentiles

It is obvious that Satan has been at work when we consider the recent passages in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus has been arrested and treated shamefully. Trumped up charges have been brought before a kangaroo court that has already determined He is guilty of death before the first witness testifies. He is beaten and mocked, before He is ever convicted. He has been taken before both the former and current High Priest for trials. He has stood before the Sanhedrin. All of those trusted individuals treated Jesus in the same way. The divorced justice from their minds and acted out of their hatred.

Satan is also at work in the lives of the disciples. Judas has led the enemies of Jesus to a garden where Jesus was praying so that He could be arrested quietly and without incident. The rest of the disciples have run away in fear. Peter has denied that he even knew who Jesus was, much less followed Him. And now we come to our present passages. Satan is so at work in the life of Judas that Judas will be driven to kill himself. Let’s look at the passages.

v.1 Here we have the third and final religious trial of Jesus. After the morning comes the religious leaders reconvene for another ruling. Rabbinical law stated that trials that included the possibility of capital punishment must take place during the daylight. That is probably why we have them meeting again to give their ruling. At this trial the group, once again, recommends that Jesus be put to death (26:66).

With the religious trials of Jesus accomplished we now move to the three Roman/political trials that Jesus endured. It has no doubt been a time of spiritual darkness since Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane. Cowardly disciples have denied and deserted the Lord. Justice has been mocked as trumped up charges have been leveled against the Lord. Judas has killed himself. This is no doubt a satanic time. Satan has been busy and accomplishing much. A new person is introduced to us in this section. His name is Pilate. His actions will prove to us why he has become one of the most infamous men in history.

v.2 At this point Jesus is bound and taken to Pontius Pilate. He was the governor of Judea from AD 26-AD 36. Normally he would not have been in Jerusalem. However, with the Passover taking place Rome needed a strong governing presence in the city to keep an eye on things. The reason that the Sanhedrin took Christ before Pilate was because the Roman government alone had the power to inflict the death penalty (John 18:31). The Jewish leaders waited outside. They were not permitted to enter a Gentiles home. If they did they would be considered ceremonially unclean for seven days and unable to eat the Passover (J 18:28).

v.11 Pilate was governor over the region of Judea. He answered to Caesar. His position was appointed and therefore it was in his best interest to make sure that Caesar was always happy with him. The initial charge against Jesus was blasphemy (26:63-66). That was enough to have Jesus put to death in the eyes of the Jewish religious leaders. But it was not a serious enough charge for Rome to put someone to death. Luke 23:1-2 shows us that the religious leaders brought separate charges when they presented Jesus to Pilate. When we look at what Luke says we see the specific charges:

* He was perverting the nation. Probably the Jews were not speaking of their own nation but the Roman nation. The context seems to fit better. Pilate would not care as much about loyalty to the Jewish nation as he would the Roman Empire. They were probably implying that Jesus was turning people’s loyalty away from Caesar. This would be a serious charge to any Roman leader.

* Forbidding giving tribute to Caesar. They claimed that Christ was teaching the people not to pay their taxes to Rome. This was an outright lie. Jesus had said the opposite (Luke 20:25).

* Claiming to be a king. The Roman government did not want another kingdom rising up. Of course Jesus did claim to be a king. However, He did not claim to be the type of king the charge implied. His kingdom was not of this world. “Christ a King” literally means that he claimed to be “the anointed king”.

These charges are clearly false. Jesus never taught anyone to rebel against Rome. In Matthew 5:41 He told the people if someone compelled them to go one mile, go two. Jesus taught people to “render to Caesar what was Caesar’s (22:21). The people had tried to make Jesus their earthly king at one point and Jesus refused (John 6:15). Pilate addresses the charges and asks Jesus “Are you the king of the Jews?”

John tells us that there was a little more dialogue here. After that initial question Jesus asks Pilate “Do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about Me?” Pilate responded by saying “Am I a Jew? Your own people delivered you to me. What have you done?” Jesus then tells Pilate that He is a king but His kingdom is not of this world. If it were, His army would come and fight for Him. The King James in Matthew 27:11 has Jesus saying “Thou sayest” to Pilate. The original language communicates “It is as you say”.

Both John and Luke tell us that Pilate proceeds to go out and speak to the crowd at this point. His intent is to have Jesus released. In John 18:38 Pilate tells them “I find no guilt in this man.” The people responded by saying to Pilate “He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry beginning from Galilee to this place”.

When Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galileen he had an idea. He reasoned that since Herod Antipas was ruler over that region, Jesus was his problem. Pilate immediately sent the council with Christ to Herod. Herod was also in Jerusalem because of the Passover. Luke 23:8-12 records the events.

Herod was happy to see Jesus. Herod had wanted to see Jesus for some time. The reason was not so that he could honor Jesus. The reason was so that he could see Jesus perform a miracle. Herod had proved to be an evil man in the beheading of John. He was filled both with intrigue and fear when he heard the stories of Jesus (Luke 9:7-9).

Herod had many questions for Jesus. Jesus had no answers for Herod. Jesus refused to talk with Herod. This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7. Herod was an evil man. Jesus silence toward him probably is a sign of this. Herod’s motives with Jesus were purely self-seeking.

While Jesus stood silent the religious leaders continued to passionately accuse Him of crimes just as they had done before Pilate. Christ’s silence can be interpreted as His commitment to go to the cross.

Herod’s men ridiculed and mocked Jesus. They dressed Him in a beautiful robe. This should be seen as an act of insult. He claimed to be a king so they should give Him a robe. After Jesus harsh treatment before Herod he was sent back to Pilate. Herod had no reason to condemn Jesus.

Luke tells us that before this day Pilate and Herod were enemies. We are not sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the account given in Luke 13:1. Pilate had certain Galileans killed while they were worshipping. After this day the two became friends. It is possible that Herod was just happy because Pilate gave him the opportunity to meet Jesus.

v.12-14 What amazed Pilate was the fact that Jesus was not really putting up any type of defense at all. Many accusations were brought against the Lord but the Lord just remained silent about them. Most other men would be begging Pilate to spare their life. They would be countering the attacks of the prosecution. Especially in a case as weak as this one was.

v.15-16 Pilate seeks to find another way to have Jesus released. There was a custom to release one Jewish prisoner at the Passover. This was a way of Rome showing its “goodwill” toward the Jewish people. Barabbas was a revolutionary. He was seeking to bring freedom to the Jewish people through revolt against Rome. He was actually what the religious leaders charged that Jesus was. The charge against Barabbas was more severe than Jesus charge. Jesus was charged with claiming to be a king. Barabbas was charged with murder and robbery (Luke 23:25, John 18:40).

v.17-18 Pilate brings these two men before the Jewish crowd. He is hoping that the people will demand that Jesus be released. Pilate knew that the only reason that Jesus was being charged and tried was because of the envy of the religious leaders. The religious leaders were jealous of Jesus. He had power, authority and multitudes of people following Him. That was something the religious leaders did not have. They hated Jesus because so many were turning away from them and to Him.

v.19 Matthew tells us something that the other gospel writers do not. As Pilate prepared to make a ruling his wife sent word to him. It would have been uncommon for anyone to approach the governor while he was at the judgment seat (trying a case). His wife sent word to him begging him not to take part in what is going on. She has had a dream, the details are not shared, but that dream has convinced her that what her husband is involved in is a dangerous thing. We don’t know if this dream was from God or just the result of personal knowledge that Pilate had shared with his wife about the plot to arrest Jesus. It is likely Pilate knew about the plot beforehand as Roman troops were used to arrest Jesus. It is important to note that she calls Jesus a “just” man. She recognizes that He is innocent of the charges brought against Him. If Pilate’s own conscience were not enough, now he has his wife showing him just how wrong this whole situation is.

v.20-21 The tide had certainly turned. Just days earlier the crowds were shouting “Hosanna” as the Lord entered Jerusalem (21:9). Now the religious leaders have succeeded in a smear campaign. They have persuaded the multitudes to turn against the Lord. Certainly they did this through lies. They slandered the Lord and turned the multitude into an angry mob. The people demand that Barabbas be released instead of the Lord.

v.22 Pilate then asks the crowd a question “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?” The people then demand that the Lord be crucified. John tells us a little more. Pilate, clearly frustrated attempts to appease the crowd by having Jesus beaten. John 19 tells us that Pilate had Jesus scourged. He would have been tied to a post, feet dangling and beaten with a whip that contained pieces of metal and bone. Jesus was presented to the crowd in hopes that the people would think justice had been served. Pilate tried to have Jesus released again but the people said to him “If you let this man go you are not Caesar’s friend!” That was clearly a threat for them to appeal to Caesar if they didn’t get their way.

v.23-26 Pilate demands an answer from the crowd “What evil has He done?” All he hears is “Crucify Him”. The people wanted Jesus dead. There was no logic or reason. They just wanted Him dead. Pilate wanted the people to know that he did not approve of this. So he decided to do something symbolic. He went before the crowd and publicly washed his hands declaring I am innocent of the blood of this just person”. Of course he wasn’t. He was a coward that bent to political pressure. His actions didn’t bother the people. They were more than willing to accept the blame. They cried out “His blood be on us and our children.” Pilate then had Jesus delivered to be beaten and crucified.

Pilate is an interesting figure in Scripture and history. If all we knew about him was from Scripture we might hold him in a higher regard. However, the man was anything but noble. He was a man with a hardened heart and an agenda for himself. The Jews did not like him. They had caused him some serious problems.

Pilate had offended the Jews by having soldiers carry ensigns with the image of Caesar into Jerusalem. Previous governors had not done this because the Jews considered it a type of idolatry. They did not want to cause a revolt among the people. When the Jews asked Pilate to remove them he refused and had many Jews taken to an amphitheater where he threatened to have them beheaded. When the Jews willingly submitted to being beheaded Pilate backed off. That was certainly an embarrassing moment for Pilate.

He also took money from the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct. the Jews rioted and Pilate had many of them killed. Luke 13:1 could be a reference to this event.

Finally, he had shields made that bore the engraved image of Tiberius, the emperor. He then had them place in his headquarters at Jerusalem. The Jews saw this as an act of idolatry as well. The Jewish leaders appealed to Caesar and Pilate was ordered to remove the shields.

Pilate did not need Caesar involved in his life anymore. He had had enough clashes with the Jews. It was in his best interest, politically, to give them what they wanted. History tells us that Pilate attacked some Samaritan worshippers around 37 AD. He was summoned to Rome to explain his actions and subsequently replaced by Marcellus. Tradition says he was banished to Gaul and eventually committed suicide.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Never do what is wrong because it makes your life easier.

2. Christ boldly faced death so that you and I can have life.

3. The human heart is more desperately wicked than we can imagine.

4. Jealousy will turn us into very ugly people.

5. No amount of remorse or works can wash away our sins.