Matthew 27:11-54
11Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” 12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” 14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” 20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” 23Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” 24So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. 27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 32As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.
33And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; 36then they sat down there and kept watch over him. 37Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, 42“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” 44The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. 45From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
50Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
___________________________________
Jesus has been preaching his revolutionary message that all people are loved equally by God, that the mighty are to be humbled, and that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. He cleanses the Temple and teaches there, a direct challenge to the Temple leadership, which decides to kill him.
The political situation was very volatile. The Romans were gradually squeezing peasants off their lands, thus provoking resistance and violent suppression. The Jews had once humiliated Pilate with passive resistance, so he was wary of that.
So, as Jesus stands before him, Pilate is in big political trouble. He needs to placate his allies, the Temple leaders. But he can’t risk another explosion of violence, especially when Jerusalem is overflowing with Passover celebrants.
Pilate cares nothing about the charge of blasphemy, and at first, we are told in Luke, tries to dodge the problem by sending him to Herod. But Herod, also wanting to avoid trouble, sends him back. So the priests amplify Jesus’s message that the kingdom of God is at hand, transforming it into a claim that Jesus is the political King of the Jews. This is treason to the Roman Empire, and Pilate can’t ignore it.
But Pilate is wily. He seizes a local custom to present a dilemma to the priests. Release Jesus of Nazareth, or Barabbas. Barabbas was a notorious murder and insurrectionist, and so certainly a bitter enemy of the priests. If the priests agree to release Jesus of Nazareth, to keep their hated enemy Barabbas on death row, they can save face by blaming Pilate for the release, and try again later. Meanwhile, Pilate gets what he wants, namely, to avoid antagonizing the Palm Sunday crowd of Jesus’s supporters. He is offering a classic back-room deal to the priests.
But the priests fear Jesus more than Barabbas. They put together a crowd stacked with their own people and supporters. Pilate tries to limit the damage by washing his hands of the affair, but he has to hand over Jesus to be crucified. He is whipped, humiliated, and crucified. The religious leaders that condemned him, walk by his cross and mock him.
And into this swirling mess, comes the hand of God.
If the political leaders won’t let Jesus teach – in the city, in the Temple, or indeed anywhere on earth – then God will do something they can’t stop. He raises Jesus from the dead. That got people’s attention. And in the days, years, centuries, and millennia following, God spreads the message he delivered by word and example through Jesus to the hearts of men and women everywhere.
We are still fallen people. But we can learn some of the lessons from Jesus’ passion. Do not look for God in the power structures of your society. Do not worship the powerful or the state. Open your heart to the saving message of the God who became human, and sacrificed it all for us.
Prayer: Lord God, we are a fallen, quarrelsome people. Please pour out your mercy and grace on our troubled world, and our own lives. Help us to be thankful for your love, to love our neighbors and seek peace, not conflict, with everyone.
—Max Fritzler