The Ignored Verdict of Pilate
Matthew 27:11-26
March 24, 2013
As you know we are studying that important section in Matthew’s gospel
Which outlines the death of Jesus.
And as we are working our way through this section,
We have already seen some important points.
THE PLOT
Namely that God was doing this.
Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”
This was God’s predetermined plan, carried out by wicked sinners,
Just as Peter made clear.
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
So we understand the plot behind the cross,
And that only magnifies the love that God has for us.
The cross was His idea, redemption was His doing.
He truly did so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
He demonstrated that love, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
The fact that the plot was God’s reminds us that God is by nature a Savior
THE PURPOSE
And that purpose is forgiveness
As Jesus sat in the upper room, partaking of the final Passover,
He told the disciples to eat the bread which was His body
And drink of the wine which was His blood.
Matthew 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
There is no confusion regarding why Christ did what He did.
He endured the wrath of God and the wicked schemes of man
Just so that sinners could be forgiven.
Without the cross there is no forgiveness for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
“This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us,
Took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross”
THE PARTICIPANTS
As was mentioned before God was the architect of the cross,
And yet the plot was carried out at the hands of sinful men.
Wicked, greedy, jealous, and even cowardly men, actually played a part
In dipping their hands into the innocent blood of Christ.
Everything we have seen in looking at the participants is really appalling.
We saw THE STRANGE ARREST
• 1,000 to arrest one innocent man
• A traitor giving a fervent kiss
• A disciple trying to fight
• Dedicated followers all fleeing in fear
We saw THE CORRUPT TRIAL
• Meeting at night, in secret
• The gathering of false witnesses
• No prayer, no fasting, no delayed sentence
Incidentally during this time we also saw:
THE EXPECTED DENIAL OF PETER
THE TESTIMONY OF APOSTATES AND HYPOCRITES
And through all that we have seen
Matthew’s point is becoming unmistakably clear.
As I have told you before, Matthew wrote his gospel with the single purpose of proving to Israel that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.
That is why he spent so much time on things like His lineage and prophetic birth.
Matthew is proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
And under that purpose it is very important for Matthew to prove
That Jesus died as an absolutely innocent man.
Now, we know why it is important that Jesus was innocent.
HE WAS A SUBSTITUTE.
You can’t pay the debt of another if you are paying your own debt.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
We understand that if He hadn’t been innocent of all sin,
Then our debt before God would remain, and we are hopeless.
Incidentally that is what makes the resurrection so important,
In that it proves the innocence of Christ.
After all the strange arrest, and the corrupt trial,
The resurrection would be the one area
In which true justice was finally served.
The prison where Jesus was sentenced (death) could not hold Him.
He was innocent.
But for Matthew it is important to prove that,
Not just because it is foundational to salvation,
But also because Matthew understood how Jews viewed the cross.
And that was this:
Isaiah 53:1-4 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
• Isaiah saw it coming from a long way off.
• Isaiah saw a Savior
• Isaiah saw the Arm of the Lord
But then Isaiah began to see a problem,
Namely that the people of His day would not recognize Him as a Savior.
To them He was not stately or majestic.
To them He had no attractive appearance.
And the result was instead of being worshiped,
He would be despised and rejected.
And on the day He would die, Isaiah knew what people would think.
“Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
Matthew knew what Isaiah knew; that was after the death of Christ,
The Jewish world would only think He died
Because secretly He must have been a sinner.
It must have been God who was angry at Him,
Why else would He suffer like this?
Well Isaiah also gave us that reason.
He suffered not because He was a sinner, but because we were.
And when He took our sin,
It required a great punishment at the hand of God.
Isaiah 53:5-6 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
He was punished all right, but not for His own sin.
He was punished for us.
And yet Matthew knew that the masses would fail to see that.
Matthew knew that the masses would only think He died on the cross
Because He was a sinner, no better than the thieves He hung between.
And so a major part of Matthew’s gospel is to prove to Israel
That Jesus Christ was in fact innocent.
And He has already done a pretty compelling job.
In the garden we have Jesus asking the soldiers:
Matthew 26:55-56 “At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. “But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.”
We already saw how much corruption it required just to be able to get a conviction at His trial.
Matthew 26:59-60 “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward,”
We even have Judas declaring that He was innocent.
Matthew 27:3-4 “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”
But Matthew has truly saved his most compelling evidence for last.
For in the case of Jesus’ condemnation,
Jesus was actually declared innocent in the Roman court of law
By one of the most ruthless tyrants to ever sit on a judgment seat,
And yet that ruling would be completely ignored.
That ruthless tyrant? Pilate
Are you familiar with Pilate?
Philo (A Jewish historian) wrote that Pilate had “vindictiveness and furious temper”, and was “naturally inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness”.
Pilate had been governor for about 5 years.
During that time he had clashed with the Jews like none before him.
On one occasion he deliberately offended the Jews by having his soldiers carry banners into Jerusalem with Caesar’s likeness on them. Since the Jews thought this to be idolatry in the form of graven images, they persistently asked Pilate to remove them.
Pilate then herded them into an amphitheater and threatened to cut off their heads if they did not desist.
On another occasion Pilate forcefully took money from the temple to build an aqueduct, when the Jews rioted, Pilate sent soldiers dressed like civilians to slaughter the protestors.
On another occasion Pilate made shields at Ft. Antonia that bore the emperor’s likeness, again infuriating the Jews.
Beyond that we read of one offense in Scripture:
Luke 13:1-3 “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
I tell you all that because when you read the gospel accounts
You might get an idea that Pilate was a compassionate soul
Who just hated to see a man unjustly convicted.
No, Pilate was ruthless.
In fact, non-Christian historians who have studied Pilate actually use his normal aggressive and hostile demeanor to say that he never would have acted as was depicted in the gospel accounts.
The point, this man was no softy.
• This man had no qualms about shedding blood.
• This man had no love loss for Jews.
• And he was not a man particularly in love with justice.
And so the fact that this man was so convinced of Jesus innocence
That he issued a verdict of “Not Guilty”
Is a huge admission of Jesus’ innocence.
4 things
#1 PILATE’S AMAZEMENT
Matthew 27:11-14
Matthew actually picks up in the middle of this trial.
John 18:28-32 “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”
Somewhere around 5am Jesus is led to Pilate, and Pilate actually did the right thing by asking, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
Jesus couldn’t be put on trial unless His crime was stated.
And of course there was no crime,
The Jews just sort of pressure Pilate into hearing the case.
The reason they were able to do this is because those aforementioned incidents with the Jews had actually gotten Pilate in quite a bit of hot water with Emperor Tiberius, and Pilate was in danger of losing his position.
But he listens simply because he is in a bit of a fix.
And that is where Matthew’s gospel picks up.
Pilate actually begins to interrogate Jesus himself.
(11) “Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”
Pilate’s objective was not to find out if Jesus had broken Jewish Law.
Pilate’s objective is to find out if Jesus was a threat to Rome.
Odds are good Pilate already knew He wasn’t.
Pilate would have had to know about Jesus,
And Jesus had in reality been a model citizen.
• He had taught men to submit to a Roman centurion’s request to
walk a mile, in fact Jesus said to walk two.
• He had taught Jews to pay taxes to Caesar.
• And when the Jews did try to make Jesus King (John 6) He went
and hid Himself from them.
If Jesus was guilty of any kind of insurrection
It most certainly wasn’t against Rome.
• The only place Jesus had ever attacked was the Jewish temple.
• And the only people Jesus had ever rebuked were the Jewish
leaders.
Pilate had to know that Jesus was no threat, but he is asking anyway.
Perhaps the Jews could see that Pilate was half-hearted in his attempts to condemn Jesus so they start throwing in their own accusations.
(12-13) “And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”
So the Jews chime in to accuse Jesus,
And Pilate looks to Jesus for a response.
(14) “And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.”
The word “amazed” there literally means “to marvel”
Pilate had had a many a man stand before him facing death
And I’m sure he had heard every excuse and plea in the book.
But he had never seen one like Jesus.
• Jesus was innocent
• The accusations were obviously bogus
• And Jesus had no need to defend Himself, so He didn’t.
And the implication here is that
Pilate is convinced that Jesus is innocent right then and there,
And he is blown away that an innocent man
Would refrain from defending Himself.
According to John’s gospel Pilate then questioned Jesus privately in the Praetorium, and there was convinced that Jesus was innocent.
John 18:38 “And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”
Pilate knew he was innocent, and delivers his first verdict.
So Pilate’s amazement testifies to the innocence of Jesus.
#2 PILATE’S ATTEMPT
Matthew 27:15-18
What actually happened is upon declaring that he found no guilt in Jesus,
The chief priests said He stirred up all the people starting from Galilee.
When Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean he found the best way to rid himself of Jesus, and that was by sending him to Herod.
However, after a mocking, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.
So Jesus was still Pilate’s problem.
And Pilate is stuck in the trial of a man he knows to be innocent.
In fact verse 18 makes it clear that
Pilate had a clear handle on what was going on.
(18) “For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.”
Pilot was under no misconceptions as to what was going on here.
And because of this, Pilate had a brilliant idea.
(15-17) “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
Pilate would ask the people who they wanted,
Only this time Pilate would pick the candidates.
He has already declared that he finds no guilt in Jesus, but it is far better for his reputation if he doesn’t have to make the decision himself.
So Pilate stands two men out.
• One is Jesus, whom Pilate knows is innocent.
• The other is a notorious criminal named Barabbas.
Pilate must have thought this to be a no-brainer.
Certainly the people would not want
This dangerous criminal loose on the streets.
Pilate did this because Jesus was innocent.
Pilate’s Amazement Pilate’s Attempt
#3 PILATE’S ARGUMENT
Matthew 27:19-23
Again Matthew has left out some of the dialogue.
When Jesus came back from Herod, He was clothed in a fancy robe,
And Pilate actually had Jesus scourged a little.
The plan here was actually to try and satisfy this bloodthirsty crowd with a mere flogging, and hopefully to spare Jesus life.
But the flogging did not satisfy them.
John 19:5-7 “Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
At this point Scripture teaches that Pilate became afraid.
Upon hearing that Jesus says He is God, Pilate is afraid.
And so Pilate actually took Jesus again into the Praetorium.
John 19:8-13 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.”
So Pilate had already decided that Jesus is innocent.
• Pilate has declared Jesus innocent on several occasions.
• Pilate had tried to rid himself of Jesus.
• Pilate had even made several attempts to release Him.
But the Jews won’t have it.
So Pilate, overcome with fear,
Gives in to the mob and comes out to the judgment seat.
And that is where we find him here in Matthew’s gospel.
Only once Pilate sits on the judgment seat
He is about to have his world rattled yet again.
(19) “While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”
And when this woman said she suffered, you can certainly believer her.
I would venture to guess that sending messages to Pilate
While he sat on the judgment seat was not a general practice.
This woman knew He was righteous.
And this woman acted out to deliver Him.
In fact she wanted Pilate to get as far away from Him as possible.
And certainly Pilate tried even harder at his push for Jesus’ release.
But the chief priests were working just as hard.
(20-23) “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
It was a tense moment for Pilate.
• He had here an innocent man
• He had here a king
• He had here the Son of God
• He had here a righteous man
• Herod wouldn’t deal with him
• His wife warned against him
And Pilate is stuck.
He would love to release Jesus, but the crowd won’t have it.
At least four times now Pilate has delivered a verdict of not-guilty,
And yet his verdict continually gets ignored.
Pilate’s Amazement Pilate’s Attempt Pilate’s Argument
#4 PILATE’S AFFIRMATION
Matthew 27:24-26
Vs. 24 reveals the reason for Pilate’s actions more than any other.
“When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
If Pilate released Jesus, he ran the risk of starting
Now his fourth riot with the Jews.
Having already been severely warned by Tiberius not to start another, Pilate now had to choose between Jesus’ life and his own.
And at this moment Pilate chose his own life.
Pilate again declared Jesus innocent
And even attempted to declare his own innocence in the ordeal.
“I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
Pilate is doing everything he can to absolve himself of any guilt.
He washes his hands (A Jewish custom)
And actually thinks this makes him clean.
(25) “And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
Israel was broken off on this day, and have since suffered greatly for it.
They still await their day of reconciliation.
And with that Pilate consents.
(26) “Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”
And after reading of this account there is no doubt to any who read
That Jesus was innocent.
• We knew it in the garden
• We knew it before Caiaphas
• We knew it when Judas returned the money
• We knew it with Pilate
Jesus was an innocent man.
And this made Jesus the only suitable sacrifice for sin.
And we must yield our lives to Him.
Or, we can be like Pilate.
I’ve told you before that this was not Jesus’ trial.
This was Pilate’s trial.
No one was going to stop the mob.
Even if Pilate had set Jesus free, they still would have killed Jesus,
They would have just done in spite of Roman law.
Pilate wasn’t facing whether or not to save Jesus’ life.
Pilate was facing the decision of whether or not to die with Him.
To release Jesus was certain to cost Pilate everything.
And that was a price Pilate wasn’t willing to pay.
The people told Pilate to crucify Him.
And that is exactly what Pilate did.
“he handed Him over to be crucified.”
What about you?
• The world says to crucify Jesus.
• The world says to have nothing to do with this righteous man.
• The world says if you set Him free you are no friend of Caesar.
• The world says we have a law and by that law He must die.
On the other hand Jesus says,
“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”
So who are you going to listen to?
The world? – which is to deny Christ.
Or Christ? – which is to become an enemy of the world.
Pilate listened to the world and crucified Jesus.
Oh sure he washed his hands, that was a nice outward religious ceremony
To help him feel better about himself.
Pilate may have felt better about himself for the moment,
But eternity bears the punishment for those who deny Jesus.
BUT TO BE SAVED WE DON’T DENY HIM, WE DENY OURSELVES.
WE CONFESS HIM.
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Pilate knew that, he just wouldn’t stake his life on it.
IN FACT PILATE ACTUALLY ASKED THE PERFECT QUESTION
Look back up to verse 22.
“Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who called Christ?”
What will you do with Him?
• Will you demand his death?
• Will you acknowledge His innocence, but distance yourself from His scorn?
• Will you come down off your judgment seat and take your place beside Him?
What will you do with Jesus?
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
