Jesus deals with a difficult situation.
Matthew 27:1–26
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”[a]
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Matthew recorded the events.of the the death of Judas and the trail of Jesus. Some men and women are completely against Jesus. The Jewish leaders were like this. They wanted very much to kill Jesus. But the ruler and his wife knew that Jesus was innocent. None of the things that people said against Jesus was true (verses 19, 24). The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus. So they hated him. That was why they wanted to kill him.
Other men and women would have to give up selfish things. And they were not prepared to do this. Pilate was like this. He knew why the religious leaders hated Jesus (verse 18). But he chose not to understand Jesus completely. Pilate had selfish ambitions. We know from history that he was a proud and cruel man. Later, the entire Jewish nation was against him. So, he had to return to Rome. Even at this time, he hated the Jews. He did not want to listen to them.
Some men and women are not always loyal to Jesus. They change their minds easily. This was true about the crowd. (Read verses 20–25.) Only a few days before, they had welcomed Jesus. They had behaved as if he was the Messiah. (Read 21:1–11.) Now they demanded that he should die. We do not understand how they could change so quickly. Jesus had helped them so much. He healed them. He fed them and he taught them. Now, it seemed to them that he had failed. He was not doing what they wanted him to do. So, they did not care about him any more.
Other people respect Jesus in another way. They think that he could cause them to have good luck or bad luck. The word for this is to be superstitious. So they think that they must deal with him carefully. This seemed to be true about Pilate’s wife (verse 9). Her dream had upset her. So she acted. We do not know the reason. She may have wanted to keep Jesus safe. Or she may have worried about her husband’s safety. We do not know what happened to her. Probably, her worry ended when her dream did not seem so real.
Finally, some people seem to be sorry for their sin. But they do not repent. This was true about Judas. (Read verses 3–10.) He regretted his action. He knew, in his conscience, that he had done wrong. He may even have cried about it. But he did not repent.
Questions
1. What is your faith in Jesus like? Do you only trust him to supply what you need? What else should you trust him for?
2. Some Christians only follow Jesus when things are going well in their lives. How could you help them to have real faith?
3. Evil things happen in legal matters today. Think about what happened to Jesus all those years ago. Should we say anything when things like that happen now? Should we do anything?