2 Oct (Matt 27:1-31)

The Gospels: Jesus Faces Pilate

Matthew 27:1-31

(v.1) An important note here...it was against Jewish law to have a trial at night. In all, the Pharisees broke at least a dozen laws by the way they secretly treated Jesus the night before. Darkness is afraid of the Light!

(v.4) Judas had a moment where Satan wasn't controlling him, and he regretted his betrayal. What happens after is one of the best prophecies in the Bible!

In Zech 11:13 there is a weird story 30 pieces of silver. Judas regretted his betrayal, and tried to give back the money the leaders paid him to lead them to Jesus. They wouldn't take it, so Judas threw the money to the ground...in the House of the LORD...the Temple!

The leaders knew they couldn't put that money back into the general fund, so they used the money to buy a nearby field for future burial of strangers who died in Jerusalem. This field was owned by a potter!

So the prophecy is precisely fulfilled...the 30 pieces of silver was thrown down in the House of the LORD, and the potter ended up with the money!

This was written down hundreds of years before Christ walked the earth...this is one of many prophecies that prove that the Bible was inspired by God, for He is outside of time, and can predict things in advance, since He sees the end and the beginning at the same time!

(v.11) Jesus again allows Himself to be called the King of the Jews...this is Messianic...Jesus calling Himself God.

(v.19) Pilate is portrayed as an evil man, and he definitely wasn't a saint. But I empathize with him, for he was put into an impossible situation. There had been many uprisings from the Jews during Pilate's watch as Rome's Governor of Jerusalem, and during this time of Passover about to start, the last thing he wanted, was another riot!

Pilate, and his wife, who had a dream that Jesus was God, didn't want to condemn Jesus. But since the Pharisees insisted, he had to follow through or face a riot by the Jews.

So Pilate thinks he has a way out...he gives the people a choice...free a murderer, or free Christ. What he didn't expect, was they would rather live with the murderer than the Son of God and be faced with their own sins!

If we take a look at this...we are Barabbas. The Innocent One took on the punishment of the guilty one, and the guilty one was given mercy at the price of the Innocent One. This is the case with all of us sinners who realize that Jesus took on our punishment for us, so that we could be redeemed with the Father!