Are You the King

Matthew 27:1-31

Welcome! It feels great to be able to stand up here and deliver a message here in our building. But at the same time, I am even more thankful for all of you, whether you are on Zoom or in person, that you have remained faithful to God and have continued to fellowship as a part of this body despite all of the challenges, inconveniences, and trials that this past year has brought. It has been roughly a full year since the pandemic affected us here in South Carolina to the point that we began to meet online. Many things have changed in our lives and in our society, but God never changes. Politicians, employers, and even those close to us personally may disappoint, fail, and even betray us, but God remains faithful, and His promises are sure.

 
We are rapidly approaching the end of the Book of Matthew, and we will finish on Easter Sunday, two weeks from now. Because Easter is almost upon us, I want to recommend a video/podcast that I feel did an exceptionally good job discussing the evidence for the resurrection of Christ. I will include a link in the message transcript (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8nksgZerZE) but you can also easily find it by searching in YouTube or your favorite podcast app for “Mike Winger” and clicking on the recent title, dated March 17, “Teen Atheist Becomes Christian Because of this Evidence.” The format is a discussion between Pastor Mike Winger and what I think is a high-school student in Belgium named Mario who became a Christian after studying the Bible along with apologetic materials from Mike and others. He wrote a paper for school in which he defended the resurrection, and the discussion deals with how to help you answer common objections to the historicity of the resurrection and gives many categories of evidence for it. Beyond this, the faith of Mario and the gentle spirit and practical advice of Mike Winger are just super encouraging. I do not make recommendations like this often, but in this case, I feel confident that if you listen to it you will come away strengthened in your faith.

Let’s turn now to our scripture passage for today, Matthew 27:1-30. First, a quick reminder of what we have discussed over the past two weeks, in Matthew 26. So many things happened in this one chapter! The Jewish leaders worked on plans to arrest Jesus, and Jesus’ disciple Judas, one of the Twelve, shockingly went to the chief priests and received 30 pieces of silver in exchange for handing Jesus over to them at a time in the near future, as soon as an opportunity arose to do so. Jesus was also anointed in Bethany by a woman who used an extremely expensive jar of perfume in an alabaster jar. Jesus said that this act prepared His body for burial!
 
Jesus and the disciples then went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover together, and they shared a meal in what is called the Last Supper. Jesus stated that one would betray Him, and Judas said, “surely you do not mean me, Rabbi?” shortly before going to do this very thing. After the meal, they went out to the Mount of Olives, and Jesus warned the disciples that that very night, all of them would fall away from Him. Peter denied this, an act eerily reminiscent of Judas, and Jesus told him that indeed, that very night, before the rooster would crow, Peter would deny Him three times.
 
Jesus then brought the disciples to Gethsemane, where He explained His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow and He asked them to keep watch with Him. As He prayed for the Lord, if it were possible, to remove this cup from Him, His disciples fell asleep. This happened two more times, and then Judas came with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs. Judas had told them that the one he kisses was the one to arrest, and when they arrived, he greeted Jesus with a kiss. Jesus told him to do what he came for. One of the disciples reached for his sword and struck the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus rebuked him, and the disciples then fled, just as Jesus had predicted.
 
It was still nighttime, and Jesus was brought to Caiaphas, the high priest, along with the teachers of the law and the elders. They asked for witnesses to bring charges against Jesus, even from false witnesses, but although many came forward none of their statements were appropriate. Finally, two came and claimed that Jesus said that He was able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. Jesus did not respond, despite Caiaphas imploring Him to do so. Then Caiaphas asked Him if He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus responded by saying that they would see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven. They took this as blasphemy and said He was worthy of death. They spat on Him and beat Him, making cruel jokes as they did so.
 
Let me add here that this entire “trial” made a complete and total mockery of everything that the Jewish court system required at that time. It is actually breathtaking how this was almost the complete and total opposite of every rule they had. Every trial had to be public; this was private. Every trial had to take place during the day, even early enough in the day so that it could not become rushed late in the afternoon; this trial took place at night. Every trial had to allow the defendant to know the charges in advance so they could prepare a defense and bring witnesses. Jesus had no advance notice of the charges; indeed, there were not any when the “trial” began, and Jesus had no opportunity to bring witnesses. The prosecutors were required to be different people than those who voted, and votes were to be carefully counted; none of this happened. No prosecution could be made by having someone incriminate themselves by giving testimony against themselves; yet this is all they had (bogus though that was, as not liking an answer does not make it untrue). Not only were false witnesses forbidden; it was required that they receive the punishment that would have befallen on the accused. Not one of these things took place!
 
Peter was nearby, and several people noticed, each one asking or insisting that he was one of Jesus’ followers. Peter denied it three separate times, each more insistently than the time before, and then a rooster crowed, reminding him of Jesus’ words. He immediately left and wept bitterly.
 
This concludes the events of Matthew 26. Note that Jesus’ trial before the Jews actually was more like three trials, and additional details are given in the other gospels. But in the interest of time, let us move on and read the opening verses of Chapter 27:
 
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor. – Matthew 27:1-2
 
Now what is meant by “made their plans” is expanded on and is a bit more clear in Luke and Mark. What happened is that they met all together, in the proper place (the judgment hall), and they took a formal vote, so that it would look like they had a legal trial. Of course, they found Him guilty, in the very definition of a kangaroo court. (By the way, the term refers to a trial in which you completely jump over any issues such as a lack of proper evidence, lack of allowance for a proper defense, etc.)
 
Now, because of the Roman occupation, the Jewish leaders did not have the authority under Roman law to put anyone to death. And so, it was for this reason they brought Him to Pontius Pilate, who was assigned by the Romans to rule over this region.
 
Before we go on, let me point out that even this decision violated Jewish law at that time. They had a rule that when someone was assigned the death penalty (even though they could not deliver it without Roman approval and implementation), the penalty could not be carried out until two days later. Furthermore, that entire time, the council was required to stay in session (with at least one representative present at all times) so that if anyone came by with new information that exonerated the accused, the rest of the council would reconvene and seriously consider the new evidence. By moving so quickly to bring Jesus to Pilate, they broke this rule as well. This is not at all surprising, given all they have done the night before.
 
Now starting in verse 3, the account returns us to Judas.
 
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. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” – Matthew 27:3-4
 
It is easy to hate Judas. I looked up Judas on a baby name site, and it is ranked about #10,000 in popularity. That is really low! But Judas is not a simple villain. It says that Judas was seized with remorse. He felt responsible for Jesus’ death sentence by the Jewish leaders. And of course, as Jesus’ betrayer, that feeling of responsibility was entirely justified. But a simple villain would not care at all. He would brush it off. He certainly would not return to the Jewish leaders and return the money he was paid! He would not risk his own safety by telling them that he was a sinner, and that Jesus was innocent, because their anger towards Jesus could easily spread to him. In contrast to Peter, who feared so much for his safety that he denied ever knowing Jesus, Judas takes a significant risk here.
 
The leaders’ response shows just how callous and uncaring they are. Here is the man without whom they could not have carried out their plan, a man to whom they owe their success. They could have at least offered to go out and buy him a beer (or whatever they drank). They could have tried to talk “sense” to him or to encourage him. But they do not care for him at all. They used him, and they never want to see him again. 
 
Now remorse is not the same as repentance. It is a necessary step towards repentance, but the Bible uses a different word for repentance than what is used here. Judas feels sad, he feels sorry, and wishes that he had never gone through with it. But he does not follow up these feelings by turning to God and asking for forgiveness.
 
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 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.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 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, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” – Matthew 27:5-10
 
To my knowledge, Judas and Ahithophel are the only two people who commit suicide in the Bible. You might argue that Saul and his armor bearer did so as well, but that situation was different, in that their self-inflicted deaths were to avoid torture and worse in and after an immediate battle. But the parallels between Judas and Ahithophel are interesting. Judas was one of the twelve, close to Jesus (king), and Ahithophel was likewise a servant of David. Judas shockingly betrayed Jesus, aiding his enemies, and Ahithophel likewise betrayed David, aiding his embittered son Absalom. But there are also great differences. Ahithophel had a reason to want David’s ruin: he wanted vengeance on David for the seduction of Bathsheba and the killing of her husband Uriah. He knew when all this happened and had to keep quiet about the sin. But Jesus had never sinned. There were no secrets that Judas was keeping, not about Jesus, anyway. He had his own sins, including helping himself to some of the money in the moneybag. Was Judas’ betrayal of Jesus solely over the 30 pieces of silver? I think it is more complicated. Sinful people often grow to hate people who seem to never sin. Why? Certainly, jealousy must be part of it.
 
I do not know if I can communicate the deeper part of it, but I think it is important, so I will try. To have been a disciple of Jesus, and indeed to be a follower of Him today, requires understanding that, deep down, it’s not about you. It’s about Him! We exist to glorify God. We follow Christ as an act of worship. We should not care what others think of us at all. I recently watched an interview with a retirement-age doctor, and the final question was “What do you want to be remembered for?” He gave a typical answer about the various people he helped, but the answer made me feel flat. I think the best answer is to not want to be remembered at all, or more precisely, not to care! The very question is a temptation to take your eyes off Jesus and onto yourself. I think C.S. Lewis touches on these themes when he writes, in The Weight of Glory,
 
“And that is enough to raise your thoughts to what may happen when the redeemed soul, beyond all hope and nearly beyond belief, learns at last that she has pleased Him whom she was created to please. There will be no room for vanity then. She will be free from the miserable illusion that it is her doing. With no taint of what we should now call self-approval she will most innocently rejoice in the thing that God has made her to be, and the moment which heals her old inferiority complex forever will also drown her pride…”
 
Jesus’ other 11 disciples certainly were immature and certainly had their faults, but I believe there were times when they simply rejoiced in Jesus. When He used them in small ways, they rejoiced. When He healed other people, they rejoiced. When other people came to faith in Him, they rejoiced. This kind of rejoicing is deeply linked with worship; I would say it is a form of worship. John the Baptist exemplified this type of rejoicing when he said of Jesus, “He must increase; I must decrease.” I believe that Judas, tragically, never experienced this.
 
With regards to the priests’ response, the irony here is extreme. The chief priests are opposed to receiving the money into the treasury because it is “blood money” – but it is money they themselves provided! The idea of having different uses for money, including a special, non-Jewish use for the money associated with sin, is the ultimate hypocrisy. It reminds me of how my mostly kosher-keeping grandparents had a separate set of cheap plates for eating pepperoni pizza which is non-kosher on multiple levels.
 
It strikes me that people who live like this make themselves have extraordinarily complicated lives. This is “bad” money so it cannot be used to help our own people. This is “bad” food, so we need to not put it on our “good” plates. Living a life of simple obedience to God is just that – simple! We do not need lots of exceptions and cases to make us feel better about our sin. God sees through all this anyway, and He utterly rejects its logic. I am reminded of Micah 6:8:
 
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8  
 
I think this verse is increasingly misunderstood or misapplied today. To act justly really is not about social justice, but instead is about you yourself treating everyone you are involved with fairly and properly, not showing inappropriate favoritism. “Mercy” is in my opinion a slight mistranslation of the Hebrew chesed. More literally, it means faithfulness in the way that God is always faithful and goodness in the way that God is always good. It can mean mercy, but it is far more general. And to walk humbly is to admit that in our own strength, we are not like God, but are prone to selfishness and sin. To walk humbly means that we are ever prayerful and open to God, seeking His Spirit to help us to live as He wants us to live. And so, to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly means to do right with other people, to love the character qualities of God (and to seek to be like Him), and to be ever aware of our weakness in our own strength and our constant need for Him in our lives. As a set of “rules”, this is so much simpler than making meaningless distinctions to accommodate our sin that, at best, only makes us feel a little better about our sin. Living out Micah 6:8 is simple, but it is not easy, as we are, as the hymn puts it, “prone to wander.”
 
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Do not you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. – Matthew 27:11-14
 
Matthew returns our gaze to Jesus, His accusers, and Pilate. John 18 gives additional details that help us to understand the context of these verses better. We do not have time to go into the details of these verses, but I will summarize them. First Pilate asks the Jews what the charge was, and they respond evasively by saying, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him to you.” They do this because they have no charge that a Roman would care about. Pilate told them to be gone then, but they complain that they have no right to execute him. So, Pilate brings Jesus inside and asks Him if He is a king. They have a conversation that concludes with Jesus saying that His kingdom is not of this world. Pilate responds with “So you are a king, then!” Understanding this backstory, Jesus’ response here of “You have said so” to “Are you the King of the Jews” makes perfect sense. The account in Matthew appears to take place after the account in John. This means that Pilate brought Jesus back outside to the Jews, where they have this conversation and then the Jews proceed to level all kinds of spurious accusations against Jesus, hoping that something will “stick” enough for Rome to care. You actually see this part of the conversation in Luke 23, where they say, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” The first two charges were absolutely false. The third was not actually a crime, unless one threatened to overthrow Rome, but Jesus did not, so this charge too was false. But again, Jesus did not respond, fulfilling Isaiah 53:7 which says that “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.” Pilate was amazed because any other man would try to defend himself to save his life.
 
Now Luke has many more details, of the next things that happened, including Pilate sending Jesus and His accusers to Herod. Jesus never responded to his questions and was sent back to Pilate. This brings us to the next verses in Matthew.
 
Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 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?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. – Matthew 27:15-18
 
It is important to understand that Pilate thought Jesus innocent, and did not want to execute Him. But he had a crowd who wanted Jesus dead, a crowd that could become riotous. And that could lead to the end of Pilate’s job (and his life). Pilate was already in trouble with Rome. When he was first appointed to Jerusalem, he rode in with banners whose staffs had images of Caesar on top. The Romans viewed Caesar as a god, so the Jews saw this as bringing in idols to Jerusalem. They rioted, demanding that he remove them, but Pilate stubbornly refused. After making his big entrance, Pilate returned to his home base in Caesarea, but many Jews followed him back, riotously demanding that he remove these images. He called a meeting, rounding up the protesters in the amphitheater and telling them that unless they stop, he would cut off their heads. They responded by baring their necks and telling the soldiers to do it. Pilate was trapped because he knew that if he did it, there would be national revolution, and Rome would cut off his own head. So, he gave in and removed the images. In just a few years, there were two more major incidents with the Jews. Each of these were noted by Rome. So, Pilate knew that he had to be careful. Now he really did not want to execute an innocent man, so he hoped that the Jews, especially the crowds (probably not the leaders) would come to their senses, not wanting him to release a truly terrible criminal. In this way he hoped he would defuse the situation, outmaneuver the Jewish leaders, and get his desired outcome.
 
While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Do not have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” – Matthew 27:19
 
Many Romans believed greatly in omens and dreams. This message from his wife certainly was unnerving to Pilate. Note that she called Jesus an innocent man. She knew, as well as Pilate, that Jesus had not done anything deserving death. Jesus had healed many, everyone knew of His character, His miracles, His teachings. Here, even a pagan woman knows.
 
The timing of the message was, I believe, totally in God’s plan. What was God’s plan? That Jesus would die for the sins of the world. Now Pilate’s plan was actually a good one – the sudden announcement that he would release Barnabas or Jesus, surely, would result in the crowds choosing to release Jesus over the objections of the smaller group of leaders. But the message came! This required Pilate to deal with it. He was distracted. There was a delay, a time-out, so to speak. And in that time-out, the other “team” took full advantage. The leaders were able to sway the crowds. And so, when he came back when the time-out was over, here is what happened:
 
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. – Matthew 27:20-21
 
There are terrible ironies here. The wife’s warning was leading to the very outcome that she desired would be avoided. Pilate was really in a tough place. His plan had failed.
 
“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” – Matthew 27:22-23
 
Pilate’s question is one that every person needs to answer. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” There is an entire sermon there. But let us move on. Pilate sees that he cannot sway the people. They are no longer even responding to his questions. Pilate knows that another full-blown riot is at risk now, and Rome will likely replace him if he lets it happen.
 
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!” All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” – Matthew 27:24-25
 
This symbolic handwashing was just that, only symbolic. The truth is that no person is innocent of His blood. In a great irony, Pilate appears in the Apostles’ Creed: He [Jesus] suffered under Pontius Pilate. Handwashing does not cleanse us of sin. Nothing we can do cleanses us from sin. Pilate failed to understand that only Jesus’ blood could absolve him from the guilt that he bore for being one of those responsible for the shedding of Jesus’ blood.
 
The crowd’s response is chilling. I find it one of the darkest moments in the entire passion narrative. It is bad enough that the people seem to happily agree to being responsible for Jesus’ death, but to volunteer that any consequences also befall their own children? In this case, the people are correct, but their declaration has nothing to do with it. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and Jesus died for sinners. But Jesus’ death will not help you unless, by faith, you receive His gift of forgiveness. This gift was made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross. But it is appropriated by your agreeing of your need for it and your faith-filled commitment of your life to Him. 
 
Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. – Matthew 27:26-31
 
Pilate’s soldiers were brutal. I will not go into the details. But this kind of cruelty all while making it like a joke is the very definition of evil, the very definition of blasphemy.
 
We read this and we want to turn away. It is too horrible to imagine. But this picture is a parable of our sin. God is perfectly righteous, perfectly holy. Sin, all sin, is so serious that it separates us from God. If we were to come into His presence, we would all die. God cannot just look the other way. He cannot ignore our sin, because to do so would make Him lose His holiness. From God’s perspective, it is our sin that is horrible. When we sin we oppose God. We may not use the word, but in our spirit, when we sin, we shout “crucify” just like the crowds. We may not physically hurt anyone, but in our spirit, when we sin, we participate with the soldiers.
 
Jesus endured all of this because of His love for us. They thought it was a great joke to dress Him up as a king, dirty, bloody, and almost unrecognizable, but Jesus was never more majestic, never a greater king, than when He was whipped, beaten, mocked, spat upon, and treated as a joke. He did not resist, although He could have freed Himself at any time. For the joy set before Him, King Jesus, King of kings, endured all this, and more, which we will read about next week.