Matthew 27:24-26

Matthew 27:24-26

And after Pilate saw that he is successful in accomplishing nothing – but rather a riot became – after taking water he washed the hands before the crowd while saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this one.  You all will take responsibility for causing this to happen.”  And after answering the whole crowd said, “His blood is upon us and upon our children.”  At that time he released Barabbas to them.  And after flogging Jesus he handed him over in order that He should be crucified.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As we continue looking at Pilate, look at what Matthew tells us about Pilate.  Pilate realizes that he is successful in accomplishing nothing.  Pilate realizes that there is nothing that can be done with this crowd.  This affirms what we’ve been saying about Pilate all along.  If Pilate were in this for the popularity, he wouldn’t be looking to change the opinion of the crowd.  Pilate is not in this for the popularity.  Pilate is seeking justice but realizes that the crowd will not hear anything about it.  So he does what he can.  He washes his own hands of the incident and places the guilt where it needs to rest: upon the people who are supposed to be God’s people.

How do you feel about Pilate after reading this passage?  Why would Pilate capitulate to the will of the crowd even though he is the authority?  Does his capitulation change your opinion of him?

Second Thought:

Once more we have another view of the crowd.  This is an equally important side to the crowd as we saw yesterday.  Pilate could do nothing with them.  Yet yesterday we saw that the crowd was easily lathered up into a rage by the religious leaders.  The crowd is responsible for their decisions, even if they are thinking together in a mob mentality.  The crowd knows what it wants – and usually the crowd does not want logic, reason, and a reasonable conversation.  The crowd wants action, drama, and intensity.  This is why the crowd responds to call of the religious leaders to seek Jesus’ blood but they do not respond to Pilate’s call for logic and reason.  The religious leaders may bear the guilt of manipulating the crowd, but the crowd bears the guilt of allowing themselves to be manipulated by evil and not listening to good.

Have you ever been in a place to see a crowd reject logic and reason?  Have you ever been in a place to see a crowd respond to emotional appeal so much that no amount of logic and reason could reach it?  Why is it best in such circumstances to simple walk away from the crowd at those moments?

Third Thought:

Finally, notice that the crowd owns the guilt.  They welcome the guilt.  They are so convinced of what they want in the moment that they embrace the guilt of Jesus.  We should learn this lesson, too.  When we go along with the crowd, we had better be sure that we trust the crowd to make the right decision.  Crowds are notorious for being short-sighted and thoughtless.  After all, who embraces the guilt for another person losing their life except people who are not thinking?  Furthermore, in another ironic twist of fate we can see just how much God is still in control.  Who else could maneuver this situation in such a way that the crowd not only calls out that they want Barabbas (Son of the Father) to be released but also then maneuvers the crowd and the religious people into a position of confessing their own guilt?  The stubbornness of the people only leads us into a position to seeing the presence of God so clearly.

Why do the people embrace their guilt?  How does their desire to embrace their guilt actually demonstrate God’s omnipresence and omnipotence?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 27:27-31