<\/p>
INTRODUCTION <\/p>\n
Jesus predicted that His disciples would be \u201cdelivered\u201d to Gentile kings and governors, and testify to them (Matthew 10:17-20).\u00a0 But it happens to Jesus first.\u00a0 The disciple is not above His master.\u00a0 Jesus the King goes first before the Gentiles. <\/p>\n
THE TEXT <\/p>\n
\u201cNow Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, \u2018Are You the King of the Jews?\u2019\u00a0Jesus said to him, \u2018It is as\u00a0you say\u2019 . . . . (Matthew 27:11-31). <\/p>\n
JESUS AND ROME <\/p>\n
Every Jewish teacher in first-century Israel had to deal with the problem of Rome, and Jesus is no exception.\u00a0\u00a0 When Jesus taught about loving enemies and going a second mile (5:38-48) or told His disciples to return Caesar\u2019s coin to Caesar (22:15-22), He was teaching His disciples how to respond to sometimes brutal overlords.\u00a0 Jesus had also helped a Roman soldier, and commended his faith (Matthew 8:1-13; cf. 2 Kings 5).\u00a0 Now, He stands on trial before Pilate and is mocked by Roman soldiers.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 trial reveals Pilate\u2019s impotence, but also prepares for the last word of Matthew, the commission evangelized the nations. <\/p>\n
PASSOVER EXCHANGE <\/p>\n
The first Passover involved an exchange of sons: Yahweh took Egypt\u2019s firstborn sons, and delivered Israel\u2019s.\u00a0 Pilate offers a similar exchange to the Jews (27:16-17, 21).\u00a0 Barabbas (his name means \u201cson of the father\u201d) was a Jewish freedom fighter (Mark 15:7), and so the decision before the Jews is not only a decision between two men but a decision about their future relation to the Roman empire: Will they choose the way of armed revolution or the way of Jesus?\u00a0 They make the fateful choice for Barabbas.\u00a0 Pilate is stuck between the Jews clamoring for Jesus\u2019 death and his wife who, like Joseph and the wise men (Matthew 1:20; 2:12-13, 19, 22), has received revelation in a dream (27:19).\u00a0 Despite his command of a battalion of soldiers, he knows he can do nothing (27:24) bows to the pressure of the \u201ccrowd,\u201d fearing a riot (27:24).\u00a0 Washing hands of blood goes back to Deuteronomy 21:1-9, where the elders of the city with an unsolved murder wash their hands and lay the guilt of the murder on a heifer.\u00a0 For their part, \u201cthe people\u201d accept the blood of Jesus upon themselves and their children (27:25; cf. 4:23; 13:15; 15:8), and Pilate\u2019s words to the Jews echo the priests\u2019 words to Judas (27:24; cf. 27:4).\u00a0 In the face of his wife\u2019s dream and knowing that Jesus is innocent (27:24), Pilate still sends Jesus off to the cross. <\/p>\n
KING OF THE JEWS <\/p>\n
Before he is crucified, Pilate gives his solders permission to torture and mock Jesus.\u00a0 It is a mock coronation scene.\u00a0 Jesus wears a royal robe, is crowned, is given a scepter, and then the soldiers bow in mock reverence and acclaim Him King of the Jews (27:27-31).\u00a0 The irony here is multi-layered.\u00a0 The soldiers no doubt intend to mock the Jews as much as Jesus: Here is the king the Jews deserve, the say.\u00a0 Yet God is not mocked: Their mockery reveals the truth.\u00a0 Had they any discernment, the Roman soldiers could have seen this for themselves.\u00a0 During the trial, Pilate essentially ceded authority to the Jewish people.\u00a0 The decision to crucify was theirs, not his, and the solders are acting on orders from the Jews.\u00a0 When they say that Jesus is king of the Jews, they are saying that He is their <\/em> king too: They carry out His orders.\u00a0 Soon enough, they will confess this without mockery (27:54). <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INTRODUCTION Jesus predicted that His disciples would be \u201cdelivered\u201d to Gentile kings and governors, and testify to them (Matthew 10:17-20).\u00a0 But it happens to Jesus first.\u00a0 The disciple is not above His master.\u00a0 Jesus the King goes first before the Gentiles. THE TEXT \u201cNow Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-nt-matthew"],"yoast_head":"\n