Matthew 27:11-19

Rachel Workman: ¹¹ Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
Jesus replied, “You have said it.” 
¹² But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. ¹³ “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. ¹⁴ But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise. Jesus willingly went to the cross. There is nothing I can ever do or say that will be enough to show my gratitude.
¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. ¹⁶ This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.^{[d] 17} As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.) I would say nothing has changed. We still do the wrong things and stand for what is evil in God's eyes. But worse yet we want to make sure everyone else accepts it.
¹⁹ Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

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John Burnett: ¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. ¹³ Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴ And He did not answer him with regard to even a single ^[a]charge, so the governor was quite amazed.  He willingly went to the cross for our sins and I got the two nails in my pocket.  Thank you Lord Jesus for your sufficient payment for my sins.  I don’t give you the praise only you are worthy of and I thank you for the grace that I am so unworthy of.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the ^[b]people any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.  They chose the evil man over Jesus.  The world would do the same today.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for ^[c]last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

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Mike Grimm: 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. Jesus’ silence fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah;

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. (Isaiah 53:7)

Pilate was amazed that Jesus didn’t try to defend himself. He also recognized the obvious plot against Jesus and wanted to set him free, but Pilate was already under pressure from Rome to keep peace in his territory. The last thing he needed was a rebellion over this quiet and seemingly insignificant man.

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 Barabbas. Interesting that this man’s first name was Jesus and that Barabbas means “son of the father.” This was actually Jesus’ position with God. 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.” So it is true that behind every husband is a wife “calling the shots.” This must have started about 1 AD. Pilate proved to be more concerned about his political career than about doing what was right. His conscience told him Jesus was innocent; Roman law said an innocent man should not be put to death; and his wife had a troubling dream. Pilate had no good excuse to condemn Jesus, but he was afraid of the crowd.

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Reading for Matthew 27:20-31

²⁰ Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. ²¹ So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”
The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”
²² Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
²³ “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
²⁴ Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
²⁵ And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”^[e]
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

²⁷ Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters^[f] and called out the entire regiment. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. ²⁹ They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. ³¹ When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.