Thursday, 9 April The King Establishes His Kingdom. Matt. 27:11–26
There is a lot of chaos and movement behind this quite calm prose. Verse 11 makes it sound as if Jesus is on his own before Pilate, but v20 indicates that the priests and elders were still there, making trouble.
Jesus responded affirmatively to Pilate’s question about whether he was the King of the Jews, though he stayed silent at the accusations of the Jewish leaders. Why was this? I’m not sure. But perhaps because the Jewish accusations were just straight-out lies?
The Author and the very Being of Truth does not need or deign to respond to lies. Those who deal in lies and deception bandy words around with each other, trying to gain advantage. Listen to politicians arguing with each other. But Jesus (and perhaps we as his followers?) do not need to respond to false accusations. By all means concede what is right and true, and engage with honest questioners, but refuse to engage with falsehoods, either by argument or reasoned response.
Telling the Truth – telling forth the truth – does not necessarily require mounting a defence against false accusations, slander, the bellicose badinage of bluster. Truth may stand alone.
The story of Pilate’s wife’s dream is interesting. I wonder if she became a follower of The Way, the name given to Christians in the first decade after Christ. How else would this story have become known? Perhaps if one of her servants in close confidence became a Christian, the story may have leaked out. We cannot know, but it’s fascinating to wonder. Certainly, someone in this highest Roman household knew and shared the story. Men should listen to their wives.
The final words of the crowd (v25) are chilling: His blood be on us and on our children!
With the greatest care for our words, with great compassion but also with reverential fear and awe for the truth of scripture, we hear these frightful words. We have seen the nation of Israel struggle through twenty centuries of wicked persecution and antisemitic hatred. We must never excuse such appalling wickedness as that which Israel has suffered, and still suffers, under constant threat of annihilation.
It is best that we choose to hear these words as a prayer for the future of the nation of Israel. If the nation of Israel does choose to live under the blood of Jesus, that will ultimately be a safe place to reside. Like the first Passover, the blood above our doorways protects us from the angel of death. Even if this was not how they intended it, let us, with Christian charity, turn those words into a prayer for our brothers and sisters in Israel.
Have you noticed how this entire passage is dripping with irony in the exchanges between Pilate and Jesus? It’s as though Matthew is delighting in showing Pilate to be arrogant and utterly witless in knowing who he was really dealing with, while still trying to look powerful and in control. Just look at these few examples, though you could probably find more:
· Jesus stood before the governor (v11);
· While Pilate was sitting on the Judge’s seat (v19);
· What shall I do with the one who is called Christ? (v22);
· I am innocent of this man’s blood (v24).
Jesus is the King Establishing his Kingdom. He is the True Judge and the True Governor, but he allows Pilate to appear as though he is calling all the shots.
Perhaps we are reminded of that lovely poignant passage in Revelation, where we read that John, being permitted to see what was going on in heaven, was desperate to find someone who could open the scroll. He hears that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, and he will open the scroll. Then we read: Then I saw … a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered… (Rev. 5:6)
The tremendous, inexhaustible power of the Son, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the one who created the entire universe and who sustains it all by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3) – this power is held in voluntary self-check before Pilate. He shows his meekness, not his weakness, by holding in his power, when he could so easily sweep everything from before him with one word from his mouth. The Lamb is the power of this new kingdom, where everything is upside down.
In this kingdom, as we have learned, the first will be last, the last will be first, the leader will wash the servants’ feet, the pay rates will be measured by grace and generosity not length of time on the job.
While all the players in this chapter, except Jesus, make a big noise and demand that they are noticed, and that their will is done, the One whose will really is being done even by their self-centred actions stands quietly and calmly. Just Jesus and his Father, standing here in the great, impressive, domed hall – being spoken down to and abused by those who are deluded into thinking that they hold all the power.
Read again the passage in Genesis where Abraham and his son Isaac are walking to the very same mountain where Jesus was standing right at that moment:
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. (Gen. 22:6–8)
Did you notice the little repeated phrase? So the two of them walked on together. And that was how it was now in these gilded halls of rough “justice”. Jesus and the Father were both intent on the job that had to be done, to save humanity from its sin and destruction. So, while all around them shouted and jostled and postured for positions, the two of them walked on together.
When you are in turbulent times, it’s worth remembering this little cameo scene. Be reminded that it is just you and the Father. Just walk on together. It will all work out just fine, no matter what.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for your courage and strength as you faced Pilate in that terrible Hall. You could have wiped the floor with all those people and displayed your power in violence and action. Instead you displayed your Lamb Power in meekness and strength. Praise your holy name. Help me to be like you when I am facing the fiery trial. Remind me that it is just You and I, walking on together. Amen.
