"Let Him be crucified!"

Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"

- Matthew 27:11-23

In yesterday's reading, Jesus has been condemned by the Council, and given over to the governor, as they plot to put Him to death. Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. They said to themselves that they could not use the money in the treasury, as it the price of blood. So they bought a potter's field, in which to bury strangers. Matthew tells us: Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." Again, we read Jesus' reply similar to that of two recent readings (the first was when Judas asked, "Rabbi, is it I?" and the second in response to the high priest). Here the variation is a slightly different word in the Greek, that denotes "you say" in a present tense, hinting to us the implication that this is what Pilate will write on the Cross, the identity of the prisoner. Rather than testimony as in the words of Judas and the high priest, this word implies a judgment. So the irony is similar in each circumstance: here, despite himself, Pilate is pronouncing the truth about Jesus. The charge is brought by the Council because a charge of blasphemy will be meaningless to Pilate; on the other hand, a king of the Jews is a political threat, a direct attack on Roman rule.

And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Jesus is being consistent in not responding to the false accusations being trumped up against Him by the leadership of the Council. Pilate clearly has never encountered a prisoner like this one.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. My study bible points out a deceptive irony, woven into this story. "Barabbas" means "son of Abbas" -- in Aramaic, it sounds like "Son of the Father," who is Jesus. We could mention the fact that Barabbas is notorious, and known as a popular violent rebel against the Romans, a murderer. We look at the contrast: Pilate notes to the crowd that Jesus is called Christ, "Anointed One." But to me the real hint here is that this political man, governor of Judea, servant in the hierarchy of Rome, knows very well what is going on. The leadership has delivered Jesus up to be killed out of envy: He has the faith and loyalty of so many. He is a leader not by title but by His very Person.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." A very interesting note here: Pilate's aware they've delivered up Jesus out of envy. Pilate's wife also knows somewhere inside of herself: this is a just Man. Her soul is disturbed in a dream by the injustice of what is being asked. Even those who know nothing of Jesus, nothing of Jewish spiritual history, have a natural sense of what is being done here. It's an indirect testimony to all the Gentile peoples who await direct knowledge of the revelation of the Son. My study bible points out that Pilate doesn't really know who's being judged, but he fears his wife's dream.

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. Here is the abuse of leadership position, an example of wolves in sheep's clothing, about which Jesus has warned will also come in His name. For the sake of their own positions, they lead the people astray. Most likely the crowds here have been assembled by them in the first place. We remember that Jesus' disciples have scattered.

The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" Here's another irony in the story: the people He's come to save cry out for His crucifixion. The Gospels never go with the crowds, who are always easy to persuade. (In another note in my study bible there is the expression, "the crowd follows the crowd.") In the story of Jesus, Matthew gives us today another understanding of justice and its principles: there is always a chance the innocent are persecuted by the powerful, and by a hateful mob. Jesus has preached over and over again about the protection and care of the little ones, the humble, the poor, the powerless. In any system of justice, the protection of the excluded, the minority, becomes paramount to our understanding of truth. In so many ways, the story of Christ gives us tools of understanding for how we are to live, to understand ourselves, to find truth.

So, in this picture the world is stood on its head. The crowd bays for Jesus' crucifixion. Stirred up by the leadership, it is assembled here even when Pilate understands there is something amiss. A pragmatic governor ruling in the name of an Empire known for its use of power, its excesses soon to be notorious at Rome, its ruthlessness in crushing opposition -- even he knows something here is amiss. Let it be a lesson to us of what a time upside down looks like. Hypocrisy -- a false mask -- can create an impression of leadership where there is none, where there is only care for the leader's position and not for what is truly good, not even for the things the leadership is supposed to care for. In this case, those in spiritual leadership pervert and corrupt spiritual reality, falsely present it to the people. And when this happens in the realm of the spiritual, so it filters down to all levels of social discourse and action. In every way, this scene is corrupt. We have the symbolic false face of the "Son of the Father" in the name of Barabbas the rebel, the false face of the Council, the false face of leadership that fails all around, and a false face of the people in a riled up crowd. So where is truth here? How do we know what truth is? In my opinion, we must view this story as a picture of who we are and what we may become. This past century has seen all kinds of pictures of riled up mobs, of crowds bent on collective insanity and persecution of religious minority, ruled by leadership that is fully corrupt and yet may present the face of the ones who guard collective social values. Through sophistry and deception, we may be persuaded to follow seemingly anything. Let us not forget that collective rage and anger get us nowhere, but to a nihilistic kind of spiral downward. Ironically, the individual life of Judas serves as a model of what can also happen collectively. To murder Jesus will not take away His truth, nor will it destroy the effect and presence of His Person. His Resurrection remains a real presence; grace is at work in the world no matter what we may see or persuade ourselves to believe. In all times, let us seek the secret place where we may pray to Our Father in secret, who sees in secret, and may guide us with the truth that we need.