Are You the King of the Jews?

 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 the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" 

- Matthew 27:11-23

It is Holy Week in our current reading, and Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has been betrayed by Judas, arrested, and convicted by the council in a night trial.  Peter has denied Christ three times in the courtyard of the high priest.  In yesterday's reading, we were told that when morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  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.  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  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."  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.   The chief priests and elders can't bring a blasphemy charge to Pilate, although that's the charge by which they've convicted Christ in the Council (that Christ called Himself equal to God).  Instead, they must bring a charge to Pilate which would carry the death penalty, and it is of calling Himself the King of the Jews.  For the Romans, that could bring a charge of treason.  That is, it's a challenge to Roman rule, and the penalty is execution.  Jesus doesn't respond to defend Himself; perhaps there is no point here for preaching or teaching, and His acceptance of the way forward is already complete. 

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 the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   What is the irony here that we are witness to, that is playing out in Jesus' life?   This is a day of mercy:  a feast day upon which one prisoner may be released.  Jesus' innocence and dignity as a person is so obvious that Pilate understands something is wrong.  He's perceptive enough to see that the religious leadership has handed Him over because of envy.  The first thing Pilate does is ask the crowd if they'd like Jesus who is called Christ to be freed to them.   He is the stand-out, the One who is different among the prisoners.  Another irony comes in the glimmer of  wisdom given in a dream.  It reminds us of the dreams given early in the Gospel which influence the events of Jesus' life, such as when Joseph is told in a dream not to fear but to take pregnant Mary as his wife, or when both Joseph and the Wise Men are warned by dreams.   Here the wife of Pilate has also been warned about mistreatment of that just Man by a dream, and this message is conveyed to Pilate.  Pilate sits on the judgment seat -- as man who knows the truth but is caught between the crowds and the leadership.  He judges the One who is true Judge of all.  And there's another huge central irony here as well:  the name Barabbas means "son of the father."  The crowds, says my study bible, must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  But the chief priests and elders have already swayed the crowd to follow the son of the  "father" they choose (see John 8:44).  

The ironies here are many.  They're "lost chances" for mercy, for grace.  Who is the Son of the Father?  What's true, and what's a lie?  Warnings come by dreams even to the wife of Pilate -- a pagan woman who's touched in some way by grace.  Pilate knows Jesus is a just man; it's clear to him, one experienced in the politics of power and ambition in this greatest of empires, that Jesus is handed over simply because of envy.  Those who wish to take Him down don't wish for anything but his death.  Ultimately, despite the many opportunities for mercy, the decision comes down to the crowd.  This is the same Jerusalem whose crowds a week before welcome Jesus as King, as Messiah.  But this particular crowd has been stirred by the leadership.  And here one must really consider the word "leadership" and what it means.  Is Christ a leader?  Are these men leaders?  If our leadership isn't based in truth then where is it going, and what does it serve?  This story makes that pretty clear.  It doesn't matter how great the institution and its founding ideas, doesn't seem to make any difference who our ancestors were.  Here and now, where do we stand, and how are we led?  The truth seeks  a way to get through; there are glimmers of light in this story.  The dignity of Christ tells a story in and of itself, the dream given in warning, the clear understanding of Pilate of Jesus' innocence, and the crowds who still have this choice for the One who's given them the truth.  Everything seems to come down to what we choose and what is in our heart.  Who sits in the Judgment Seat for all?  Does the Truth get a word in here?  Maybe what makes a true leader is simply staying in that place above all else, even standing in silence when there is no one who can hear.