Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him

 

 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 

 

 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 as 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.  My study Bible comments that the chief priests hide their real charge against Jesus -- the claim of equality with God -- because this would not persuade the governor to sentence Him to death.  Instead they devise to present a charge of treason, that Jesus called Himself the King of the Jews.  Such a crime would carry the death penalty, as it constitutes a challenge to Roman rule.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that Jesus is the true Son of the Father, yet the name Barabbas means "son of the father."  Ironically, these crowds have to choose between one Son of the Father and the other.   My study Bible says that as they influence the crowds to choose Barabbas, these chief priests indicate to which father they belong -- the devil (John 8:44).  

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!"   Here Pilate tries three times to release Jesus, but the chief priests and elders persuade the people that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus, thus refuting Pilate's three attempts.  In the end, my study Bible says, they are demanding the release of a rebel like themselves.

 

 Pilate tries three times to save Jesus, because it's the time of the Passover Feast, and so the occasion when the Romans would give amnesty to one of the prisoners of the Empire, giving them back to the community, so to speak.  Pilate, being an outsider to the politics of the temple, hasn't really any problem with Jesus.  Jesus is not like Barabbas, who was likely what may be called a brigand, one involved in insurrection against the Romans.  Barabbas is a kind of known quantity to Pilate, the type of man seen as a criminal because he was involved in some sort of violence against the state.  State power and order were the greatest priorities for the Romans, and so certainly for this Roman governor keeping those like Barabbas under control would have been an obvious concern.  But Jesus is another matter altogether.  Well-spoken, and meek (or gentle), Jesus is someone that a Roman official could possibly regard as possessing some kind of virtue.  Barabbas, by contrast, is here called a notorious prisoner.  Moreover, Pilate's own wife confesses to him that he'd best beware of how he treats Jesus, even sending Pilate a message:  "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."   Among the peoples and cultures of the Mediterranean still today, and certainly then, portents and omens such as dreams have some mysterious significance.  One could possibly ignore them and regret it.  In a world such as Pilate lived, confidence and trust would be in short supply; perhaps only a wife could be trusted to confide such a message honestly (her fate, after all, rested with him as well).  But the Gospels tell us that Pilate honestly has found nothing wrong or criminal in Jesus ("Why, what evil has He done?").  Moreover, he knows that these religious leaders who want Jesus executed seem, apparently to Pilate, to want to do so out of envy.  Perhaps Jesus is a type of leader in the society that might be easier to deal with than those who favor brigands like Barabbas.  At any rate, whatever Pilate is thinking, it's his job to maintain the peace and order such as it was, or his own career would certainly be on the line.  So for all these various reasons, Pilate tries to free Jesus.  But the religious leaders are experts in coercion and manipulation, and they have determined that they are to be rid of Jesus, who seems to challenge their authority and has favor with the people.   He wants to change things, and especially He challenges the ways that they do things.  He's a threat to them in this sense.  Pilate fails to persuade the crowds, and perhaps he sees there is no sense arguing with the religious leaders; he's not going to change their minds.  But instead of asserting his authority -- which he could do as the power rests with him in these circumstances -- he won't challenge them anymore.  Perhaps he thinks he's got enough trouble on his hands with insurrections as it is; perhaps he thinks it's canny to do some horse trading and give in to the religious leadership here to stay on good terms as their cooperation is necessary to Rome.   At any rate, it is here where our reading cuts off for today, and so we must wait until Monday's reading to see the decision we know will happen, and Pilate's manner of delivering it.  But let us consider Pilate's judicial decision here as one that weighs on a scale of balance:  on one side is the Jewish nation as represented by the religious leaders and the crowd's demand for Barabbas, and on the other side is Jesus in whom Pilate can find no evil.  How would we see the balance on this scale if we were Pilate?  We know it's heavily tipped in favor of Christ, for we know His substance and who He is.  But Pilate has things he knows about these leaders such as their envy, he knows of his wife's troubling dream, he knows that rationally he has found no evil that Christ has done.  We each might find ourselves at some time in Pilate's seat, needing to make a decision between forces that are highly coercive -- people whose cooperation we might need, and the truth that seems to present itself before us.  Think about Pilate the next time such a circumstance presents itself; for we don't know who might be standing before us.  It might be one of "the least of these," a brother of Jesus.