Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

A silver denarius

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, while teaching in the temple, Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

 

 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible says that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer is a defeat to their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render to the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, my study Bible tells us, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

 I always find Jesus' assertive rebuffs and answers given to the religious leaders who come to test Him quite intriguing.  This is because they are illuminating as examples of how to respond to those who quiz with the intent of entrapment or denigration of faith.  In our lives, we might find challenges to the things we believe, and often beliefs will be ascribed to us that we don't actually hold.  Similarly to the question in today's reading which is posed to Jesus, we might be offered dilemmas -- and assumptions contained therein -- that don't at all reflect the fullness of our values and beliefs.  In this case, Jesus is openly teaching in the temple, and so He has deliberately come to Jerusalem to make His Triumphal Entry, and to do as He is doing.   Without openly declaring so Himself, He is there in the temple at Jerusalem as a messianic figure.   He has already expressed this in the cleansing of the temple (see this reading).  So, as these men seek to trap Him in a "yes" or "no" answer, Jesus gives us an example of responding to such questions given with these types of motives.  He doesn't accept their dichotomy, the choices offered through the question.  Instead He asserts His own teachings, and does so using the brilliant example of a coin of the realm, a Roman coin printed by the state authority that controls Israel.  To paraphrase His response, "Whose face and inscription are on that coin?," Jesus asks.  Clearly the coin is printed by Ceasar's government, for currency exchange within the Roman system of administration.  Under an emperor such as Caesar, whatever is imprinted with his image or insignia is an extension of himself, his authority, and his power.  But by the same token, as those who are created by God, we also bear an image and inscription within ourselves, and so we belong to God, as my study Bible points out.  In His teaching and His response, Jesus not only refutes without falling into their trap or accepting their potential responses, He also teaches us about who we are.  He gives us a teaching that is essential to Christian faith.  As we are created in the image and likeness of God, and Christ Himself became Incarnate as a human being, so we are saved through His Incarnation in that we are to follow and become like Him -- to grow in that image and inscription of the name of God within us.  For this is eternal salvation, that we may come to dwell with God, and be a part of God's kingdom.  Every ruler, every state, mints coins and currency that bear the stamp of authority and belonging to its realm.  So we also bear God's image.  In this one instant, in these few words directing these men to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's, we receive the gospel message and the power of salvation from our Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  And in the presence of all the people, all these men who seek to entrap Him can do is to marvel at His answer.  Would that we all could be so eloquent, using so few words, as Jesus is, and know what we are to be about as His followers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus told the people this parable, as He was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  This is a continuation from yesterday's reading (see above) in which Jesus had told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers to the people, in which those wicked vinedressers were clearly meant to be the religious leaders.  The chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on Him to have Jesus arrested and put to death.  The governor is Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, whose power and authority is Rome's. 

 

 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. My study Bible notes that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As this denarius coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to the emperor, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible says, only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

How do we discern the things that are Caesar's from the things that are God's?  Perhaps we might better consider this question if we ask ourselves what we render to either one.  What is it that we render to God?  When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, He replies that there are two:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).  If we read those commandments carefully, we're given a text that teaches us what we should render to God:  our heart, our soul, and our mind.  And to love one's neighbor as oneself is also something we render to God, for this makes us God's community.  To follow the commands of God is to render unto God the things that are God's.  In Monday's reading and commentary, we pondered the question of authority, with which the religious leaders quizzed Jesus.  We considered this statement in the Epistle of James:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  If every good and perfect gift is from God, then clearly we must render unto God our thanks for all that we have, for this also is rightfully God's.  What must we render unto the state, or "unto Caesar" as the text says?  In Christ's time, let us keep in mind, the Romans were hated by most of the Jewish people, and collaborators were despised.  The coin, with Caesar's image on it, was considered to be defiling in the temple, for Caesar was worshiped as a god.  So Jesus is clearly not talking about a government which any of the people in the temple would agree is all "good" or even desirable.  There was great unrest among the people, including many movements seeking to overthrow the Romans, or at least to assassinate their leaders and authorities who held power and used it in ways considered to be abusive and even unbearable.  But even with such a worldly authority over them, Jesus still recognizes that there are things in the world which are required of us, and that there will be worldly authorities -- even those which we find abhorrent -- which nevertheless we may find ourselves living under in our societies.  The Romans printed their coins just as our governments print our money.  But the things we render unto Caesar do not include our hearts and souls and minds.  Those things belong to God, and as such we seek God's guidance and blessing for all things in our lives, the choices we make, and how we conduct ourselves within the society.  Paying taxes is something every government will ask, and so we might ask ourselves about other ways in which Christ proposes we use our assets in this realm of "mammon," or money, material things.  In chapter 16, Jesus tells the disciples, "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Luke 16:9).  This is understood as a prescription for helping others, particularly the poor, by sharing wealth with them (see the parable of the Unjust Steward, in Luke 16:1-13).  So there are ways in which even that which is Caesar's might be used in service to what is God's (the "everlasting home" of God's kingdom).  So what Jesus is advocating here is a perspective on life that does not divide our world into the sacred and secular in stark ways that allow only for black and white thinking.  As my study Bible puts it in commenting on this story as told in Matthew 22:15-22, God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  It notes also that -- as the statements from Jesus in today's reading tell us -- paying taxes and similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness.  In discerning, therefore, the things we are to render unto Caesar and the things we are to render to God, let us conclude that in a properly prayerful life, we place these decisions into the hands of God, and seek God's will for us for all things.  For if even what is to come at Christ's Passion can be used by God for the ultimate good and redemption of all the world, imagine what God can do with all things in our lives.  Let us take our direction from Jesus, and follow His way.

 

 

 

For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, when morning came following Jesus trial at the home of the chief priest Caiaphas, 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 out 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.    My study Bible comments here that the chief priests hide their real charge against Jesus -- the claim or equality with God -- because this would do nothing to persuade the governor, Pilate, to sentence Christ to death.  Rather, they present a charge of treason:  that Jesus has called Himself the King of the Jews.  This crime would carry the death penalty, as it would be a direct 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.  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?"   My study Bible notes that Barabbas means "son of of the father."  In one of the paradoxes of this time and this story, we know that it is Christ who is the true Son of the Father.  So, ironically, the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  Where is truth and where is falsehood and deception?  As they influence the crowds to choose Barabbas, these chief priests inicate to which father they belong -- the devil (see John 8:44).  

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!"   Note again the irony in this passage.  Pilate's wife has been warned in a dream, and knows that Jesus is a just Man.  Both here and in other Gospels (see Luke 23:13-25) Pilate tries to release Jesus three times -- and three times the multitudes, persuaded by the chief priests and elders,  demand that Jesus be crucified. 

We note the deception, the uncanny "imitation" of what is good by what is actually evil.  The Son of the Father is to be replaced by Barabbas, the "son of the father," as the one who should be spared and uplifted instead.  The One who is to be "uplifted" will be lifted up upon the Cross, as He has said Himself (to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to learn from Him by night):  "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:14-17).  It is worth reading the verses that follow this quotation, for their illumination of good and evil, light and darkness, and their insights into the picture we get in today's reading (see John 3:18-21).  Pilate, the governor from Rome, is the one who is truthful and merciful in this picture, while it is the religious authorities who are ruthless, scheming, and without conscience seeking to destroy the Holy One of God, whom the unclean spirits have recognized (Mark 1:23-24).  These false imitations of the good -- and highly importantly, the ones who will call pure good "evil" -- give us pause to reconsider once again Jesus' scathing words against hypocrisy.  If we look back at Matthew's chapter 23, which contains Jesus' sermon of "woes" directed at the religious leaders, we see His most vehement words directed against hypocrisy, and especially hypocrisy in the places of the religious leaders.  For when we look at this scene in today's reading, of this horrible scene of crucifixion with Christ at its center and its target for execution and torture, we understand the depths of what constitutes the real hypocrisy Jesus rails against.  It is their very hypocrisy that leads to the scene here of placing under order of execution by the Romans the Christ, the very Messiah Himself, the foretold Son of God who has come into the world in human form in order to save the world.  He is the culmination of all of Jewish spiritual history from our perspective, and yet He is the one these hypocrites hate most of all.   Pilate, the patrician who has maneuvered the ranks of power and authority of the Roman state apparatus, understands this fully, as the text gives us the heart of the motivations here:  "For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy."  It is a deep and profound commentary on human society and the drive for power that these men who are the religious authorities seek to put to death the One who is not an imposter, who is the real deal, so to speak, that they are not.  They wish to be in His place, and the only way they can remain there in the face of Christ in their midst is by getting rid of Him.  Their ruthlessness and cruelty in so doing know no bounds, for what has been unleashed is quite simply evil, and that well, once entered, may be very deep and dark indeed.  Let us understand again for ourselves Jesus' constant words of warnings to the disciples not to be deceived, in His final teachings to them (for example, Matthew 24:24).  These words are meant for us every bit as much as they were meant for those disciples, for we live in the time when all grow together, the good and the bad, when evil will continue to seek to manufacture false imitation of the good.  It is up to us to follow His warnings and be mindful, to "watch and pray" as His final parables continued to emphasize to them, and as He urged Peter at the time of greatest testing (Matthew 26:41).  Our hope, despite this scene of Crucifixion, nonetheless remains in watchfulness and prayer, in the depth of our reliance upon Christ and His Kingdom and our participation in it, even as we live in this world.  Christ goes to the Cross, proving to us that no matter what we think we see, the truth of reality is different, and our faith teaches us differently.  For it is the one who would deceive the whole world who is defeated at the Cross.

 

 

 

 

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

 

 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 out 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."

 

- Matthew 27:1-10 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was being tried in the house of the high priest,  Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"   Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  

 

 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.  While the religious Law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), and the high priest has declared Jesus to be a blasphemer (see Wednesday's reading), under Roman occupation, the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  Therefore, my study Bible explains, they had to get permission from 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 out and hanged himself.    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."  In contrast to Peter who repented in his sorrow, weeping bitter tears of recognition (Matthew 26:75), Judas is remorseful but does not repent.  My study Bible says that suicide is not a sign of repentance but rather of being self-absorbed.  There are two accounts of Judas' suicide given in the New Testament:  here and in Acts 1:16-19.  Both accounts name the purchased field the Field of Blood.  The prophecy is from Jeremiah 32:6-9; compare to Zechariah 11:12-13 (link).

We might ask, what is the difference between repentance and remorse?  If we look at these words in Greek, repentance is μετάνοια/metanoia.  The word translated here as remorseful is a verb, μεταμέλομαι/metamelomai, meaning that he became remorseful.   We can see one significant difference in these words in the fact that the first, for repentance, ends with -νοια, which comes from the Greek word νοῦς/nous.   Meta- is change, as in an effect of transforming; nous is often translated as mind, the root of words like "noetic."  But it is deeper than simply our understanding of "mind" as the place of daily thoughts that come and go.  The "nous" is also understood as the part of ourselves that can receive illumination and understanding from God, from the divine.  Therefore, the change that is repentance is a kind of total internal conversion, an inner orientation to God that transforms us deeply as persons.  Perhaps we could say it deeply or fundamentally changes our whole way of thinking or perceiving meanings in some sense.  But metamelomai is meta- plus -melo, which means "care" or "concern."  So the implication of remorse is regret for a bad outcome, rather than a deeply-felt change of heart.  It quite implies, to my way of thinking, an objectifying way of looking at Christ, rather than the personal loving relationship Christ offers to all.  Possibly the outcome of Christ's trial was not what Judas expected.  Perhaps this horrible outcome struck Judas with the reality which he had actually brought about through his betrayal.  Delivering Christ to the Romans for Crucifixion and death is a betrayal of the society in some sense, to deliver a fellow Jew for judgment.  At any rate, he has betrayed innocent blood, and now bears this burden of this great sin under the law, which the chief priests and elders do not help him alleviate, saying, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"   And these rulers clearly do not receive him with any kind of positive recognition or inclusion for what he's done in collaborating with them; instead he bears the brunt of this sin.  We don't really know the answers as to Judas' motivations and desires (John tells us that he was a thief), but the Gospels give us these words to think about.  Peter does not with forethought betray Christ; it is a kind of impulsive response to fear that prompted his denials, and a forgetfulness of Christ's warning.  His recognition of his own weakness serves to illuminate Christ's words to Peter that he must "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (see Monday's reading).  Judas' action, however, was more deliberate and considered, and he was given many instances in which Christ still sought to save him, to make him think about what he was doing in betrayal, to let him know the reality of his choice, even offering him friendship until the last moment ("Friend, why have you come?"); see Tuesday's reading.  Judas' remorse somehow comes short of restoring relationship with Christ, and the focus is still on the self, as my study Bible explains.  It is akin to a regret for something because it didn't turn out the way one expected.  With this sort of regret, one can go one way and another -- take it to a deeper place in recognition of the true harm one has caused and therefore to repentance, coming to Christ.  Or, the dwelling remains on the self only.  For the Eastern Orthodox, a morbid or excessive guilt is still a form of self-centeredness.  Repentance is finding salvation, coming to Christ for healing and for true transformation of the inner self, allowing oneself to be changed.  It is Christ who heals and transforms, who gives us the true perspective we need in life, and teaches us true reality -- and in that depth of relationship and communion, we are healed.  This is the foundation of our faith, and this is what Judas fails still to realize.  He does not come to Christ with his repentance, but only to the chief priests and elders with his regret.  Let us consider, then, when we think about this passage, the love of Christ that can remit sin, and in which we can truly find ourselves and what we need to heal -- even from our own self-inflicted damage.

 

 

Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?

 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

Yesterday we read that when morning came, after Jesus' night trial, 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 do not present their real charge of which they've convicted Jesus -- the claim of equality with God -- because the governor would not be persuaded to sentence Him to death by a charge of blasphemy.  Instead, a charge of treason is brought to the governor against Jesus; that is, that He called Himself the King of the Jews.  This crime in fact would carry a death penalty, as it is a challenge to the rule of Rome and Caesar.

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.   The name Barabbas means "son of the father."   The strange irony here is that the crowds have to choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  As the chief priests seek to persuade the crowd to choose Barabbas (v. 20), my study bible says, they indicate to which father they belong -- the devil ( see Jesus' words at 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!"  My study bible notes that Pilate tries three times to release Jesus in this passage.  He asks, "Whom do you want me to release to you?"  He repeats by asking, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?", and finally asks, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But the chief priests and elders incited the crowd to demand that Jesus be put to death.  We note that Pilate's final question, "Why, what evil has He done?" remains unanswered.

There is a strange mirroring or mimicking effect that is happening here in this scene of great injustice and evil.  Barabbas first of all, as noted by my study bible, means "son of the father."  The very charge against Jesus is that He has called Himself "Son of the Father," making Himself equal with God.  Secondly, Barabbas is often called a robber, but is more akin to a rebel or brigand -- one who fights Roman rule through violence and theft, a rebel outlaw.  He is a violent revolutionary, a would-be liberator.  And there lies the next parallel to Jesus.  Jesus is the Redeemer, meaning one who sets the captives free, our ultimate spiritual liberator.   This is an attribute also of the Messiah.  Who is the champion of the people?  Who is the one who is truly for them and with them?  This is the question people must decide in their hearts, the question for which the religious leadership incites the crowd to choose that Barabbas be freed.   Which comes first, and what is primary?  How are we to be truly freed?  It is Jesus who has said, when He was seized in the garden of Gethsemane, and Peter drew a sword to defend Him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  Jesus' example of faith is to put God first before all things, and teaching us that this is where our true liberation lies, in contrast to putting faith in weapons and material power.  It is really a question that the whole text of the New Testament, and particularly explicitly in passages of the letters of St. Paul, puts to us about our viewpoint on life:  either we are going to see ourselves as part of a whole perspective of spirit, soul, and body -- inseparable from one another, or our lives are simply material and separate from God.  The choice between Jesus the Son of the Father, and Barabbas "the son of the father" is found just there.  Are we to be liberated at the core of our being, and thus awakened to the whole of our lives and where we may be enslaved -- or is liberation merely a material-minded concept of rebellion separate from our true heart and spirit?   Moreover, this scene is an image of heresy, given to us by Jesus in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, in which the tares or weeds resemble the wheat, but do not give its good grain.  Barabbas may look like a liberator, and the chief priests and elders sit in the seats ordained for the spiritual leadership of Israel, but each person in this crowd and all others must look carefully to make a choice, and to decide which "father" they want to follow.  So we are faced every day with choices that are designed to fool us spiritually, to enable us to forget that before all other things we have one loyalty which should guide us in our choices.  Evil -- at least as told in the story of Jesus Christ -- is not something that is patently obvious to all.  Rather, evil can be persuasive, can mimic, can be difficult to discern, and Jesus repeatedly demands our wakefulness and watchfulness.  Its very quality is to be consistently misleading, allied with a lie.  Life is not presented to us as a simple or obvious choice, but rather one that asks that we put all our intelligence and capabilities to work.  It is this kind of demand that makes Jesus our true Liberator, as He seeks for His followers to develop all their talents and gifts of God, and to grow in them.  He asks us to remain prayerful, not swayed by crowds and extreme passions, but rather to endure to the end, to be ready for His Return, and live by remembering and following His commandments (see this reading).  This is our recipe for freedom and liberation, being a slave to no one, but free in our faith in Christ and in the truth He brings to us.   Liberation begins in the heart.  We put this faith first, and all else comes of that.