15 It was the governor’s practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 Pilate knew that the leaders wanted to get their own way. He knew this was why they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that man. He is not guilty. I have suffered a great deal in a dream today because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I am not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You are accountable for that!”
25 All the people answered, “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!”
26 Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
Read Matthew 27:15-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During the last hours before Jesus’ crucifixion, at the close of His trial, Matthew brings out a fascinating piece of information that is especially interesting for those of us who know how this event ends. At this point in the trial, Pilate has fully realized that the crowd and religious leaders simply brought a Man (Jesus) to him to be put to death. He realized that they really were not looking for a trial; they simply wanted a judgment of guilty.
Pilate kept telling the people that Jesus had nothing that was worthy of death, but that didn’t matter to the crowd. All they pressed for was crucifixion. Perhaps this was to make Jesus’ death as public as possible, or maybe it was simply to cause Him pain and agony, but whatever the reason, they had fixated themselves on this method of death. Nothing that Pilate could say or do to convince them of Jesus’ innocence would satisfy them.
The way Matthew concludes his version of the trial is amazing: “Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. ‘I am not guilty of this man’s death,’ he said. ‘You are accountable for that!’” (v. 24)
Pilate washes his hands publicly to symbolically tell the crowd that he has removed himself from this trial. While he doesn’t free Jesus against the crowd’s wishes, he also knows Jesus doesn’t deserve death.
However, the way the crowd responds to Pilate is incredible. Whether it was several people, or the crowd yelling back in unison, the collectively answered, “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!” (v. 25)
The crowd and religious leaders were willing to take the blame for the death of God’s Son, and they were willing to extend blame onto the next generation. Is this a symbolic statement about the shift of God’s favor away from the Jewish nation? If the crowd represented the Jewish people, would their actions and willingness to take the blame change God’s favor towards them as a nation?
These are questions I don’t know the answer to – but I do know that we should thank this crowd and the religious leaders for their actions.
If it wasn’t for these religious leaders, and also the crowd, pushing for Jesus’ death, then our opportunity for salvation would not have been accomplished. Jesus’ death makes a way for us to become right with God again – not because of anything we did, but because of everything He did.
The crowd represented humanity, and Jesus came, knowing humanity would reject Him, in order to save those who truly wanted a restored relationship with God. We should thank the mob, the religious leaders, and the crowd for pressing for Jesus’ death, because it is only through Jesus’ death that we can have eternal life with God in heaven!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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