Matthew part 47

Jesus Sentenced

Last time we looked at Jesus’ arrest and trial as an example for us in our own suffering. I was reminded of a verse in 1 Peter this week during one of the discipleship classes. Peter writes,

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

1 Peter 4:1

It is one of those verses that seems counterintuitive to the “normal” way of thinking, but that is what happens when we surrender to Christ. When we follow Jesus, we are following a way that is counter to the way of the world. Peter is saying we should look to Jesus as an example of thriving through suffering, and even more so, when we thrive through suffering, we can find ourselves sinning less. Our mind becomes more in tune with God’s will.

As we continue reading the story of Jesus’ trial and execution, we are introduced to a couple of new characters and read the destiny of one particularly infamous character. These characters not only reinforce the themes and teachings Matthew has recorded for us, but they also give us principles that we can apply to our own times of suffering.

Let’s continue reading in Matthew 27 and discover the fate of the betrayer.

Jesus & Judas delivered to their deaths | Matthew 27:1-10

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Matthew 27:1-10

As we look at Judas’ fate, a few points of note stand out. First, Judas “changed his mind” and returned the money. The word Matthew uses is metamelomai which is not quite the same as metanoein. The former is a more generic term that does not give the full force of “repentance” while the latter is typically translated as “repent”. Judas is possibly sorry about the outcomes of his actions, but not enough to actually correct the problem. Blomberg notes, “He confesses to the wrong group of people and then simply gives up on life.” Spurgeon conjectured, “Perhaps Judas expected that Jesus would miraculously deliver himself from his captors; and when he saw that he was condemned, remorse seized him, and he carried back to his fellow criminals the reward of his infamy.”

Regardless of what remorse Judas actually felt, his guilt did not prompt him to truly make amends or seek restoration. Instead, his guilt took hold of him and his shame drove him to hang himself.

Judas’ fate is a warning for us to not allow guilt or shame take control of our lives, because it will kill us.

Maybe it will not physically kill us, but it will certainly kill our walk and our growth. We cannot step out in faith if we are still belaboring the guilt of our past. Jesus came to restore us. If Judas had just waited a few days, I am absolutely convinced Jesus would have restored Judas just as he restored Peter.

Now, before we continue on, there’s a bit of a Bible trivia that comes up when Judas is discussed. In Acts 1, Luke tells us Judas bought the field, then fell headlong swollen and burst open. Skeptics like to throw this around as a Bible contradiction. Now, I don’t know why Luke would have left out the “Judas hanged himself” part, but the quick synopsis of his body falling down swollen and bursting open describes someone who is falling after being dead for some time. Either a) God struck him quickly and bloated him supernaturally (which then prompts a contradiction with Matthew), or b) Luke failed to write “after Judas hanged himself” in his description. The two passages reconcile just fine.

The other supposed contradiction is in “Who bought the field? Judas or the Scribes?” Again, this ‘contradiction’ can be reconciled by Luke’s cursory treatment of the whole event. Other examples in the Bible exist where someone is given credit for an action without mention of the agents who actually did the action. For example, Moses is credited with building the tabernacle in 2 Chron. 1:3, but of course we know many workers were involved. Luke’s version may also be an example of literary irony. Judas betrayed Jesus and what did he do with the money? He died in a field alone and without a proper burial.

Jesus or Barabbas | Matthew 27:11-23

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Matthew 27:11-23

Verse 11 is possibly one of the most ironic verses in the Bible. Pilate wants to know if Jesus has committed any crimes against Rome. He is far less concerned about the charges of blasphemy. If Jesus claims kingship, then Pilate knows he is a revolutionary and can be sentenced to death. Jesus’ reply is probably better understood as “Your words, not mine.” The great irony here is twofold. First, Jesus really is the King of the Jews. Second, the literal translation of Jesus is “You are saying so.” The actions of Pilate, the scribes, the mob, and everything else that is going to happen testifies that Jesus is the King of the Jews, because he is the Messiah that is paying the price for humanity’s redemption. They believe they are getting rid of a revolutionary, but they are actually fulfilling the will of God.

God will allow others to harm us if it fulfills his will to grow and exalt his people.

This particular truth can be difficult to swallow, but consider again, Jesus must go through this suffering if he is to fulfill the mission of God. Sometimes we have to go through our own suffering in order for us to get where God is taking us.

Next, Pilate knows this whole trial is a charade for their own petty jealousy. He brings Barabbas as an option to see how far they will take their nonsense. Matthew doesn’t give us a lot of detail, but the other gospel writers tell us he is an insurrectionist and a murderer. He truly is the kind of revolutionary Jesus is accused of being. Between the two, Barabbas is the one that could bring the wrath of the Roman Empire into Jerusalem.

Matthew adds insult to injury by relaying Pilate’s wife even said they should have nothing to do with Jesus’ trial. Even a Gentile pagan woman knows Jesus is innocent because it was revealed to her in a dream. Matthew has routinely added details throughout his gospel that illustrate the absolute blindness of the Jewish leaders. Pilate’s wife is one more such detail.

Jesus is Sentenced and Mocked | Matthew 27:24-31

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:24-31

Pilate abdicates his responsibility to insure justice after seeing the crowd grow even further into a frenzy. His reply to them echoes the same reply the scribes said to Judas. Matthew draws a subtle parallel with both the Jewish and the Roman leaders failing to take responsibility in their leadership. Pilate does have Jesus scourged, a punishment which could be fatal in itself.

Then, the soldiers take over and begin a series of torturous mockery which only further illustrates the irony of the entire proceedings. Jesus is dressed in a scarlet robe, given a crown of thorns and a reed in his right hand. He is made to look like the most pitiable king. And yet, their cries of “Hail, King of the Jews!” is exactly who Jesus is.

Before we pause until next time, there is one more bit of biblical history that needs to be addressed. Throughout Church history, there has been an interpretation of verse 25 that has led to immense anti-semitism. The crowds reply, “His blood be on us and on our children,” has been used and abused by Christian religious leaders to allow for Jewish persecution. First, we certainly can not say the crowd is condemning their entire race for all of time. Their response is about corporate solidarity. They are saying they all are in agreement. It is a typical response in the ancient world, and one that L. T. Johnson has demonstrated to be quite mild compared to other similar responses in the ancient world. We cannot say the Jews are accursed forever because they killed Jesus. Matthew is clear the Romans and the Jews are guilty, and in fact, when we take a look at the basic theology of Jesus’ death, we realize we are all guilty of Jesus’ death. Every single person who has ever sinned is the reason why Jesus came and Jesus died.

We cannot blame any particular person or set of people for the death of Jesus because Jesus chose to come and save us knowing it would mean a torturous death.

We all are Barabbas the murderer who gets to go free because Jesus has taken our place.

We all are Pilate, trying to wash away our guilt and responsibility knowing Jesus is innocent.

We all are the crowds shouting “Crucify him” because we have listened to the lies of those in power.

We all are Judas choosing to betray Jesus in hopes of some pay out.

Each of us have our own hand in the death of Jesus. But each of us also have a choice we can make. We can choose to not allow the guilt of our sins drive us to the grave. We can be forgiven and restored because the story of Jesus does not end at the cross. On the third day, he rose again just like he said he would. And his resurrection is why we can have forgiveness, eternal life, and restoration.