Matthew 27:15-23 “Let Him be Crucified!”

“Why, what evil has He done?” Pilate to the crowd concerning Jesus, Matthew 27:23

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. (Irish poet W. B. Yeats, 1865-1939, The Second Coming)

…the God of our fathers glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.  But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.  (Peter to the crowd at the temple, Acts 3:13b-14)

Pilate, who is convinced Jesus is innocent (see John 18:38), is appealing to the crowd to have them choose Jesus as the one prisoner to be released  according to a custom practiced at the Passover feast during this time in Israel’s history (see v. 15).  But instead of choosing Jesus, the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas (v. 20).   

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowd yelled, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!” (21:9).   Now less than a week later, they want Pilate to destroy Jesus (v. 20). Scripture is silent as to why the crowd so quickly turned on Jesus.   But perhaps Scripture does offer some clues.   

Maybe the crowds who welcomed Him when He entered Jerusalem were pilgrims from Galilee while the whole city of Jerusalem, witnessing this event, was stirred up saying, “Who is this?”(21:10). Here in the early morning (see John 18:28) it was the locals who were up starting their day, not the weary pilgrims, demanding Christ be crucified.  Maybe when the Council condemned Him (26:66) and humiliated Him (26:67-68), the crowd realized that this was not the political messiah who would overthrow Rome and free Israel.   Their hopes were dashed and before them was just another pretender to the throne of David.    

 

Whatever the reason, the crowd wanted Jesus crucified.  The governor, both confused and amazed, 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!”  Pilate, still unsure about their choice, retorted, “Why, what evil has He done?”   But they shouted all the more, “Let Him be crucified!”  (v. 21-23).  

 

The lost sheep of the house of Israel, the very ones to whom Jesus was sent (see 15:24) have considered Him “cut off from the land of the living,” (Isaiah 53:8).  Like us all, the sheep of Israel have now “gone astray; each has turned to his own way,” (Isaiah 53:6).     Satan believed he has successfully condemned to death the “beloved Son” of God in whom the Lord is “well-pleased,” (see 3:17 and 17:5). 

 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him,” (Isaiah 53:10).   Satan and his minions are not in control but are mere pawns in the hands of God.  They are being used to bring about a supreme triumph and an eternal glory for His beloved Son.    God’s plan of redemption and restoration is unfolding just as He desires and in His timing.  

We are broken people living in a broken world.   A gunman executes a classroom of children; tsunamis and earthquakes kill hundreds of thousands.  Pain is the human experience.  And eventually death captures us all.  Yet soon “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away,”  (Revelation 21:4).  He will make all things new.  This is the glorious hope of our faith.     Lets us remember that for now the path to that renewal must go through Pilate’s courtyard.    



On the facade of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Church in Barcelona, Spain is this depiction of Pilate (on the right) confused and amazed.