Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 55
M atthew 2 7 / Page 1241
bound him, led him away, and took him to
Pilate, the Roman governor.
3
When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he
was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty
pieces of silver back to the leading priests and
the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for
I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s
your problem.”
5
Then Judas threw the silver coins down in
the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
6
The leading priests picked up the coins.
“It wouldn’t be right to put this money in
the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was
payment for murder.”* 7 After some discussion
they finally decided to buy the potter’s field,
and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. 8 That is why the field is still called the
Field of Blood. 9 This fulfilled the prophecy of
Jeremiah that says,
10
“They took* the thirty pieces of silver—
the price at which he was valued by
the people of Israel,
and purchased the potter’s field,
as the Lord directed.*”
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
11
Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the
Roman governor. “Are you the king of the
Jews?” the governor asked him.
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
12
But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus
remained silent. 13 “Don’t you hear all these
charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate
demanded. 14 But Jesus made no response to any
of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.
15
Now it was the governor’s custom each year
during the Passover celebration to release one
prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted.
16
This year there was a notorious prisoner, a
man named Barabbas.* 17 As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he
asked them, “Which one do you want me to
release to you—Barabbas, or J esus who is called
the Messiah?” 18 (He knew very well that the
religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
19
Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message:
“Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered
through a terrible nightmare about him last
night.”
20
Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas
to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.
21
So the governor asked again, “Which of
these two do you want me to release to you?”
The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”
22
Pilate responded, “Then what should I do
with J esus who is called the Messiah?”
They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
23
“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime
has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify
him!”
24
Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he
sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands
before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of
this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
25
And all the people yelled back, “We will
take responsibility for his death—we and our
children!”*
26
So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He
ordered
Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped
whip, then turned him over to the Roman
soldiers to be crucified.
27:6 Greek since it is the price for blood.
27:9 Or I took.
27:9-10 Greek as the Lord directed me. Zech 11:12-13; Jer 32:6-9.
27:16 Some manuscripts read Jesus Barabbas; also in 27:17. 27:25 Greek “His blood be on us and on our children.”
27:3-8 The religious leaders refused to accept the blood money that Judas tried to return. It may have
been their way of denying that they were responsible for the death of Jesus. If we are not careful, we
can fall into this kind of hypocrisy and denial. Sometimes we hide behind righteous activities to conceal terrible sins. We should take a complete moral inventory of our lives and see which of our actions
do not align with God’s desires. Denying even one area of sin can jeopardize our entire recovery.
27:11-26 Pontius Pilate’s handling of Jesus’ trial indicates that he was a man consumed with pleasing others. Although he was convinced that Jesus was innocent and righteous (27:23-24), he bowed
to public opinion. Pilate exemplifies someone in need of recovery who knows the right thing to do
but does not have the courage to follow through and risk angering others. Since it is impossible to
please everyone all the time, we must make sure that what we do is honest and pleasing to God. We
should be more concerned about sinning against God than about angering other people.
27:26-54 The narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion and death records one act of brutal abuse after another.
Jesus was beaten, ridiculed, tortured, and killed. Thus, he can understand the feelings of those who
have been abused or oppressed. Jesus can also redeem oppressors or abusers who come to faith, as
did the Roman officer and other soldiers at the cross. Jesus’ death and resurrection were intended to
bring deliverance for everyone.
