SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/20/2024 9:05 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: PT-1
“The Accusation of the Jews”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
27:11-12a
Message of the
verses: “11
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying,
"Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is
as you say." 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests
and elders,”
The first element that we begin looking at today
demonstrates Jesus’ perfection and His innocence is the negative accusation of
the Jewish religious leaders. When the
chief priests and the elders first brought Jesus to Pilate as seen in Matthew
27:1-2, it was still very early on Friday morning, perhaps around five o’clock.
Let’s look at how John reported this from John 18:28 “Then they led Jesus from
Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so
that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.” I have already expressed my feelings on the
highlighted portion of this verse, stating that it discussed me as these men
wanted to have someone else do their dirty work but did not want to be defiled
so they could celebrate the Passover, and were participating in the killing of
the Passover Lamb.
“The Praetorium was the governor’s
residence in Jerusalem and was probably located in the Fortress of Antonia,
which was just north of the Temple. The Praetorium
also served as a judgment hall, where the governor adjudicated matters brought
before him” writes John MacArthur.
Now I have talked about this earlier
but barest repeating that the northern Jews, which included those from Galilee
such as Jesus and His disciples, had already celebrated the Passover on the
previous day, however the southern Jews, which included the vast majority of
the religious leaders, they celebrated it a day later, which in that year was
on a Friday. So that means that the
members of the Sanhedrin had not yet offered their sacrifices or eaten the
Passover meal, and it was because of rabbinical tradition taught that entering
a Gentile home or building was ceremonially defiling, they refused to enter the
Praetorium.
MacArthur writes “The extreme of
their wicked hypocrisy, is seen in their knowledge making false accusations
against Jesus while in the very process of transgressing both scriptural law
and their own standards regarding judicial process. They were meticulous about observing man-made
restrictions regarding supposed ceremonial contamination but were totally
insensitive to the demands of simple justice.
They maintained fastidious commitment to a foolish, arrogant
superstition while resolutely seeking the execution of the Son of the living
God (cf. Matt. 23:23).
"Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have
neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting
the others.’”
One thing that I think is for sure and that is that
Pilate was more than a little perturbed at being awakened at such and early
time in that morning, however he was even more concerned about raising the ire
of the Jewish leaders, especially in the midst of their great religious
festival, when Jerusalem was swelled to bursting with pilgrims. Now we have learned that these Jewish leaders
would not come to Him, so the governor “Therefore Pilate went out to them and
*said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?’” (John 18:29)
That question was perhaps the first and only legal
act in the trial of Jesus. Before the
governor would hear the case he would incest that a formal indictment be
presented.
7/20/2024 9:32
AM
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