SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/19/2024 8:51 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 Intro
to “What Shall I Do with Jesus?
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 27:11-26
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, He did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear
how many things they testify against You?" 14 And He did not answer him
with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the
people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 At that time they were
holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered
together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you?
Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18 For he knew that because of
envy they had handed Him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat,
his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that
righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of
Him." 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask
for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. 21 But the governor said to them,
"Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said,
"Barabbas." 22 Pilate said to them, "Then what
shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said,
"Crucify Him!" 23 And he said, "Why, what evil has He
done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify
Him!" 24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather
that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the
crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that
yourselves." 25 And all the people said, "His blood
shall be on us and on our children!" 26 Then he released
Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be
crucified.”
I want to continue from MacArthur’s quotation as I begin
this SD. “Scripture declares that Jesus
Christ is perfectly holy, perfectly loving of His heavenly Father and of the
world He came to redeem, perfectly forgiving of sins and merciful to those who
come to Him, perfectly compassionate, perfectly faithful, and perfectly
prayerful. He is the central theme of
Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments.
And, whether men recognize it or not, He is the dominant figure in all
human history and the determiner of the destiny of every human being.
“It is on that incalculably crucial issue that Matthew
27:11-26 focuses.
“After reporting Judas’s suicide, Matthew resumes the account of Jesus’ trial, which began its secular, Roman phase when the Jewish leaders bound Jesus ‘and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor’ (27:2).
Having failed to find a legitimate charge against
Jesus, the Sanhedrin had falsely accused Him of blasphemy and being worthy of
death when He truthfully acknowledged He was ‘the Christ, the Son of God’
(26:63-66; cf. Luke 22:70). But because
they did not have the authority to exact the death penalty themselves (John
18:31), the Jewish leaders were forced to ask permission of the Roman governor,
Pontius Pilate.
“Most of Palestine was under the nominal monarchial
dominion of three sons of Herod the Great.
Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea, Philip ruled the sparsely
populated northeast area, and Archelaus ruled Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. But the supreme Roman official over Judea was
the procurator, or governor, who also had command of the Roman troops.
“In reporting Jesus’ Roman trial, Matthew continues to
exalt Christ as the sinless, pure, sovereign, and glorious King. Like the Jewish religious leaders, the Roman
political leaders could find no fault in Him.
Even with all their efforts, the courts of men failed to produce a
legitimate indictment against the perfect Son of God. The record stands in Scripture for men and
women of all ages to discover that Jesus Christ was put to death for no crime
or sin of His own but by the hatred of sinful men.
“In 27:11-26 Matthew presents four elements in Jesus’
trial before Pilate that demonstrate His innocence and His perfection.”
Lord willing in the next SD we will look at the first of
these elements “The Accusation of the Jews” (Matt. 27:11-12a), and it looks
like this will take a number of days to go over.
7/19/2024 9:11 AM
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