Monday, July 22, 2024

PT-3 "The Accusations of the Jews" (Matt. 27:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/22/2024 9:58 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 "The Accusations 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,”

 

            I want to continue quoting from MacArthur’s commentary as I begin this SD.  “In order to satisfy Pilate’s demand for a specific charge and to secure Jesus’ conviction under Roman law, the chief priests and other leaders fabricated the allegation of sedition.  That charge, of course, had nothing to do with the supposed blasphemy for which they had just sentenced Jesus to death.  ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar,’ they lied, ‘and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King’ (Luke 23:2).  They charged Jesus with being an insurrectionist, of undermining Roman taxation, and even of claiming to be a competing political ruler.

 

            “Had Jesus been guilty of any one of those allegations, Pilate would have known of it and would long since have arrested and executed Him.  As virtually every Jew and man Gentiles in Palestine well knew; however, Jesus was a man of peace and was in total submission to Roman political authority.  He willingly paid taxes and taught His followers to do likewise.  He even taught that if a soldier commanded a person to carry his gear for a mile, which by Roman law he was permitted to do, the person should carry it two miles (Matt. 5:41).  Jesus not only did not reble against the emperor but had publicly declared that citizens should ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’ (Matt. 22:21).  And when His admires had wanted to make Him king by force He had disappeared from their midst (John 6:15).  The accusations against Jesus were such obvious lies that one wonders what sort of fool the Jewish leaders though Pilate to be.

 

            “In response to the indictments, as Jesus stood before the governor,…the governor questioned Him saying, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’  Pilate knew full well that the charges were spurious, and his question to Jesus was merely procedural.  In light of Rome’s absolute intolerance of insurrection, Pilate’s indifferent reaction served to dramatically underscore his awareness of the preposterousness of the Sanhedrin’s allegations.

 

            “Jesus’ Erst (not sure what this word means) response to Pilate was a counter question:  ‘Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me? (John 18:34).  Surprised and taken aback, the governor retorted, I am not a Jew am I?  Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You up to me, what have You done?’ (v.35). To which Jesus replied, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm’’ (v. 36).

 

            “It was perhaps at this point that Jesus said, ‘It is as you say.’  Commenting further about the true nature of His kingship, He said, ‘You say correctily that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice’ (John 18:37).  Although he admitted to having no comprehension of what Jesus meant by ‘truth’ Pilate ‘went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no guilt in Him.’’(v.38).”  I guess that Pilate did not really want to find out what “truth” was, otherwise he would have stayed and listened more to what Jesus had to say.

 

            Look’s like one more SD on this section, and I will probably continue to quote from MacArthur’s commentary in order to make sure that all who read this can understand exactly what is needed to understand these verses. 

 

7/22/2024 10:41 AM

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