PT-4 "The Accusations of the Jews" (Matt. 27:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/23/2024 9:20 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-4 "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 to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as I finish this section “The Accusations of the Jews.”

 

            “In this context, ‘find’ represented a judicial verdict.  Pilate acquitted Jesus of any civil or criminal wrongdoing.  In modern parlance, he threw the case out of the court for lack of evidence.  He exercised ‘summary judgment.’

 

            “Not only were the charges patently false, but Pilate knew that the Jewish leaders themselves hated Rome passionately.  Had Jesus actually been an insurrectionist, they would have supported Him and sought to protect Him, not brought Him before a Roman court and demanded His execution.  He knew quite well that ‘it was for envy’ of Jesus, not loyalty to Rome, that ‘they delivered Him up’ (Matt. 27:18).

 

            “The high priests, chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees all hated Jesus because He undermined their religious influence with and stature before the people.  He exposed their sinfulness, hypocrisy, and doctrinal error.  He was popular, whereas they were not..  He could heal, whereas they could not.  He taught truth, whereas they did not.  Their true motivation was transparent even to a pagan politician.  The governor probably suspected something of what they were up to when they requested the escort of Roman soldiers in arresting Jesus.  But he already knew that Jesus was no danger to Rome and probably thought that, after condemning and flogging Jesus in their own court, the Jewish leaders would be satisfied and that His threat to them would end.

 

            “But the Council leaders would not be put off by Pilate’s verdict of innocent.  As he stood before them again on the balcony of the Praetorium, Jesus continued to be accused by the chief priests and elders.  Luke reports that ‘they kept on insisting, saying, ‘He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, even as far as this place’’ (23:5).  They increased the pressure on the governor as they desperately grasped for a charge that would arouse his concern.  All this failing effort emphasizes the perfect virtue of the Savior.”

 

            Now Lord willing we will begin to look at “The Attitude of the Lord” from Matthew 27:12b-14 in the next SD.

 

7/23/2024 9:38 AM

 

           

 

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

PT-2 "The Accusations of the Jews" (Matt. 27:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/21/2024 8:07 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “The Accusation of the Jews”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 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 mentioned that I supposed that Pilate was not to happy with the Jewish leaders of wanting a meeting with him at such an early hour, and on top of that they would not come to Him because they would then be unclean and not able to celebrate the Passover.  Another reason for Pilate to be upset was because Jerusalem had so many more people in it due to the Passover celebration.  Now because they would not come to him, the governor “therefore went out to them,” probably on a porch or balcony, “and said ‘What accusations 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 insisted that a formal indictment be presented” writes MacArthur.

 

            MacArthur goes on “Doubtlessly taking full advantage of the leverage they had over Pilate because of his fear of political trouble, the Jewish leaders responded with arrogance and sarcasm.  They self-righteously asserted, ‘If this Man were not an evil-doer, we would not have delivered Him up to you’ (John 18:30).  In effect, they rebuked the governor for indirectly impugning their integrity.  But it was not their intent for Pilate to give Jesus a fair hearing but simply to approve and administer the death sentence they had already decreed.”

 

            We can be sure that Pilate already was aware of who Jesus and the animosity that the Jewish leaders had for Him.  No because their concerns were purely religious, the governor did not have any desire to become involved and therefore to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law” (v. 31).  Now in saying that, Pilate gave tacit, if not explicit, permission for Jesus’ execution, because he knew that, according to their laws, the most serious religious offenses were punishable by death, as seen in the OT law.

 

            MacArthur goes on “The Sanhedrin made no effort to secure Roman permission for execution when they stoned Stephen (Acts 6:12-15; 7:54-60) or when, some years later they plotted Paul’[s death (23:12-15).  Their telling Pilate, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death’ (John 18:31b) was duplicitous.  Their design  was not simply to have Jesus put to death but to avoid responsibility for it, and possible reprisal from their own people, by having the Romans execute Him for a supposed political offense.”

 

            With that, because it is Sunday morning, I will stop here and pick up in our next SD.

 

7/21/2024 8:29 AM 

PT-1 "The Accusation of the Jews" (Matt. 27:11-12a)

 

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

PT-2 "Intro to "What Shall I Do with Jesus?" (Matt. 27:11-27)

 

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

             

Intro to "What Shall I Do with Jesus" (Matt. 27:11-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/18/2024 9:36 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                  Focus:  Intro to “What Shall I Do with Jesus?”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 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.”

 

            The question that is the title of this Spiritual "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" is a question that is on every human heart, and every heart must decide what to do with Him.  The most important and the most inescapable question every human being faces is this on that Pilate asked in this passage which I have highlighted above.

 

            MacArthur writes “Scripture clearly proclaims Jesus as being fully God.  Long before His birth it was divinely predicted that He would be called Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’ (Matt. 1:23; cf. Isa. 7:14).  He was called by divine names, such as ‘the Holy and Righteous One’ (Acts 3:14).  It declares that to know Jesus is to know God the Father (John 8:19; 14:7), to hate Him is to hate the Father (15:23), and to believe in Him is to believe in the Father (Matt. 10:40; John 12:44; 14:1).  It affirms that to see Him is to see the Father (John 14:9), to honor Him is to honor the Father (5:23), and to receive Him is to receive the Father (Mark 9:37).  It proclaims that Jesus is omnipotent (Matt. 28:18), omnipresent (Matt. 28:20), changeless (Heb.13:8), creator of the world (John 1:3), able to forgive sin (Mark 2:5-10), and is to be worshiped as God (Phil. 2:9-11; cf. Matt. 28:9; Heb. 1:6).”

 

            Now looking at the paragraph above we can see the deity of Jesus Christ, but Scripture also tells us that Jesus Christ was human, fully human.  Jesus was born into the world just as every other infant, He was circumcised, Jesus grew in body and mind, and He also experienced hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, temptation, and death.

 

            The following paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary speaks about “The Old testament gave precise details about the coming of the Savior-King.  Among other things, it predicted that in His human life He would be supernaturally conceived (Isa. 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), be Semitic in the line of Abraham and of David (Gen. 9:26, 22:18; 2 Sam. 7:13), be of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), and would perform miracles (Isa. 35:5-6).  In His death He would be executed by rulers (Ps. 2:1-2), forsaken by God (Ps. 22:1), betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver (Ps. 41:9; Zech. 11:12), and have His beard plucked out and be spit upon (Isa. 50:6).  In His resurrection He would rise in three days (Hos. 6:2), would not experience decay of His flesh (Ps. 16:10), and would conquer death (Isa. 25:8).”

 

            Now I have never found any verses in the Old Testament that spoke of Jesus raising from the dead in three days, and as I look at this quote from MacArthur he speaks of Hos. 6:2 as a reference for the Lord being dead for three days, but it seems that he has changed his mind for in my MacArthur Study Bible and in my wife’s updated study Bible he states that this was not a reference of Jesus being dead for three days. 

 

            It looks like that I will have to do some more research on this.  I want to now look at 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4  and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  Like I said that this has always been somewhat of a mystery to me as to where in the OT that it tells that Jesus would be resurrected in three days. 

 

            I will try and find out more info on this and when I do I will put it on one of my Spiritual Diaries.  Looks like I will need to finish this introduction in my next SD, Lord willing.

 

7/18/2024 10:33 AM

PT-2 “The Contrast Between the Hypocrisy of Men and the Prophecy of God.” (Matt. 27:6-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/17/2024 9:53 AM

 

My Worship Time      Focus: PT-2 “The Contrast Between the Hypocrisy of Men and the Prophecy of God.”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Matthew 27:6-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood." 7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel; 10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.’”

 

            Let us begin by looking at verse seven as “they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.”  This was a good will gesture to the public and also to pacify their own consciences.  These Jewish leaders, the priests and others came up with the idea of buying a field where potters had collected clay to use in their trade.  Perhaps the clay was depleted and the field was available for a rather cheap price.  Perhaps these religious leaders may have reasoned that they would use the defiled money to buy a defiled and useless field in which to bury defiled strangers, a term often used by Jews as a euphemism for Gentiles, the ones that they hated.  Or perhaps the field may have been used to bury any traveler who died while visiting Jerusalem, especially those who were indigent.

 

            It was for that reason that Matthew explains that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day, as seen in verse eight.  Now remember that Matthew’s gospel was written some 30 years after these events took place. By then the Potter’s Field had come t be called the Field of Blood, because it was common knowledge that it had been purchased with blood money.  And by that name, the entire city testified to Jesus’ innocence, acknowledging that He had been falsely accused, falsely condemned, and falsely executed.

 

            Now we move on to verses nine and ten “9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel; 10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.’”

 

            John MacArthur writes “The fact that this quotation comes from Zechariah 11:12-13 and not from the book of Jeremiah has caused some interpreters to accuse Matthew of error.  Others have tried to relate the quotation to sections of Jeremiah 18 or 19, although it clearly does not fit.  The explanation is found in the Jewish division of the Old Testament into three sections—the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets.  In the rabbinical order of the prophetic category was sometimes referred to as Jeremiah, just as the entire section of the Writings was sometimes referred to as the Psalms, its opening book.  Spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was therefore the equivalent of saying, ‘recorded in the prophetic books.’

 

            “Like every other incident in the life of our Lord, that one did not catch God by surprise but was a precise fulfillment of specific prophecy in His omniscient plan.  Even in Judas’s death, God’s Word was honored and the Lord Jesus Christ was glorified.”

 

7/17/2024 10:15 AM