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What Wondrous Love – Before Pilate Matthew 27:11-26

11Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. 12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor. 15Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. 19While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." 20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. 22"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" 23"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" 24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" 25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" 26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified

As we read the Passion History, we almost feel sorry for Pontius Pilate, don’t we! We are tempted to have some sympathy for the man – but only tempted! Everyone acknowledges that Pilate was the governor or a most difficult province – perhaps the most difficult of all the Roman provinces. The Jews were notoriously stubborn and were prone to armed rebellion.

And being a Roman governor, under any conditions, was not an easy task. You see, empire building isn’t only about national pride or military domination. It is about resources and money. Any place you conquered had to become profitable for the empire or it simply wasn’t worth the time or effort needed to take it over. It was the governor’s job to increase the cash flow back to Rome’s treasury.

This could be by tax collection or favorable trade or both, but the revenue had to be there. If the people of your province provoked a military response, that cost money, and most often cost the governor his position. This was the pressure on Pontius Pilate. He had to keep the people of Judea in check and productive for Rome, or he was out! He had to succeed!

To do that, he had to travel around the province. Although he would have preferred to stay in his sea- side capital at Caesarea, he had to be seen everywhere in his domain. He especially had to be in Jerusalem at Passover. This yearly gathering of the Jews always produced a boiling pot of dissatisfaction, resistance and outright insurrection against Rome. He had to be there to keep the lid on. It’s fairly safe to say that Pilate was acquainted with Jesus and his teaching. It was in Pilate’s interest to know every potential rabble rouser or crowd favorite. So, when Jesus began to attract large crowds, Pilate no doubt investigated Jesus. From his lack of follow-up, we can conclude that Pilate didn’t feel threatened by him. Jesus was just another Jewish rabbi spouting the same nonsense they all spouted.

Pilate probably thought Jesus would present no problem. He definitely knew that the Sanhedrin disliked Jesus. But that kind of bitterness and infighting was common, and usually produced nothing to endanger Roman rule. Factions were always present among religious leaders and they usually settled themselves or simmered harmlessly on the back burner. Jesus’ relationship with the Sanhedrin was no big deal.

But all of a sudden, they made Jesus a big deal. They wanted Pilate to execute him for blasphemy, the rather quaint crime of claiming to be a god. Pilate knew why they really wanted Jesus dead, and didn’t much care. But now they made it his concern, he had to deal with it. In truth, he didn’t much like any Jew, especially this bunch, led by the high priest.

In the first place, they insisted upon a trial at an ungodly time of the morning. Then, their charges against Jesus were so flimsy as to be laughable. Finally, and perhaps the most galling of all, this group of vanquished subjects was demanding that he obey their wishes, that he do something that he didn’t feel was right, just because they wanted it. At first, he thought he could just dismiss them and be done with them.

Usually that was enough – but not this time. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin were out for blood. So Pilate gave it to them. He had Jesus flogged and decreed that Jesus had been punished enough. But it didn’t satisfy this pack of wild dogs. They ramped up their pressure on Pilate. They accused Jesus of rebellion – a capital offense. They threatened to report Pilate’s failure to execute rebels to his superiors.

That scared Pilate and led him to question Jesus about being a king. That charge proved groundless. Under pressure, Pilate played his trump card. He had another prisoner whose crimes were so heinous, so disgusting, that even the Jews wanted their fellow Jew executed. He offered them a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. He was shocked when the crowds wanted Jesus to die and have Barabbas turned loose among them.

And by now, that’s where the matter rested – in the hands of the mob gathered outside of Pilate’s courtroom. If Pilate didn’t bend to their will, they might revolt. That would mean military action and an end to his position. That couldn’t be allowed to happen. It looked like he would have to give them what they wanted, despite the demands of justice.

However, there was still a glimmer of hope. Up to this time, the only people heard from were Jesus’ accusers. Jesus had not defended himself at all. Pilate couldn’t understand that. Finally he had to ask Jesus Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? It was an open invitation for Jesus to offer a defense that might allow Pilate to free Jesus and establish order once more.

And what was Jesus’ response to his accusers? What did he say to exonerate himself of their accusations? Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge. Pilate was greatly amazed. How could anybody keep silent when their life was on the line? Why would anybody not say something that might save his life? We may, we should, ask the same question. Why didn‘t Jesus defend himself?

The answer is, at one and the same time, very easy to give and impossible to comprehend. It is Wondrous Love! Jesus is, indeed, a king. But he’s not a king like any earthly king. He is the King of Love, and he wants all mankind to be part of his Kingdom of Grace. He wants us all to enjoy the fullness of his love in a peace that never ends. He doesn’t view the high priest and members of the Sanhedrin as accusing enemies. They are people he loves! He doesn’t see Pilate as a corrupt and self-serving political hack. He is someone he loves. He doesn’t hate the crowd that cries out for his blood. He has only love for these fallen sinners.

And when he looks at you and me, he doesn’t see nameless faces who hurt him every day. He sees people he loves so much, people he wants so badly to be with him in heaven, that he will do whatever it takes, everything it takes, to make that happen! So, when the Sanhedrin accuses him of blasphemy, he remains silent. When the crowd screams for his death, he doesn’t argue with them.

When Pilate looks to him for a defense, some reason to free him, he does not respond. He will remain silent because that is the way to the cross! And it is Wondrous Love that drives him to that cross. For there the full weight of all the sin of all the people of all time will be heaped on him. On the cross, God the Father will carry out divine justice and punish Jesus for all those sins that once were yours and mine.

And when he utters his final words and gives up his life, the work of our redemption will be complete. It will done. It is finished!, Jesus says. And it is. God and man are reconciled through the blood of Jesus Christ. All our sins are forgiven. Through faith in him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit brings us life and salvation. We belong to our heavenly Father! Now, and forevermore, the voices of our accusers will be silenced, unable to condemn us of sin.

Up to that moment in history, Satan thought that everything was going his way. The name Satan literally means adversary, opponent, accuser. Satan may be thought of as the prosecuting attorney in the courtroom of God’s justice. As we stand there, he accuses us of damning sin. His case against us is air-tight, the verdict is a foregone conclusion.

God has decreed that every sin must be punished. Anyone with sin must be banished from the Lord’s loving presence and exiled to an eternity with Satan in hell. God has promised, by his own name, to punish sin. We have sin. We should be damned. We should join Satan in everlasting misery. But notice how God, the eternal Judge, deals with us. Sin must indeed be punished. But he doesn’t decree that the penalty for sin must be suffered by the one who sins.

If a Substitute can be found, if a Replacement is willing to suffer the consequences of our sins for us, then sin’s condemnation cannot be forced upon us. That’s what Wondrous Love is and does. He is our Substitute and he replaces us on the cross of damnation. Our sins are all on him. They are gone from us, each one fully forgiven.

When Satan objects and says that isn’t fair, the Judge says that it meets his definition of justice and the case is closed. When Satan asserts his right to us, the suit is dismissed. When Satan insists, the Lord tells him to shut up! Any defense we may be tempted to offer, falls to the floor as pointless and utterly worthless. Nothing we can say matters. The judgment is made. Because of Christ Jesus, we stand not guilty in that divine courtroom.

Like Jesus at his trial, we remain silent before all Satan’s accusations. They don’t mean a thing, any more. The Lord is satisfied that the death of his Son in our place has removed any claim Satan might once have had on us. All that can be heard is a Wondrous Love from heaven which decrees:

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. Wondrous Love has prevailed. Satan is vanquished. There is nothing more to say than to utter his praises now and forever! Amen!