Matthew 27:22-26 - June 1, 2010
Matthew 27:22-26 - June 1, 2010
"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" When 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!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Matthew 27:22-26
Jesus was innocent. He had done nothing wrong, and yet the governor agreed to the crucifixion. He completely ignored justice and did what was expedient. The rulers of the people had threatened to make trouble for Pilate unless he crucified Jesus. There could be a riot. He simply wanted “to satisfy the crowd,” we’re told (Mark 15:15). And so, in a very real sense, Pilate too was saying, “Away with him. Crucify him.”
Jesus was unjustly sentenced to death by cruel crucifixion, but God used it for good. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he did so for us. He gave himself as an offering to God, as the payment that God demands for our sins. And because he made that payment, we can stand before God perfectly clean and perfectly acceptable to him.
It is ironic. Not only is the cross a shameful tool of execution, but it is also something in which we can rejoice. It is the symbol of God’s great love for us. It is the symbol that Jesus has won freedom from the guilt of our sin and its control over our lives. By faith in our Savior who suffered for us, we can now live in the peace and joy of forgiveness because Jesus has set us free!
(Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal – 105):
What language shall I borrow to thank you, dearest Friend,
For this, your dying sorrow, your pity without end?
Oh, make me yours forever, and keep me strong and true;
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for you.
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