Matthew 27:11-26

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have spoken.”

¹² But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.

¹³ Then Pilate replied to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”

¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly shocked.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor used to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.

¹⁶ And they had then an infamous prisoner called Barabbas.

¹⁷ So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

¹⁸ Because he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.

¹⁹ Also, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

²⁰ So the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

²¹ The governor again 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, “Let him be crucified!”

²³ And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted even more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”

²⁵ And all the people answered, “May his blood be on us and on our children!”

²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Pilate’s choice

Pilate’s moral code is just as tainted as that of the chief priests. He knew that Jesus was innocent of the charges. He knew that the religious officials handed him over to be crucified because they were envious of his reputation. He agreed with his wife, who saw Jesus as a righteous man. But he still refused to wield his power according to that knowledge. Instead, he gave in to the pressure from the very people he was responsible to govern. One day, Pilate will stand before Jesus, as judge of the universe. He will have no excuse. He had a choice, and he chose the wrong thing to do.

You and I have a choice too. Thousands of factors come into play as to why we make the choices we do, but in the end, our choices are ours alone.

LORD, give us the wisdom to make the right moral choices.