Jesus, the perfect God-man

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2015 · 19 July 2015

Let's open our Bibles to Matthew 27:19-26 where we see the most impactful question ever faced in verse 22, "What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?" Why is it that every person must answer that question? Why do we have to make a decision? And the answer to that is because of who Jesus Christ is. Because of what He said and what He did.

The Scriptures proclaim that Jesus is God. From the very beginning in Matthew 1:23 it said His name shall be called Emmanuel which is ‘God with us’. The Scriptures also proclaim that Jesus is one with God the Father. In John 8 it says to know Him is to know the Father. In John 15 it says to hate Him is to hate the Father. In Matthew 10, to believe Him is to believe the Father. In John 14, to see Him is to see the Father. In John 5, to honor Him is to honor the Father. And in Mark 9, to receive Him is to receive the Father.

Furthermore, the Old Testament indicates that He is the promised Savior, that He is come into the world not only to show us what God is like but to bring us to God in an act of redemption. And the prophets outlined the details of His life with astounding accuracy. His birth, Micah said it would be in Bethlehem. Daniel gave us the approximate date. Isaiah told us it would be a virgin birth. Genesis 22 indicated it would be the line of Abraham. Genesis 49 indicated it would be through the tribe of Judah. Second Samuel 7 said through the seed of David. Hosea said He would be taken out of Egypt.

You see, we have to deal with the God man Himself. The perfection of Jesus Christ is absolutely astounding. And His perfection is demonstrated. If you study His life you will find out for example that He was holy. He loved righteousness and He hated sin. He overcame temptation every time. He rebuked sinners and He will judge the unbelieving. And He is our example that we cannot ignore.

For Jesus Christ came into the world to redeem our sins, to bring salvation, to remove transgressions, to destroy Satan, to set up an eternal kingdom of peace and glory for those who love and believe in Him. And it was essential in doing this that He die for our sins. And as we are in Matthew 27, we know that we are close to the cross and therefore close to the climax for which Christ came into the world. He came to pay the penalty as our substitute and to rise again that we might live forever.

Jesus had spent three years teaching and preaching, healing, casting out demons, and raising the dead. Now that is all coming to a climax as He enters into Jerusalem for this His final Passover. On Thursday night they eat the Passover. And near midnight they leave that upper room in Jerusalem to go out to the Mount of Olives to the garden of Gethsemane. And it is at midnight as Jesus prays there, sweating drops of blood in conflict with Satan in three waves of temptation. After strengthening from God, He resolutely sets His face to the cross.

Then Judas arrives with all of the religious leaders and the temple guards along with Roman soldiers numbering about 600 men. They come into the garden and take Jesus captive. And then they rush Him off to the house of Annas and Caiaphas for a mock trial in order that they might somehow legitimize their desire to execute Him.

There were three phases to the Jewish trial with no indictment. They tried bribing false witnesses. They paid off Judas. But even Judas came and threw the money back and said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." On Friday morning from 1 AM to 3 AM, there was a mock trial in front of Caiaphas at which time they accused Jesus of blasphemy for saying He was the Christ, the Son of God which was not blasphemy but the truth. Then they spit in His face and slapped Him while He was blindfolded.

First, in Luke 23, they accused Him of being the leader of an insurrection, stirring up the people to begin a revolution. Secondly, they accused Jesus of forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar. And thirdly, of claiming to be a king which made Him a rival against Pilate, against Caesar himself. So they had to manufacture a Roman issue. And so, they tried to convince Pilate that Jesus was in fact a rebel who was vying for the throne of Rome. And, of course, it was all a lie.

Pilate came out and talked to them outside. Got their accusations and walked back in to conduct his trial with Jesus Christ. Came back out a few minutes later likely about 5:15 in the morning. And he says to them, his verdict is "I find" and that is a technical term for a verdict. He says "I find no fault in this man." John 18:38 indicates that finding in the first phase of the Roman trial.

But the people refuse to accept the verdict and they screamed and more powerfully accused Jesus of sedition and being a threat to Roman rule. Remember, Pilate was in a difficult place. He had already caused three riots among the Jews. He had been reported to Tiberius Caesar for the last one. The Romans wanted peace and Pilate was having a hard time keeping it.

Pilate knew that if he released Jesus, which would be consistent with his verdict, he would cause another riot. It probably would get back to Caesar and his job and maybe even his head would be on the line. But we saw that the accusations of the Jews proved the innocence of Jesus. So He is glad that they have no legitimate accusation against Him, though they have tried and tried.

The second thing we noted was the attitude of the Lord. And in it all He was completely silent. Verse 12, "He answered nothing." Verse 14, "He answered them not a word." There was nothing to say. Because Pilate had come out after phase one and said Jesus is not guilty. So when all the crowd started screaming all the accusations, He didn't say anything. The court had been held and the verdict was in. And calmly and majestically He stands there innocent.

Realizing then that Jesus was from the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas in Galilee, and that Herod was in Jerusalem for the Passover, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. Pilate wanted him to condemn Jesus to death. But Herod thought the idea was ludicrous. How could this man be a king? He mocked and put a oversized robe on Jesus and made a joke out of the whole thing. And then Herod sent Him back.

So Pilate had Jesus back again. And through it all, the innocence of Jesus will be stated five separate times. The religious world, the pagan world, the demons of hell cannot come up with one accusation that stands. 1 Peter 2:23 says, "When He was reviled, He reviled not again. When He suffered, He threatened not, but committed to Him who judges righteously."

Luke 23:13-15 sums it up, "Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.”

And Pilate reiterates the third phase of that Roman trial. In John 19:14, it is about six AM and all this hurry up court has taken only about an hour or so. He also has to deal with his own conscience and sense of justice. So, Matthew 27:15-17 says, "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

It's now the day of the Passover for the residents of Judea, Jerusalem. And so, he calls the people because his plan is this, Jesus is popular with the people, Jesus is hated by the leaders. He also knew that the leaders wanted Jesus dead out of jealousy, verse 18. So he thought he could pit the leaders against the people, and free Jesus. Barabbas was a criminal, an insurrectionist, a murderer and a plunderer, compared to Jesus who is called the anointed was a king.

But in verse 19, an amazing thing happened, there was an interruption. And while he was distracted for a few moments, the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. A providential divine interlude gave the leaders the time they needed to stir up the multitude against Jesus. And so, the multitude was sucked in by the leaders and Pilate's effort failed.

Verse 21-23, "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 all the more, “Let him be crucified!” Look at Luke 23:20-22, "Pilate willing to release Jesus spoke again to them, but they cried saying, Crucify Him.” He said to them the third time, Why? What evil has He done? I have found no cause of death in Him, I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."

Five times Pilate announces the innocence of Jesus Christ then still sentences Him to death. Matthew 27:24-25 says, “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

I have a love for Jewish people. And what they said in verse 25 does not reflect the attitude of every Jewish person, not even every Jewish person who lived in the time of Christ, not even every Jewish person in that crowd, but this was the dominant cry of the crowd that day. And it is true that the blood of Jesus Christ was by their own testimony taken on the people of Israel. Yes, He was executed by the Romans but it was the Jewish population and leaders that screamed that His blood be accounted to their charge.

Now let us go back to verse 19. Pilate had to take his chair out on the porch in front and the people stayed out in the courtyard. And Pilate sits it down, as a genuine judicial act, on the Judgment Seat. At that point, his wife sends an urgent message. The message is this: "Have nothing to do with that righteous man." This is a desperate thing and what she said carried weight with Pilate. Why? She was convinced that Jesus was a righteous man.

And here is the testimony incredibly of a pagan. Here, the nation of Israel curses Jesus Christ, takes His blood on themselves, kills Him as an unjust and evil man and a pagan woman who knows nothing says He is righteous. What depth of evil and denial of the authority of Old Testament Scripture have they come to. And her word to her husband was, "Don't have a thing to do with Him. You're dealing with a righteous man."

She was fearful of the consequence, and she was right. Pilate later on was taken out of Palestine, sent to Gaul and there he committed suicide. He committed suicide for the same reason that Judas did, because both of them couldn't deal with the tremendous guilt of having betrayed and dealt unjustly with the only perfectly righteous person that ever lived. The primary cause of suicide psychologically is retribution, it is self inflicted punishment.

Now where did she get these fears? Verse 19, "for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.” Nothing in the text says that this is a supernatural dream. The dream may have been simply the providence of God. Everything that happens here is under the control of God by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God. Here Pilate was trapped with this Jesus and his wife had a dream of fear and a testimony of a pagan Gentile woman to the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Here Jesus is exalted again by a pagan who could see what they refused to see. Go to verse 24, "Pilate said, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” Pilate really tried. He had suggested that Jesus be released at the Passover. He had rendered Him five verdicts of innocence. But Jesus was to be crucified and that was a Roman way of death. So the prophecy had to be fulfilled. Now Pilate just wants the people not to blame him.

Pilate tried to get rid of Jesus in so many ways, at many times, but he just couldn't do it. But again he affirms the innocence of Christ. If he could find one thing about Jesus that would make Him guilty, everything would be simple. Then he could execute Jesus and maintain his conscience. So, we go to verse 26, "Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.” Matthew doesn't give us the details.

John 19:1 does, "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him." The Jews always gave 40 lashes save one that the Romans didn't. We don't know how long they pounded Jesus, tore and ripped His flesh. We do know that He couldn't carry His own cross because He was so weak. And believe me that if there ever was a man of strength, it was Him, because a man without sin would be a man of strength. But He was beaten so weak that someone else had to carry it for Him.

And so in John 19:7, "The Jews answered, we have a law and by our law He ought to die because He made Himself the Son of God." And just now do they the real reason which was blasphemy. Well, Pilate just heard something he didn't want to hear, that Jesus was the Son of God. Verse 8, "And when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was even more afraid." Now in the pagan mind of Pilate, there was room for a lot of gods with a lot of sons. So he goes to Jesus in verse 9, and he said to Him, "Where are You from?" He doesn't mean what town either. “But Jesus did not answer him.

John 19:10-11, “So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” You don't have any power unless God allows it. But the people who delivered Me to you are the greater sinners.

Verse 14-16, “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.” They said they had no king but Caesar. That is the total rejection of Jesus Christ stated: Put His blood on our account.

Jesus wasn't on trial here. Who is really on trial? Everybody else is, that's right, we are all on trial, too. What we do with Jesus Christ will determine our eternal destiny. What are you going to do? Hate Him? Mindlessly reject Him because everybody around you does? Or maybe we just laugh at the whole thing. Or maybe you just say, "Well, look, I'm not interested in it, I really don't want to have anything to do with this." Or maybe you just choose what is and sacrifice eternity like Pilate did and put Jesus away. Everyone will make a choice and it will be an eternal thing. Let us pray you make the right one, Amen?