What Shall I Do with Jesus?

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2015 · 12 July 2015

In this passage, the most important question that could ever be asked is posed in Matthew 27:22, "Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” That is the key question. But Pilate is not alone. Every human being on the face of the earth faces that very same question, what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? And the answer to it that will determine your eternal destiny.

Pilate made the wrong choice in response to that question. He asked the right question, but instead of going to the right source, he went to the wrong source, and got the wrong answer and as such ended up as an eternal tragedy. Let us study the beginning of Matthew 27 because here is where we find the transition from the Jewish trial of Christ to the Roman trial.

Christ was tried in a three phased Jewish trial and the Jewish leaders gave Jesus the death sentence. And now in order to accomplish that, they have to convince the Romans to come to the same conclusion. Because under Roman occupation, the Jews had no right of execution. They have had to depend upon the Romans to do that. And so we see in verses 1 and 2 that they take Him to Pilate to open the three phases of the Roman trial.

So it was very early, about 5 A.M. when they arrived at Pilate's judgment hall. We will now see some elements that demonstrate the innocence of Christ. Each of them shows His perfect righteousness. Look at verse 11, “Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” Pilate was asking Him relative to the accusation the Jews had made. But Matthew doesn't give that accusation.

Let us look for that in John 18:28, “Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.” And because they wouldn't go in, Pilate had to come out. And he did. Verse 29 says, "Pilate then went out to them." They were below him in the street and he was on a porch. "What accusation do you bring against this man?”

Verse 30, “They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” Amazing. They challenged Pilate for even asking the question. Pilate asked a proper judicial question: what is the accusation? But they don't give an answer. And again, the absence of any accusation here is another affirmation of the perfection of Jesus Christ.

So Pilate says to them, verse 31, "Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law." Now he knew who Jesus was. When the Roman soldiers came along with the Jews to the garden to take Jesus captive, they were there because Pilate had granted permission for them to be there. He even had an opinion about why they wanted to take Jesus Christ. “To which they reply in the rest of verse 31, "It's not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

And of course, there was the plan of God which demanded it as well. That's what verse 32 says, "This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” Jesus said that in John 12:32, "The Son of Man shall be lifted up." So they were fulfilling prophecy while thinking in their own minds that they were doing this to maintain legality, but they were really doing it to fulfill the plan of God.

And then Pilate went back into the judgment hall. "And he called to Jesus and he said," in Matthew 27:11, “Are you the king of the Jews?" Now where did he get that accusation if they didn't answer anything? We have to go to Luke 23:2 which says, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” But that was not the reason He was convicted in the Jewish trial.

They convicted Him in the Jewish trial of blasphemy because He said He was the Son of God. But they also know that blasphemy in a Roman court is not enough of a reason because the Romans do not execute people for their religious persuasion. The only way they can get Pilate involved is to accuse Jesus of something that is a threat to Roman security. Many Jews were crucified because of revolt against the Roman government.

And so, they come up with this idea that Jesus is a threat to Roman security, that He is a rebel, stirring up the nation against Rome. Secondly, that He forbids the Jews to pay taxes, that is that He is not rendering to Caesar what is due Caesar. And thirdly, that He claims to be a king, who is a rival to Caesar himself. Now this is new, they just concoct this on the spot. And of course, their accusations are totally false.

Jesus was very submissive. He taught the people to respond to those in authority over them properly. He also taught to pay taxes. When He was approached and asked if He paid taxes through Peter the Apostle, He said yes we pay taxes so we don't offend anyone. He even said, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." That is pay your taxes to the government, but save your worship for the Lord.

And yes He was a king, but not a king who was a threat to Caesar. When they tried to make Him a king, He disappeared from their midst so there would not be a riot and a revolution. So all of their accusations were lies and again a great testimony is born to the perfection of Jesus Christ. The only thing they can come up with are lies of such obvious nature that anybody reading the Bible knows they are lies.

And so, Pilate calls Jesus back in and says, "Is it true? Are You the king of the Jews?" And He answers yes, I am a King and says further in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” What He is saying to Pilate is My Kingdom is an internal spiritual Kingdom.

Now back to Matthew 27:11, "Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” And then He explained what He meant as we saw in John. Then Pilate comes back out to the people and says to them, "I find no fault, He is not guilty." Verse 12, "But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.”

Here is Pilate out on the porch again, and the whole crowd is stirred up. In Luke 23:5 which describes this very same moment, it says, "But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” And they started to accuse Him more fiercely. They started to really put the heat on Pilate. And he is afraid of the hatred of Jesus in the hearts of these leaders who are Satan possessed.

The accusation is empty talk. Pick up the Bible and you read about Jesus Christ and there is no fault in Him. Whether they were the religious court trial that mocked Jesus under Caiaphas and Annas, or a pagan court conducted by Pilate, they came up with the same verdict, He was innocent. They had to manufacture lies to kill Jesus Christ. Did he really believe that Jewish leaders, who absolutely hated Roman oppression, would bring to him someone because he was a threat to Rome?

Ridiculous. Anybody who was a real threat to Rome, they would hide and join in his revolution. They wouldn't expose him. They hated Jesus because He could do what they couldn't. He could heal people and He could teach wisdom and He could even raise the dead. And He was popular and they were not. Even a pagan unbeliever could see that their real issue was envy.

Verse 13, “Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” Verse 14, “But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.” Jesus had said what He needed to say when He was on trial. The judge had given the verdict. And He's not going to answer the crowd and He's not going to answer Pilate because everything was said already.

Pilate was absolutely amazed. He had seen many criminals who would plead their case and cry out for mercy and protest loudly to those who were wanting to convict them. He had seen all the people demanding their exoneration, pleading their innocence and here is Jesus, absolutely quiet, never saying a single word. Where is the rival to Caesar? Here is a calm peaceful man who is offering Himself without reason.

Now for Pilate it was difficult to refuse the Jews. When he first came to power as the appointed governor he rode into Jerusalem with his soldiers and their banners, which had an image of Caesar. The Jews objected because they believed them to be idols. And they rioted and demanded that he take those off his banners, but he refused to do it. The Jews persisted so he called for a meeting in the amphitheater, surrounded them with his soldiers and threatened to cut off their heads. At which point they bared their necks, pulled their heads to one side and told his soldiers to go ahead and cut off all their heads. So they called his bluff and he gave in and removed those images.

Later on, Pilate needed a better water supply by building an aqueduct to bring water into the city of Jerusalem. And to do it, he took the money out of the temple treasury, money which was devoted to God. This so greatly irritated the Jews that they rioted again, so that he had to send his soldiers with spears and swords to kill many people to break up the riot.

Thirdly, when Pilate established a residence in the city of Jerusalem he made shields for his soldiers on which he had engraved "Tiberius," the emperor. Which to the Jews again was an emblem of a false god and they demanded that the shields be changed. He refused to do that. So they reported him to Caesar. And Caesar sent word down to get those shields changed immediately. So they have Pilate right where they want him.

He cannot afford another message sent to Tiberius. He cannot afford another riot. So he is a coward because if he does what is right and releases Christ, he is going to have a riot on his hands. And something is going to happen and he knows that it could end up in him losing his job. And it could even be possible for Tiberius to remove a governor and then execute him for his unfaithfulness.

When Pilate heard the word Galilee, he gets a great idea. Luke 23:7 says, "As soon as he knew Jesus belonged in Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod who himself was at Jerusalem at that time." It is still around five o'clock in the morning and Herod happens to be right in Jerusalem. So Pilate decides to send Him to Herod Antipas, who knew about Jesus, because Jesus had a great ministry in Galilee. Jesus removed disease from Galilee.

And when Herod heard that he was going to have the opportunity, Luke 23:8 says, he was very glad. He was excited because he had wanted for a long time to see Jesus do a miracle. So Jesus early in the morning meets with Herod who has a court of his own presence there. And Luke 23:9 tells us, "Then he questioned Him in many words. But He answered nothing." Herod has no right to judge a man in the land of Palestine; that is a Roman right. Pilate is the judge, and the verdict is already in.

So Luke 23:11 says, "Herod with his men of war treated Him with contempt and mocked Him and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe." But he came up with no accusation. So Pilate says in verse 14-15, "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.”

So, Herod sends Him back. And when we come to verse 15, Pilate has to deal again with Jesus. Pilate says first I find no fault in Him. Then secondly he says that Herod found no fault with Him. Pilate is really a coward. He could have ended it after the first statement or he could have ended it after the second statement. Why is he bringing it back to them again? The reason is because he feels trapped. He cannot just defy them without a riot and a riot could be fatal to his career and even to his own life.

That takes us to the animosity of the crowd, the accusation of the Jews and the attitude of the Lord. What is Pilate going to do? He is not willing to defy the Jews again. Lately he has tried that and lost. So he comes up with an idea. Matthew 27:15, "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.” And if you read Luke and Mark we will find that the people even asked for it.

And he realizes that they have in hand a notable prisoner. Verse 16, “And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.” John 18:40 says he was a robber. And we know from Mark 15 and Luke 23 that he was an insurrectionist who was also a murderer. So Pilate sees an out. He sees the idea of giving them an option between Barabbas and Jesus. Verse 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?”

Pilate even adds the name Christ after the name Jesus twice, once there and once in verse 22 to emphasize the difference between Barabbas and Jesus who is called the anointed, which is another way for king. Who are you going to choose: your anointed Messiah or Barabbas, the criminal? Because he knows about the triumphal entry to Jerusalem, and he knows this miracle worker had made Himself one whom the people cheered. So he sees the crowd coming and feels he can play off the people against their leaders.

Verse 18 tells us, “For he (Pilate) knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” But the people wouldn't be envious because they were the recipients of Jesus' ministry, and not in competition with Him like the leaders. Then something interesting happened in verse 19. There was an interruption from his wife and we will come back to that next time. God allowed a divine intervention, a pause to give time for the leaders to stir up the crowd against Jesus because it was God’s plan that Jesus die, right?

So the leaders used whatever leverage they could to stir up the crowd. Mark 15:11 says, "The chief priests incited the crowd to bring about the freedom of Barabbas." And by the time Pilate comes back from this little interlude, he has a real problem on his hands because the crowd and the leaders have become one. And in verse 21, "The governor answered and said to them, “which of the two do you want me to release for you?"

He didn't know anything about the demons of hell that were involved in the scene, nor did he know about the plan of God. And out of his mouth comes verse 22, "What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?" And that is the question that is in front of us all. So how do you look at Jesus? The answer to that question will determine everything that is truly important. Let us pray.