Who are You?
Matthew 27:11-26
11 Meanwhile, Yeshua was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question to him: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Yeshua answered, “The words are yours.” 12 But when he was accused by the head cohanim (priest) and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all these charges they are making against you?” 14 But to the governor’s great amazement, he did not say a single word in reply to the accusations.
15 It was the governor’s custom during a festival to set free one prisoner, whomever the crowd asked for. 16 There was at that time a notorious prisoner being held, named Yeshua Bar-Abba. 17 So when a crowd had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Bar-Abba? or Yeshua, called ‘the Messiah’?” 18 For he understood that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting in court, his wife sent him a message, “Leave that innocent man alone. Today in a dream I suffered terribly because of him.” 20 But the head cohanim (priest) persuaded the crowd to ask for Bar-Abba’s release and to have Yeshua executed on the stake. 21 “Which of the two do you want me to set free for you?” asked the governor. “Bar-Abba!” they answered. 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Yeshua, called ‘the Messiah’?” They all said, “Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!” 23 When he asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” they shouted all the louder, “Put him to death on the stake!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “My hands are clean of this man’s blood; it’s your responsibility.” 25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released to them Bar-Abba; but Yeshua, after having him whipped, he handed over to be executed on a stake.
The first thing I noticed as I read through this passage is that Jesus answered the question the governor asked, but He chose to be silent when the head priest and elders questioned Him. This amazed even the governor.
The second item that stands out is that Pilot's wife sent him a message to "leave the innocent man alone." She had a dream... Dreams can speak to us and we should take them seriously.
The last piece that struck me was how the people responded when Pilot asked them what he should do with Jesus, called the Messiah. The response was to "put him to death." Pilot then asked, "Why? What crime has he committed?" The people actually had no response. They simply said, "put him to death."
These people knew that Jesus was innocent. They had heard the Truth and they didn't follow through with it.
We can look back and see how this was all part of God's plan, but I'm sure at the time there was a lot going through the minds of those following Jesus.
I think we have to ask ourselves, "who we are in these passages?" Are we the religious leaders placing accusations because of jealousy? Are we Pilot just "innocently" washing our hands of everything. Are we the people who willingly "follow the crowd" and have no reason for doing so?
When we are placed in difficult situations and circumstances we will be required to do things that "go against the flow." We will be asked by Holy Spirit to be quiet and stand still when things around us are going crazy. It might also mean listening to someone that had a dream.
Be in PRAYER. Fight the enemy with praise and worship. Most important, stay close to HIM.
Love and blessings,
Rose
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