Matthew 27:1-31

About the Text

(2) Who was Pilate? Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, the region that included Jerusalem. This region was about the size of Orange County. Historians at the time write that Pilate was powerful and cruel. He once condemned about 300 men involved in an uprising, hanging them all on crosses at once. Evidence of his power and influence is seen in several inscriptions of his name on the archeological remains of ancient buildings constructed around that time.

(4) Could Judas have been a believer, since he seems to have been " seized with remorse" ? No. in John 17:12, Jesus prays, " None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction..." This remark by Jesus indicates that Judas was not among the disciples who were saved, and therefore he could not have been a true believer. But doesn't feeling sorry for his sin count for anything? It is surely one key evidence of a believer's true faith that he/she is sorry for sins. Simply being sorry, however, does not automatically lead to salvation. We become clean before God (called justification) through faith alone, not how sorry we are. Buddhists, Muslims, New-Agers, Mormons, Atheists - even dogs - feel guilty for doing wrong. These guilty feelings don't mean they're Christians. Furthermore, the original Greek word for Judas' " remorse" is similar but not the same as the Greek word for " repentance." Judas, though he felt bad about betraying Jesus, did not actually " repent" of his sin.

(9) Why is this prophecy attributed to Jeremiah when it is found in Zechariah? The answer is unknown. We know at least that it's not because of any error in the original writing of the Scriptures. God doesn't make mistakes. Because if there were, scribes and monks would have easily tried to correct such an error thousands of years ago. In reality, there was no such attempt to " fix" the error. A possible explanation is that it is what scholars call a " transmission" error. That is, the original writing could have had the name " Zechariah," but an early scribe could have inadvertently changed the name to Jeremiah in some of his copies. Another explanation is that Zechariah could have belong to a school of prophets named after Jeremiah.

(10) How does this story fulfill the prophecy? The point of the Zechariah's prophecy is that there would be people who would call themselves " God's people" but reject their Great Shepherd and cheapen His worth to 30 pieces of silver, which is not much at all. This is what happened to Jesus. The Jewish priests considered Him worth 30 silver coins, which they paid Judas for the betrayal.

(14) Why didn't Jesus answer? He had no interest in seeking release from capture through debate, denial, and argument. He only said enough to reveal His true identity. He knew his calling: to take the punishment that sinners like us deserve.

(20) How could the crowd condemn Jesus when He was known to attract great crowds by His teaching and miracles? This verse and Mark 15:11 indicates that the chief priests " persuaded" and " stirred up" the crowd. This is easily done by planting false rumors and arousing mass hysteria.

(26) How was Jesus " flogged" ? He was most likely whipped with a torture device used by the Romans in those days called the " cat o'nine tails." It was made of several leather cords with bits of metal or bone at the ends and along each strand, all attached to a wooden handle. This device would tear deep gashes into the flesh of a prisoner, sometimes even exposing the bones.

Insights

• The world grasps some truth about Jesus, but will always miss the point of Christ's death.
• He was completely innocent, perfectly obedient, genuinely divine, foretold by the prophets, violently tortured, and completely misunderstood... it was the only way.
  

The Bottom Line

Cling to Christ and no one else. Only He can rescue you.