Hail, King of the Jews

Setting and Overview

In many places in the Gospels we see people speaking deeper truths than they realize, often either saying something intended to be ironic that then seen to be true or stating something that is actually true in a much deeper way than they could understand at the time. In few places, though, is this more frequent and important than in Jesus’ appearance before Pilate. Matthew is deliberate in the pieces of the narrative on which he focuses in order to provide a more obvious picture to his readers of Jesus’ identity, glory, and authority.

Exposition

Matthew doesn’t preserve the earlier details of Jesus’ appearance before Pilate nor does he preserve the full detail of Pilate’s questioning. The Jewish leaders have charged Jesus with trying to incite a political revolution and claiming that he is a king (Luke 23:2.) Pilate then puts the question to Jesus of whether or not he was a king, but Jesus challenges Pilate on how much he really wants to know and then reveals that his kingdom is not of this world. When Pilate seizes on his affirmation that he does have a kingdom, he confirms that he isn’t really interested in the nuances of what that means (John 18:33-37.) Matthew boils all of this down to a simple question and answer to focus on what is really happening. Since Jesus’ clarification of the nature of his kingdom thus also serve to challenge the specifics of the charges against him, the priests and elders shout out more accusations. Jesus’ defense legally depends on his own testimony, but since his intention is to go to the cross in obedience, he refuses to answer the charges, which amazes and frightens (John 19:8) Pilate.

Pilate’s fear, curiosity, and disdain for the Jews lead him to seek to avoid condemning Jesus to death, so he looks to take advantage of a tradition of releasing a prisoner of the crowds’ choosing at Passover. There was another prisoner at that time named Barabbas (likely Jesus Barabbas) who was an insurrection convicted of murder (Mark 15:7.) Either because the crowd was shouting for “Jesus” and Pilate wanted confirmation of which one, or because he thought that they would choose Jesus over Barabbas to be released, Pilate asks which of the two the crowd wants have released. Around this time he receives word of a dream his wife had that day, that both serves to reveal a deeper truth about Jesus’ identity and add to Pilate’s disinclination to sentence Jesus to death. Against Pilate’s efforts, however, are the efforts of the priests and elders to see Jesus be crucified, and so they compel the crowds to choose Barabbas. Pilate’s continued protestations accomplish nothing, and the crowd’s fervor grows as they now call for Jesus’ crucifixion.

Pilate sees the direction of the crowd by this point and feels that it would be foolish politically for him to oppose their wishes, and so he symbolically washes his hands of the situation (Deuteronomy 21:6.) Matthew then records that Pilate has Jesus flogged, but the other Gospels seem to indicate that this had actually happened earlier (John 19:1) and turns him over to the soldiers to be led to his crucifixion. Before they take him there, the soldiers first play a game with Jesus where they make a mockery of his claims to authority and kingship, giving him crude representations of kingly power. This description of the mockery forms a chiastic pattern that focuses the readers’ attention, on the second part of verse 29: the soldiers mockingly pay the homage that is actually due to Jesus, and thus provide a model for what our worship should acknowledge sincerely.

Examination and Application

Although Pilate asks Jesus if he is king, his dismissiveness towards Jesus questions indicate that he isn’t really interested in the answer. So often, people come to God’s Word looking for a quick confirmation of who they want God to be, rather than actually looking to see His glory. When the crowd is given the choice between Barabbas and Jesus, they are being called to actually pick a side after being on the fence throughout the Gospel, and they choose the worldly revolutionary rather than the true Messiah, pointed forward to countless others that choose the world’s path to freedom rather than God’s. When the soldiers mockingly declare Jesus to be King of the Jews, they speak truthfully but insincerely. This should be a vivid reminder that our own worship would always be sincere and always point to the glory of the true King.