Lent Day 30: Matthew 27 (#2)

Verse 15: There was a custom that the governor would release a prisoner whom the crowd wanted at the festival.

Verse 17: When the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?"

Verse 18: Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over out of envy.

Verse 19: While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Do not have anything to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream because of him last night."

◇ We make countless decisions (choices) in our lives. It is no exaggeration to say that every moment of our life is a decision/choice. Our daily lives are full of decisions and choices to the point where we wonder if we have decision-making disorder.

What criteria do you use to make decisions (choices)?

I think God is very kind to Pilate. It is because God gave Pilate the opportunity to make a decision (choice) not to sentence Jesus to be crucified on the cross. Pilate examined various circumstances and rationally judged that Jesus was being framed. So he asked the crowd who they wanted to be released. But the crowd demanded Barabbas, not Jesus.

Pilate's wife had a nightmare the night before. It was a very painful dream in which innocent Jesus was tortured, mocked, and nailed to the cross by soldiers. So she sent a message to her husband, advising him not to be involved in nailing an innocent person to the cross.

For the past 2,000 years, Pilate's name has been associated with the man who nailed Jesus to the cross through the mouths of countless people. Perhaps the saddest name in the world is his name. God gave him two chances to make the right judgment, through reason and his wife's dream, but he failed to seize those opportunities.

Pilate was afraid that a riot would break out and he would lose his position as governor. To him, the governor's position was more important than the truth. The opportunity God gave him, the opportunity to become a child of God, was less important than the power of the governor's position.

♧ Lord, help us make the right decisions (choices)! Help us make the right decisions (choices) even if suffering follows, like you! Holy Spirit, lead us in truth!