The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 599

and elders. Pilate had some sense of justice; they had none, Their one object was to comp88S his death ; they cared not for truth or justice, but only for the accomplish- ment of their wicked purpose. They brought charge after charge, all alike untrue. The Saviour heeded them not. " He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he ope~ed n~t hie mouth." ~e stood before them in calm majestio silence. Pilate, anxious, 1t seems, to hear his defence, pressed him to answer; but still "he answered him to never a word, insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly." He had never seen such a Prisoner before, so calm and collected in tho immediate prospect of a death of agony, so meek and yet BO dignified; he felt the nobleness of Christ, and he strove to deliver him. II. JESUS OB BABABBAS. 1. The choice offered to the Jews, Pilate was, as St. Peter afterwards said (Acts iii. 13), determined to let the Saviour go. He tried every expedient. At first he declined to hear the case: "Take ye him, and judge him." Then, when forced to hear it, he declared himself convinced of his innocence: "I find in him no fault at a.II." Then he sent him to Herod. Now be appeals to the people, hoping, perhaps, that they would reverse the judgment of the chief priests, or possibly wishing to shift the responsibility of the decision from himself. He was ready, accord- ing to custom at the Passover, to release a prisoner. There was a prisoner called Bara.bbas, probably a mere robber and murderer (Acts iii. 14); possibly, as some have thought, a leader of a band of patriots, who sought to do what Christ was accused of seeking-to put down the Romac power and to restore the Jewish kingdom. Pilate waited till a multitude was gathered together. He gave them the choice between the two prisoners-Jesus the Christ or Bara.bbas the robber. He had heard, perhaps had seen, how the Lord had been welcomed into the city five days before ; he thought that the people would ask for his release, and that so he should be saved from the ungrateful task of condemning One whom he knew to be innocent. 2. Pilate's wife. She had had a dream tha.t morning. She saw in a vision the holy and innocent Saviour. It may be she 1n, his awful sufferings; it may be she saw him in his majesty sitting on the throne of his glory to judge the world. Whatever the dream was, it caused her much anxiety. She sent at once to Pilate. He was sitting on the judgment-sea.t, awaiting the decision of the multitude. The message was, "Have thou nothing to do with that just Mac." It seems, then, that something was known of the Lord Jesus in the household of Pilate. The governor had heard, perhaps, of his miracles; probably of the great icfluence which he bad possessed in Galilee, He had heard also of bis innocence; he was no leader of sedition, no conspirator against Cmsar. Pilate'e wife had no hesitation, no fears of consequences, such as her husband had. She bade him deliver the falsely accused, the Innocent One. Happy would it have been for him if he had followed her advice I 3. Barab"bas chosen. The people, left to themselves, might, perha.ps, ha.ve chosen rightly. We are not told what was the composition of the crowd; whether there was a large Galilean element in it; whether or no many were present out of those great multitudes which had received the Lord on Palm Sunday with BO much enthusiasm. Some of them, surely, must have been there; they must at least ha.ve felt an interest in the fate of One who a few days ago bad been so con- spicuous; curiosity, if no better motive, would have brought them there. But how- ever this may have been, the chief priests and rulers, who ought to have guided the people aright, led them astray. They mingled with the crowd, they stirred them, they appealed to their Jewish prejudices, they used all the arts of persuasion; and they succeeded in turning the current of popular opinion. The voice of the people is by no means always the voice of God. Crowds are apt to be led by sudden impulse, by a cry, by ignorant party spirit. Alas I for a nation, when its clergy or its ohief men guide it into error. The chief priests must have been astonished at the rapidity th11 completeness of their own success. Five days before, the Pharisees bad "said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold, the world is gone after him." But now, when after a pause for consideration, the governor put the question to the multitude, "Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?" they all said, "Barabbas." They denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto them. .And when Pilate asked again, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?" the fierce cruel answer burst from the crowd, "Let him be crucified!" It was the first mention of the cross, save in the prophet10 on, xxv11, 1-66,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 605