Now
Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “So you say.” When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they testify against you?” He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they desired. They had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
Matthew 27:11-16
Matthew 27 [5.] He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary, and departed. He went away and hanged himself. The chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, “It’s not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.” They took counsel, and bought the potter’s field with them, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field was called “The Field of Blood” to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
“They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of him upon whom a price had been set,
whom some of the children of Israel priced,
and they gave them for the potter’s field,
as the Lord commanded me.”
Matthew 27 [11.] Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus said to him, “So you say.”
Matthew 27 [12.] When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they testify against you?”
Matthew 27 [14.] He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they desired. They had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up.
Matthew 27 [19.] While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They said, “Barabbas!”
Meaning:
The Jewish council had condemned Jesus during the night and handed him over to the Roman governor (Matthew 27:1-2). Now Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate. Mark tells the same scene in almost the same words (Mark 15:2; Mark 15:3-4; Mark 15:5), and Luke and John add more of the conversation.
- “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Pilate’s first question shows the charge the leaders had brought. Before the council, the issue had been blasphemy. Before Rome, it became treason. Luke records their accusation: “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king” (Luke 23:2). A rival king was something the Roman governor could not ignore. The title appears first in Matthew on the lips of the wise men, who asked, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). Gentiles seeking to worship him at the beginning; a Gentile governor questioning him at the end.
- “So you say.”
Jesus neither denies nor simply accepts Pilate’s words. He is the King, but not the kind of king Pilate imagined. John records more of his answer: “For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth” (John 18:37). Jesus would not lead a revolt against Rome. His kingdom would come through the cross.
- “he answered nothing”
When the chief priests and elders accused him, Jesus kept silent, just as he had before the high priest, where “Jesus held his peace” (Matthew 26:63). Isaiah had foretold the Servant who “didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). His silence was not weakness or confusion. The charges were false, and he would not defend himself in order to escape the death he had come to die. Peter later held this up as an example: “Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).
- “so that the governor marveled greatly”
Pilate had seen many prisoners plead, argue or rage. He had never seen a man facing crucifixion stand calm and silent. His amazement suggests that he already sensed Jesus was not a dangerous rebel. Mark uses the same word: “Pilate marveled” (Mark 15:5).
- “a notable prisoner, called Barabbas”
There was a custom of releasing one prisoner at the Passover, the feast that celebrated Israel’s release from slavery in Egypt. Mark explains that Barabbas was held “with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder” (Mark 15:7), and John calls him “a robber” (John 18:40). He was the kind of violent rebel Rome feared. The name Barabbas means “son of the father.” Matthew sets before the crowd two very different men: a rebel who took lives, and the true Son of the Father who came to give his life.
The Significance of Matthew 27:11-16
- The courage of silence
There are times to speak and times to be silent. Jesus answered when the truth about himself was at stake, but he did not defend himself against lies. Christians facing false accusation can entrust themselves to God, who judges righteously, instead of returning insult for insult.
- Which king will we choose?
Pilate’s question confronts every reader: is Jesus the King? The crowd would soon be asked to choose between Barabbas and Jesus. Each person still faces that choice between the ways of force and self-interest and the King who rules through truth and self-giving love.
Cross-References:
Mark 15:2: "Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”" Mark’s parallel account.
Isaiah 53:7: "As a lamb that is led to the slaughter," The silent Servant.
1 Peter 2:23: "When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously;" Jesus’ silence as an example for believers.
John 18:37: "that I should testify to the truth." The kind of king Jesus is.
Conclusion: Before Pilate, Jesus was accused of claiming to be a king. He answered only, “So you say,” and then said nothing to the many false charges, so that the governor marveled greatly. As the Lamb of Isaiah’s prophecy, he did not defend himself, and beside him stood Barabbas, a violent rebel, setting up the choice the crowd was about to make.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible