Matthew 27:20-23
Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
This is where things begin to get particularly dicey. Two things are absolutely vital to keep in mind as we read Matthew’s portrayal of the Jewish authorities. First, Matthew writes in part to make the case, over and against the Jewish religious leaders of his own day, that Jesus is indeed the Jewish messiah. Second, the early church that Matthew represents knows that they are living in an increasingly Gentile world and church.
Scholars believe that Matthew’s Gospel was probably written in the early 80s, about fifty years after the events it narrates and ten years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The loss of the Temple in particular precipitated a major crisis for first-century Judaism as it reoriented itself to life without the Temple and redefined its identity, practices, and self-understanding.
Among other things, in the wake of this crisis, post-Temple Judaism clarified some of its core beliefs and defined its identity a little more narrowly, which probably contributed to some of the conflicts it had with the early Christians, a group that was likely seen as a Jewish cult surrounding the Rabbi named Jesus. In response, Matthew consistently connects the actions and events of Jesus’ life to Scripture, as we’ve seen throughout, and also portrays the forebears of his opponents – the Pharisees of Jesus’ day – in a very poor light. Moreover, in the wake of the Roman destruction of the Temple and the growth of the Gentile and Roman section of the Christian church, Matthew is also careful to portray the Roman characters in this story – including Pontius Pilate – in a better light.
And so in this scene we have the Pharisees described as scheming against Jesus and persuading the crowd to demand the release of Jesus Barabbas the criminal rather than Jesus of Nazareth, the one some called Messiah. Moreover, Matthew describes Pilate as standing against their schemes, trying to find some reason to release Jesus. While that is historically very unlikely, it functions as an effective narrative device by which to heighten the drama and tension of the scene and shift much of the culpability for Jesus’ death from the Romans to the Jews.
Matthew isn’t alone in making these moves. In varying degrees, all the Evangelists reckon with opposition from Jewish opponents and the reality of an increasingly Gentile religion. But Matthew seems at times to be more deeply involved in this conflict and so offers, as we’ll soon see, a rather harsher take on the religious authorities. While that might be understandable when Christianity was a fledgling religion and struggling for its existence, the consequences these decisions have had through the centuries – including especially fueling anti-Semitism – have been devastating. And so we must read with both great care and great faith.
Prayer: Dear God, remind us that you chose to offer your Word to us through the human words of faithful but fallible people. Encourage us, therefore, to read the Bible with care and faith, holding all that we read to the standard of love and mercy set by the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, “Pilate Showing Christ and Barabbas to the People,” (1608/09).
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