Day 3

Scripture to Read: Matthew 27:11-26

Today we examine Jesus’s second time in front of the governor, Pilate. Jesus’s first experience standing before Pilate is not described in Matthew but it is described in Luke 23:1-6. Pilate did not want to make a judgment about Jesus. According to Luke 23:7, when Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean, Pilate knew that Jesus belonged within Herod’s jurisdiction. Therefore, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, as recorded in Luke 23:6-12. Jesus refused to say anything to Herod (note: 1 Peter 2:22-23), so Herod returned Jesus to Pilate, as recorded in Luke 23:11. In Matthew 27, Jesus stands before Pilate for the second time. Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews, and Jesus answers, “It is as you say.” Jesus did not need to defend Himself, for He knew He must fulfill the Father’s perfect will and die for the sins of all mankind. Jesus, of course, knew He was not only the King of the Jews, but that He was, and IS and ALWAYS will be, the King of all kings. Pilate saw no reason to put Jesus to death, and so Pilate hoped to release Jesus. The crowd would have nothing to do with Jesus being released, for the crowd wanted Jesus crucified. When the crowd proclaimed, “His blood shall be upon us and our children,” they had no idea that Jesus’s blood was the only blood capable of cleansing them completely from their sin. Jesus was about to lay down His life for all mankind, including those calling for His death.

Challenge & Application

What did you learn today that you did not know before about our Lord and His love for all mankind? Who will you share Christ with this week so that may know the wonder of His cleansing blood?

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

This week we’re going to focus on Christ’s betrayal, the cross, and finally the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ had spent three years investing in His twelve disciples, plus hundreds of others who had chosen to follow Him. Christ knew He came to fulfill the Father’s will, but that did not make Jesus’s final week any easier. In Matthew 26:1-3...
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Day 2

Jesus was betrayed, and now all the chief priests and elders are in agreement; they want Jesus put to death. They cannot do this on their own, so they send Jesus to Pilate, the governor, hoping Pilate will render a decision to put Jesus to death. We also find Judas feeling remorse for his awful decision. Note that God’s Word does not say that Ju...
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Day 3

Today we examine Jesus’s second time in front of the governor, Pilate. Jesus’s first experience standing before Pilate is not described in Matthew but it is described in Luke 23:1-6. Pilate did not want to make a judgment about Jesus. According to Luke 23:7, when Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean, Pilate knew that Jesus belonged within He...
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Day 4

As we examine Matthew 27:27-32, we have to remember that by this time, Jesus has already been beaten severely by the guards (Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63-65; John 18:22). Jesus would have been bloody, and His face swollen from the beatings He had already taken. Then Jesus was scourged (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), which was an incredibly int...
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Day 5

Christ underwent the most excruciating torment anyone could ever go through. Christ’s pain was not just physical pain, but it was the deepest, darkest spiritual pain of all time. The soldiers offered Christ wine mixed with gall, which was a drink to help numb the senses from this horrible death. Christ refused the drink because He did not want H...
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Day 6

As we continue to our walk through God’s Word and examine what Christ went through on the cross for us, it is incredibly humbling. We must never forget that our Lord Jesus Christ willingly submitted to our Heavenly Father’s perfect will and laid down His life for all mankind so we could have life everlasting. Christ’s willingness to endure the c...
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Day 7

Our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. His body was removed from the cross, and Joseph of Arimathea got permission from Pilate to put Jesus in his own tomb. In Matthew 27:62-66, we find the chief priests and the Pharisees in a meeting with Pilate. These so-called religious leaders were afraid that Jesus’s disciples would steal Jesus’s body, tr...
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