When Jesus appeared before Pilate, the governor asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (v. 11). Instead of answering directly, Jesus turned Pilate’s own words against him and replied, “That’s what you say” (v. 11). As Pilate continued to question him, Jesus fell silent. When the soldiers mocked him and beat him, they jeeringly addressed him as “King of the Jews” (v. 29), and again, Jesus did not reply. Instead, the Roman authorities unwittingly confessed to the truth when they posted a sign above Jesus’ head as he hung on the cross. On it, they meant to write the charge that condemned him to death, but the words testified to more: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews” (v. 37).
The dispute over Jesus’ identity as the king of the Jews ran parallel to the dispute over his identity as the Son of God. When the high priest demanded, “Tell us whether you are the Christ, God’s Son” (Matt. 26:63), instead of answering directly, Jesus replied, “You said it” (26:64), turning the high priest’s own words against him. Then as he hung on the cross and passersby taunted, “If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross” (27:40), he did not reply. His only words were a cry of agony to God. But in the end—in light of Jesus’ suffering and death, in light of the violent earthquake that marked his sacrifice—the centurion and other guards supplied the testimony: “This was certainly God’s Son” (27:54).
Throughout this text, other questions also raise the issue of Jesus’ identity. Pilate asked the crowds whether he should release a prisoner named Barabbas “or Jesus who is called Christ” (v. 17). When the crowds called for the release of Barabbas, Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (v. 22). While Jesus suffered the pain and indignity of crucifixion, passersby asked, “So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you?” (v. 40). Even Jesus’ cry from the cross took the form of a question: “My God, my God, why have you left me?” (v. 46). In their own way, each of these questions asks, Who is this Jesus? Is he simply called “Christ,” or is he truly the Messiah, the Anointed One of God? Is he able to destroy and rebuild a temple in three days? Or is he just one more prisoner crucified among many, forgotten and forsaken by God?
In spite of the sign confirming Jesus’ identity as the king of the Jews, in spite of the centurion’s testimony to Jesus as the Son of God, for the most part these questions are left unanswered in our text. Later in Matthew 27, one of his disciples, the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea, would ask for Jesus’ body and lay it in his own tomb with a large stone covering the entrance. Fearing that Jesus’ disciples might later steal the body and claim that he had risen from the dead, some of the chief priests and Pharisees insisted that the grave be sealed. Pilate gave them permission to post a guard at the tomb to keep watch (Matt. 27:57–66).
April Yamasaki is a pastor and the author of several books, including Christ Is for Us. Learn more at AprilYamasaki.com. Excerpted from Christ Is for Us © 2016 by Abingdon Press, an imprint of The United Methodist Publishing House. (All Scripture quotations within these excerpts are drawn from the Common English Bible © 2011.) Used by permission. All rights reserved.
