1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. (Matthew 27:1-2 KJV)
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
In the previous chapter (Mt 26:69-75), we left Christ in the hands of the chief priests and elders, condemned to die. But they could not lawfully carry out the sentence, because about two years before this, the Romans had taken from the Jews the authority to execute capital punishment. Therefore, early in the morning, another council was held to decide what to do. We are told what was done in that morning council, after they had spent a few hours deliberating.
Christ is delivered to Pilate so that he might carry out the sentence they had passed on him. Judea had been conquered by Pompey nearly a hundred years earlier, and since then had been under Roman rule. It had recently become part of the province of Syria, governed by a Roman official. Under this system, there were several procurators, who mostly managed tax affairs, but sometimes, as in Pilate’s case, held broader authority. This fulfilled Jacob’s prophecy that the scepter would depart from Judah and that the Shiloh would come (Genesis 49:10). Roman historians describe Pilate as harsh, stubborn, and greedy. The Jews strongly disliked him and resented his rule, yet they used him as a tool to carry out their plan against Christ.
They bound Jesus. He had already been bound when first arrested, but they either removed the restraints during his trial or added new ones now. As a convicted criminal, they tied his hands behind his back. But he was already bound by love for humanity and by his own commitment to the Father’s will; otherwise, he could have broken free like Samson. We were bound by sin (Proverbs 5:22), but God placed the burden of our guilt upon Christ (Lamentations 1:14) so we could be freed by his bonds, just as we are healed by his wounds (Isaiah 53:5).
They led him away, like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). He was taken from prison and judgment (Isaiah 53:8). From Caiaphas’s house to Pilate’s was nearly a mile, and they led him through the streets of Jerusalem as they began to fill in the morning, making him a public spectacle.
They delivered him to Pontius Pilate, fulfilling what Jesus had said—that he would be handed over to the Gentiles. Both Jews and Gentiles were guilty before God, and Christ came to save both. Therefore, both played a role in his condemnation. These corrupt religious leaders manipulated the civil authorities to carry out their unjust decision, as foretold (Isaiah 10:1). In history, kings have been similarly misled by religious powers, compelled to wage war and enforce justice on those branded as heretics—often unjustly—at great cost to their own nations.