Matthew 27:19
Dear Friends in Christ,
Sometimes a seemingly insignificant thread actually is important.You pull on the thread in the belief that it is not part of the garment and what happens? You discover is actually was an important part as the sweater sleeve begins to unravel.
One brief verse in St. Matthew’s gospel is like that thread. At first glance it may seem unimportant, even irrelevant. Yet as we pull on it, i.e. look more closely at it, we see it is a vital part of the account of Jesus’ Passionwhich unravels before us in our Lenten meditations.
Pontius Pilate’s wife appeared suddenly and disappeared quickly like a flash among the events in the last hours before Jesus died on the cross as the payment for our transgressions. History identifies her as Procula. Procula identified Jesus as “That Righteous Man.” God had revealed this truth to Procula in a dream. Procula revealed this truth to her husband in a warning.
Early Good Friday morning the Sanhedrin brought our Lord to the Roman governor. Pilate could pronounce the sentence of death Jesus’ enemies sought for him who had claimed he would destroy the temple and in three days raise it again. Jesus was speaking of course about his body. The Sanhedrin did not have this authority.
It had come to the point in the proceedings where Pilate wanted to look magnanimous. He also realized that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death. Pilate knew it was out of envy that the leaders of the Jews had brought Jesus before him. So, in keeping with his annual custom at Passover, Pilate declared he would release one prisoner to the mob. He hoped they would choose the King of the Jews over Barabbas, a seditious murderer. This choice would let him off the hook.
Sometime in the early morning hours prior to this offer God had revealed in a dream to Pilate’s wife, Procula, that Jesus was a righteous man.God often used dreams to reveal his will. We think of Joseph in Egypt. We think of Jacob at Bethel. God warned the wise men in a dream to return home by another route than they had planned. Luther warned against continuing to interpret dreams as God’s messages once the Word of God was in written form. He wrote, “I, too, at times have dreams that move me somewhat, but I despise them and have come to this understanding with my Lord God that I will believe Moses and the prophets.”
We do not want to put words in Procula’smouth. What did she mean by “that righteous man?” We can never know for sure. Did she think Jesus was merely a good person who was innocent of civil disobedience? Or, did she like the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross recognize Jesus as holy and more than just a man?” Since God had revealed this message to her in a dream it is likely the latter.
With Luther we appreciate the fact that God does not reveal things about Jesus to us in dreams. We have the Word of God, the inspired Holy Scriptures. They reveal Jesus to us as more than a mere human who was a good person in civic righteousness. We know that truly this man is the righteous, holy Son of God. Jesus is holy in his nature and holy in his obedience for us.
The revelation of this truth in a dream to Procula was not for her only. Procula revealed this truth to her husband in a warning.
As the Sanhedrin, chief priests and elders got ready to declare their choice of Barabbas instead of Jesus for release, Pontius Pilate sat himself down on the judgment seat. This was often outside where the judge sat during a trial. While Pilate was there, “His wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with this righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.’”
Pilate should have listened to his wife. God was calling him away from the great act of injustice and political expediency he was about to carry out. This was the moment God offered the Roman governor to do the right thing. Had he done the right thing he would have escaped centuries of the church confessing that Jesus, “suffered under Pontius Pilate.”
Jesus still would have suffered and been crucified. He still would have died and been buried. Those were God’s plans for his Son as our Substitute. Someone else in history would have taken Pilate’s role. Someone else would have pronounced Jesus’ death sentence.
Pilate did not listen. He became the willing instrument by which God’s eternal plan to redeem the lost world of sinners was carried out. Pilate had no personal repentance nor did he exercise his God given role in government to carry out justice for the falsely accused.
The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church believe that Procula became a believer in Christ. They have elevated her to sainthood in fact. We do hope and pray that what the Lord revealed to her in a dream and perhaps what she saw and heard later did bring her to know Jesus as her Savior. We wish the same for her husband.
This brief moment in the time of Jesus’ Passion must have important meaning. Otherwise, it would not be in the Scripture. It is a necessary part of the garment of our salvation just as that thread I mentioned earlier is a vital part of the garment.
Only now it is not a dream that warns us not to have anything to do with that righteous man. Now we have the Word of God that tells us to have everything to do with that righteous man. He was righteous for us that we might be eternally righteous in him. Amen. <SDG>