URC Daily Devotion 13 June 2026

Saturday, 13 June 2026

Church and State 6 
 
Matthew 27.11-23 
 
Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You say so.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?’ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.  Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus^[ Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ 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!’
 
Reflection
 
Matthew portrays Pilate as an insightful ruler – he can tell that he is being played by the crowd. But the hubris of power means that he decides that if he takes the easy path of washing his hands of the matter, he can get away with it. At the time, he was right – although the judgement of history on him has been far from kind. The ability of rulers to deny responsibility for matters which are clearly part of their remit is remarkable. In devolved Wales, successive Welsh governments have blamed the UK Government whenever their own policies have not turned out well. Similarly, until 2020, UK governments could blame the European Union. More recently, judgements by the European Court of Human Rights have been used as scapegoats in the same way.
 
We might have expected Jesus to confront Pilate’s hypocrisy, as we saw Nathan confronting King David yesterday. But Jesus stays silent – and Pilate is “greatly amazed”. Why does Jesus behave differently? Nathan was speaking not on his own behalf – he had nothing to gain personally from seeing Uriah’s death avenged – but on behalf of truth and justice. Jesus would have been trying to save himself. This he will not do.
When I was working as Policy Officer for the churches in Wales, on occasions I was required to push for the churches’ own interests – not to be burdened by over-regulation, to be able to access government grants (often previously unavailable to religious institutions), and so on. I had some successes. But I tried to remember that Jesus was silent about his own interests, and that the greater duty was to call for truth and justice for those who could not speak up for themselves – those whom we serve in our foodbanks, night shelters and refugee support projects.
 
Prayer
 
Loving God,
when I am tempted to pursue my own interests,
remind me of Jesus’ silence before Pilate
and give me pause for thought.
Fill me instead with courage to speak up 
for those whom the world discounts –
people who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised, 
refugees, abused women and children –
and enable me to confront the forces that stifle their voices
so that their cries may be heard by those with power.
Amen.