Moment of Meditation: Delivered to Pilate (Matthew 27:2)

''And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor (Matthew 27:2).''

As we compare our Lord's Passion to His birth in this Advent season, we see one great irony. Pilate got what Herod the Great wanted. Herod the Great got what Pilate wanted.

Herod the Great wanted Jesus dead as a baby (Matthew 2:13). He slaughtered the innocent boys of Bethlehem, trying to kill Jesus. Herod wanted Jesus dead because He could make Himself a contender for the Jewish crown. Herod didn't want to give up his power.

Pilate wanted Jesus to go free. He didn't want anything to do with killing Jesus. He tried every way he could imagine to free Jesus. He offered the current public enemy number one, only to find out that Jesus was even more of an enemy of the public. At least the public who was vocal that Friday morning.

In the end, Jesus was saved from murderous Herod. Jesus was murdered under the downcast, sorrowful eyes of Pontius Pilate. What Herod salivated about, Pilate wept about. The holy, innocent Child was rescued so that He might grow into the holy, innocent Man who would die for you and me. Amen.