Paul notes that he does not need letters of recommendation from anyone to validate his ministry. The Corinthian believers are themselves living letters that show that Christ has worked in their lives through the Spirit, whom Paul first preached to them about. Believers have the Spirit living within them.
Matthew records how the Roman soldiers physically abused and cruelly mocked Jesus during His civil trial. After they scourged Him, the soldiers dress Him up as a ridiculous king, complete with a robe, a crown of thorns, and reed for a scepter. They act out a charade of paying homage to “the King of the Jews” and beat Him with the “scepter” and spit on Him.
Matthew summarizes the three main outcomes of Jesus’s civil trial. They are: Barabbas was released; Jesus was scourged; and Jesus was handed over to the crowd’s demands that He be crucified.
Pilate comes to the conclusion that he cannot win and that a riot is about to break out. But he is very troubled about crucifying Jesus, whom he firmly believes to be an innocent Man. He tries to publicly absolve himself of any wrong doing by washing his hands in water and declaring himself to be innocent.
As the crowd was shouting “Crucify Him!” Pilate asks them two questions to recall them from their frenzied obsession with killing Jesus. Pilate asks them: “Why He should be crucified? What evil has He done deserving of such a punishment?” The crowds ignore his questions and keep shouting all the more—“Crucify Him!”
The crowd responds to Pilate’s offer to use the governor’s “Passover Pardon” on Jesus by shouting at Him to give them Barabbas instead. Barabbas had been imprisoned for insurrection and murder. Pilate wanted to release Jesus and tries to persuade the crowd again, but they kept on calling out—“Crucify, crucify Him!”
Pilate’s wife sends him a message during the middle of Jesus’s civil trial. The Roman governor receives it while he is sitting in the seat of judgment. The message is for Pilate to have no part in Jesus’s conviction or execution, because his wife suffered a terrible dream about this righteous Man the night before.
Pilate offers the crowd a choice as to which prisoner he will customarily release: the notorious prisoner Barabbas or Jesus, called Christ. Matthew points out that Pilate did this because he knew the Jews accused Jesus out of envy.
Matthew interjects to inform his readers about a custom the Roman governor performed for the Jews each Passover. The custom was to release a prisoner. Matthew mentions that at that time Rome had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
According to the demands of the crowd, Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified. This passage concludes John’s narration of the third phase of Jesus’s Civil Trial. This phase is called: “Pilate’s Judgment.”