Fresh Look at Matthew: Matthew 27 overview
This is a straightforward narrative; there is
little need to look for hidden meanings.
It is quite dramatic, even cinematic, but of course we’ve all seen
movies of it, or at least of someone’s version of it.
I find it interesting that twice in this chapter we have two instances of the phrase, “You see to it.” One is from the religious leaders to Judas, dismissing him now that he has been used by them, and the second is by Pilate to the crowd that is getting ready to riot, after he has “washed his hands of the whole thing.” “You see to it” translates “not my circus, not my monkeys.” It means “I am not responsible for this mess I’ve created and/or am supposed to be responsible for since I am the political ruler here.” True leadership, what?
Do we mistake having healthy boundaries for eschewing responsibility? Where does the buck stop? The human heart is really, really good at self-deception and self-appeasement. Throwing up our hands (or washing them of responsibility) is not an option.
I find it interesting that twice in this chapter we have two instances of the phrase, “You see to it.” One is from the religious leaders to Judas, dismissing him now that he has been used by them, and the second is by Pilate to the crowd that is getting ready to riot, after he has “washed his hands of the whole thing.” “You see to it” translates “not my circus, not my monkeys.” It means “I am not responsible for this mess I’ve created and/or am supposed to be responsible for since I am the political ruler here.” True leadership, what?
Do we mistake having healthy boundaries for eschewing responsibility? Where does the buck stop? The human heart is really, really good at self-deception and self-appeasement. Throwing up our hands (or washing them of responsibility) is not an option.
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