It was no easy position being the wife of Pilate... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

While he (Pilate) was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream because of him.
Matthew 27:19.

It was no easy position being the wife of Pilate, who was governor over the Roman province of Judea. Her homeland and relatives were far away in Italy. Her husband had been entrusted with the difficult mission of keeping the stubborn Jews in check. One night the woman had a dream that troubled her so much that she decided to warn her husband during Christ's trial: "Have nothing to do with that righteous man!"

Pilate received the warning when he was trying to make a settlement with the Jews. It seemed to him a favourable moment, for at the Passover feast it was customary to pardon a prisoner. He gave the Jews the choice between Jesus and the murderer Barabbas. Like his wife, Pilate considered Jesus of Nazareth innocent and called him a "just person" (Matthew 27:24).

Contrary to Pilate's expectations, the Jews demanded Barabbas' release and the death sentence for Jesus. The judge thus fell into the trap that his wife had warned him of. Having lost his nerve, Pilate gave way to the raging mob and condemned the innocent captive to death. His greatest fear was that news might filter through to Rome that he had no control over the situation in his province.

"Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1) submitted to this inconceivable, arbitrary act and suffered and died on the cross for us.

"Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Today's reading: Isaiah 48:9-22 · Hebrews 10:31-39