(13) When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus before him, and sat down in the judgement seat...
(14) ...and he said to the Jews, Behold your king!
(15) But they shouted, Away with him, crucify him. Pilate said, Shall I crucify your king? And the chief
priests answered, We have no king but Caesar". (John 19:12-15 Para)
27:20-24 He took water, and washed his hands before the multitude―(20) But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy
Jesus. (21) The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?
They said, Barabbas. (22) Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. (23) And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But
they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. (24) When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but
that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am
innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.‖
The following two things are of prophetic importance:
As a final act of denying any responsibility for the death of Y‘shua, Pilate commanded that a bowl of water be
brought to him so that he could wash his hands. This washing of hands that Pilate did was not a Roman
custom; it was part of the law as recorded by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 21, and was done to proclaim
innocence for a murder for which no guilty party could be found. Pilate did this to show that neither he nor
Rome were to be blamed for the death of Y‘shua.
When the people said, ―His blood be on us, and on our children‖ they accepted the responsibility for the
murder of Y‘shua.
The act of washing body, hands or feet ceremonially, demonstrates the state of the person spiritually.
Exod 30:19-21 shows the importance of this statement:
(19) ―For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
(20) When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not;
or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
(21) So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to
them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations."
Matt 27:24 says that Pilate washed his hands before the people, declaring that he was innocent of Y‘shua's
blood. Mark 7:3 shows the people holding to the tradition of rachatzah (the hand washing ceremony) As they
wash their hands they say, "baruch atah haShem Eloheynu Melech haolam, asher kidshanu bmitzvotav
v'tzivanu al n'tiylat yadayim" which means, "Blessed are you hashem our Elohim king of the universe, Who
has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us concerning the washing of the hands."
The explanation for doing this is found in the reference from Psalm 24:2, 3 ―Who may ascend the hill of the
Lord? or who shall stand by His holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart." In the ceremony, no
attempt is made to wash the hands in cleaning them with soap, etc.; because the purpose is to show the
clean (innocent) state of the hands. Washing the hands does not make one innocent. This is confirmed by
Y‘shua's words when the legalistic Pharisees enquired why his disciples do not wash their hands before
eating. ―It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man but what proceeds out of the heart."
27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children―Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.‖
As mentioned, the "multitude" was willing to go along with the efforts of their leaders; hence Y‘shua's words
about the entire generation being wicked (Matt 12:45; 16:4). The principle in force here is that to whom much
is given (by YHWH), much is expected.
An example of this is Moses, who was given greater spiritual insight than anyone else in history. He was not
allowed to enter the Holy Land due to certain sin (striking the rock and not speaking to it), which for someone
of "lesser stature" would probably not have merited such punishment.
This generation was blessed beyond any to that point in that they had the Torah in the flesh among them
(i.e., Hebrews 11). They rejected this blessing, however, and therefore suffered severe consequences. As
they "cut off" the Messiah (i.e., Dan 9:26), they themselves would be cut off. This is the principle of middah
k'neged middah (YHWH's punishment being "measure for measure").