What does Matthew 27:12 Mean?

Context Summary

The vacillation of Pilate made him a criminal. Weakness becomes sin. At first he evidently meant to release Jesus, but instead of saying so outright, he strove to bring about His release by indirect means and without committing himself.

First, he sent Him to Herod, Luke 23:17, thinking that a Jew would view favorably the position of a fellow-Jew. Then he sought to touch the springs of pity by the anguish of scourging. Finally, he gave the people the choice between Barabbas and Christ, feeling sure that they must choose the liberation of a lover of men rather than that of an outlaw.

None of these expedients succeeded, and he drifted into the very act which his conscience had condemned from the first. He is a specimen of those weak men who want the right thing to be done, but will not adventure their own interests to get it done. There is no chance of such men coming out right. The one hope for us all is to declare ourselves for the right and true, at once and from the start. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 27

¹  Jesus is delivered bound to Pilate
³  Judas hangs himself
¹⁹  Pilate, admonished of his wife,
²⁰  and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands, and releases Barabbas
²⁷  Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns;
³³  crucified;
³⁹  reviled;
⁵⁰  dies, and is buried;
⁶²  his tomb is sealed and watched