We are very familiar with the events of Good Friday. We know the people, the details, the horror and the injustice of it all as well as the love and strength of Christ. It is the key to our salvation and redemption. But in the background of the events are several people, minor characters in the unfolding drama. However when we give them a closer look, we may find they are more familiar, more recognizable than we realized. Last week, we saw how Malchus prepared us to engage with those who see Jesus as a threat. This week we’ll look at a woman of understated influence– Pilate’s wife.
Scripture doesn’t record her name. Tradition says it was Claudia Procula. The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates her. Why? A dream and a message.
While [Pilate] was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of Him!”
Matthew 27:19
This is extraordinary. To interrupt an official proceeding was highly unusual, especially for a Roman woman, even if she was the governor’s wife. We have no way of knowing whether the dream was from God (like Pharoah’s or Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams) or simply a bad dream. We do know Romans put great stock in dreams and other omens and portents, so her nightmare would have carried great weight with her and with her husband.
She and Pilate undoubtedly knew who Jesus was. They had heard accounts of His arrival in Jerusalem earlier in the week. They likely knew about the miracles He was reported to have done. Her word, righteous, is sometimes translate “innocent” but the Greek word, dikaios, means righteous. Her declaration that Jesus is righteous reminds me of the young ruler who called Jesus “good”. Jesus pressed him on the implications of that pronouncement.
Whether Pilate’s wife believed Jesus was merely innocent or righteous (by implication, like the gods), she clearly did not want Pilate tangled up with the case.
This Easter, we may encounter people who rely on superstitions or intuition about Jesus rather than the truth about Him. They may respect Him as a teacher, appreciate His work with the poor and marginalized, but discount His claims of deity or their need for His forgiveness and atoning sacrifice. They may wear a cross or have a tattoo of one without truly grasping its significance. It is up to us to open the dialogue. Jesus pressed Pilate about what truth really was. Perhaps the question for those like Pilate’s wife is, what does it mean to be righteous or good? Who makes that determination? What is the standard and who sets it? What happens if you don’t meet the standard?
Pilate took his wife’s message seriously but lacked the moral courage to do the unpopular but just thing and stand up to the Jewish leaders. Instead, he was railroaded into a politically expedient judgment. We may encounter people who take Jesus’s message seriously but lack the courage to act on it. Let’s make sure we stand with them and offer whatever support we can, so they can make a life-changing decision for Christ.
Again, we would do well to take Peter’s advice.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
1 Peter 3:15