What does Matthew 27:19 mean?
One of Pilate's hopes was that by giving the crowds an obvious choice between two prisoners, the people themselves would choose to release Jesus. If they agree to keep Barabbas, a "notorious" murderer (Matthew 27:16; Mark 15:7), in prison, Pilate will have averted an incident—and stymied Jerusalem's religious leaders. Pilate certainly knows how popular Jesus had become (Matthew 21:10–11).From the beginning of this encounter, Pilate has been inclined to release Jesus instead of condemning Him to death. He is not fooled by the Jewish religious leaders and their overt lies. Pilate knows they are using him to eliminate a rival (Matthew 27:24). He doesn't honestly believe Jesus is a threat to Rome (John 18:33–36). And yet, Pilate is in an awkward position. His tenure as governor was marked with violence, something which his Roman superiors did not appreciate. With an impending religious holiday (Matthew 27:15) and swollen crowds, any threat of a riot in Jerusalem is heightened (Matthew 27:20, 24; Mark 15:11, 15).
The Gospels record two other factors that are added into Pilate's hesitation. One comes from the gospel of John and suggests that Jesus claiming to be "Son of God" may have aroused pagan superstition (John 19:7–9). The fear that Jesus just might be supernatural, or favored by some deity, struck him with fear.
The other incident is depicted here, though we don't know exactly when it occurred during the proceedings. At some point, Pilate receives a message while sitting on the judgment seat. It's from his wife. She has been greatly troubled by a dream. She tells her husband, in effect, to keep away from doing any harm to Jesus of Nazareth. The only details Scripture records are the contents of her message. We cannot say for sure whether this was a supernatural message from God, a coincidence, or something else. We do know that many people of that era, including pagans, took dreams with deadly seriousness.
Regardless of the unknown details, this message only confirms what Pilate is already inclined to do. He wants to release Jesus. And yet, any sense of morality, conscience, or fear of the divine will soon be overwhelmed by Pilate's fear of political trouble (Matthew 27:22–24).
