An Intense Moment in Roman Hands (John 18:28-19:16)

This is a most difficult passage for me to read through because of the physical suffering which Christ endured all the way to the Cross.

Pontius Pilate was an indecisive man, a weak man, a compromising man. Pilate was not concerned about justice; his only concern was to protect himself, his job, and Rome. Yet, he failed at all three!

The Roman "trial," conducted by Pilate, revolved around four key questions:

1. What is the accusation?
2. Are You the King of the Jews?
3. Shall I release the King of the Jews?
4. Where are You from?

As for the Jewish leaders there seems to be at least three official charges:

1. He led the nation astray
2. He opposed paying tribute to Caesar
3. He claimed to be the Jewish Messiah and King

I find it very interesting in that had the Jews alone judged Jesus and found Him guilty, He would have been killed by stoning; and God had determined that the Son would be crucified. Jesus was to bear the curse of the law and become a curse for us; and in order to do this, He had to hang on a tree (Deut. 21:22-23; Gal. 3:13). The fact that the Romans allowed the Jews to stone Stephen to death indicates to me that Rome was lenient with the Sanhedrin on some capital cases.

Obviously, when we look at the charges against Jesus, we quickly see that they were completely unsupportable. For one thing, He had not "subverted" the nation, either politically or religiously. Of course, He had publicly denounced the Pharisees and their hypocritical religious system, but He was not the first one, or the only one, to do that. Jesus had blessed the nation and brought them new hope. And as far as not paying tribute to Caesar, He taught the exact opposite!! He did claim to be King but not in a political sense. Of course, the Jewish religious leaders were groping for any piece of evidence they could find on which they could build a case; and they even went so far as to secure false witnesses!

I love the part where Pilate asked Christ if He was King of the Jews. No doubt he felt himself to be on safe ground. However, he was not prepared for His answer. "It is as you say." But then Jesus added a question of His own: "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?" What was our Lord really asking? "What kind of a king to you have in mind? A Roman king or a Jewish king? A political king or a spiritual king?" I don't see Jesus evading the issue but rather He was forcing Pilate to clarify the matter for his own sake. After all, it was not Jesus that was on trial; it was Pilate.

Pilate called Jesus "king" at least four times during the trial, and even used that title for the placard he hung on the cross. Pilate's concern was the source of this kingdom; where did Jesus derive His authority? I love Jesus' response. In John 18:37, Jesus explained who He is and what kind of kingdom belonged to Him. Pilate probably didn't grasp the significance of these profound words, but we today can discern some of the meaning Jesus had in mind. He was "born," which indicates His humanity; but He also "came into the world," which indicates His deity. The fact that Jesus came "into the world" means that He had existed before His birth at Bethlehem; and this is an important and repeated truth in John's Gospel.

But Jesus not only told Pilate of His origin; He also explained His ministry; to bear witness unto the truth. His was a spiritual kingdom of truth; and He won people to His cause, not through force, but through conviction and persuasion. He spoke the truth of God's Word, and all who were His people would respond to His call (8:47 and 10:27). Rome's weapon was the sword; but our Lord's weapon was the truth of God, the sword of the Spirit.

Pilot tried a new approach...sympathy. The crowd had cried, "Crucify Him!" but perhaps they would be placated if Jesus was scourged. What person could behold a scourged prisoner and still want the victim crucified? Many a prisoner never survived the whipping. It pains me, and I know it pains you, to think that the sinless Son of God was subjected to such cruelty. He was innocent, yet He was treated as though He was guilty; and He did it for us. How much He suffered for us!

As I sat here pondering I thought how sin had brought thorns and thistles into the world, so it was only fitting that the Creator wear a crown of thorns as He bore the sins of the world on the Cross. The very metal He had created and placed in the ground was used to make nails to pound through His hands and feet.

For the third time, Pilate went out to face the people, this time bringing Jesus with him. Surely the sight of this scourged and humiliated prisoner would arouse some pity in their hearts; but it did not. For a second time, Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus, but his words only aroused their hateful passions more. I guess on Pilate's part it could be considered a noble effort, but it failed.

But Pilate's approach, or plan, shows me something very important. That is, it takes more than human sentiment to bring the lost sinner to salvation. I've heard of a view of the atonement called "the moral influence theory." It states that the realization of our Lord's sufferings moves the heart of the sinner so that he/she turns from sin and begins to love God. It is purely subjective and has no bearing on the holiness of God or the importance of satisfying divine justice.

Here me out on this. If any crowd should have been moved by pity, it was the Jewish crowd that awaited on Pilate. What nation has suffered more than the Jews? Here was one of their own, a Jewish prophet, suffering unjustly at the hands of the Romans, and the Jews didn't repent or even show any touch of pity!! If sinners who actually saw Christ in His suffering did not repent, what hope is there for people twenty-one centuries later who only read about His agonies?

The Cross involves much more than an exhibition of innocent suffering. On that Cross, the Son of God paid the price for the sins of the world and thereby declared the love of God and defended the holiness and justice of God. We are not saved by feeling pity for Jesus. We are saved by repenting of our sins and trusting Jesus, the sinless Substitute.

Okay, don't get me wrong....I am not saying that it is wrong for the believer to contemplate the Cross and meditate on Christ's sufferings. I strongly feel that we must not confuse sentimentality with true spiritual emotion. It is one thing to shed tears during a church service and quite something else to sacrifice, suffer, and serve after the meeting has ended. We do not simply contemplate the Cross; we carry it!!! Or we should!

I'm sure Pilate had never met a prisoner like Jesus before, and never would again. Can you see him asking Christ, "Where are you from?" Do you find it interesting that Jesus did not answer Pilate's question? Jesus had already answered the question (John 18:36-37). It is a basic spiritual principle that God does not reveal new truth to us if we fail to act upon the truth we already know. And, I think it's clear Pilate was not personally interested in spiritual truth. All he was concerned about was maintaining peace in Jerusalem. Of course, our Lord's silence before both Herod and Pilate was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7.

John 19:11 records our Lord's last words to Pilate, words that reveal His faith in the Father and His surrender to His will. All authority comes from God. Jesus as able to surrender to Rome and the Jews because He was first of all yielded to God. Pilate was boasting about his authority, but Jesus reminded him that his so called authority was only delegated to him from God.

Just think, when Israel asked to have a king, and God gave them Saul, the nation rejected God the Father (1 Sam. 8:5-7). When they asked for Barabbas, they rejected God the Son. Today, they are rejecting the pleading of God the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51; Rom. 10:21). Yet there will come a day when they shall see their King, believe, and be saved (Rev. 1:7); Matt. 24:30; Zech. 12:10-11). Both the nation and the governor were on trial, and both failed miserably.

Oh, may I/we not fail! Exactly what will you do with Jesus? At some point you will have to deal with Him, whether you want to or not. You can't be neutral.