Mark 15.1-5, Matthew 27.1-2, 11-14, Luke 23.1-4, John 18.28-38.
So
But first the Judean leaders needed to convince Pontius it was in Rome’s best interests to execute Jesus. The prefect wasn’t just gonna execute anybody the Judean senate recommended. Especially over stuff the Romans didn’t consider capital crimes, like blasphemy against a god the Romans didn’t respect. So what’d the Judeans have on Jesus?
Simple:
Mark 14.61-64 KJV - 61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? 64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
Messiah (i.e. Christ) means “the anointed,” and since you only anointed kings, it straight-up means king. Jesus publicly declared himself Israel’s king. That, the Romans would consider treason: The king of Judea was Caesar Tiberius Divi Augusti, princeps (“first citizen”) of Rome. Caesar would have a vested interest in putting any antikings to death. So that was the charge the senate brought with them, and Jesus, to the Roman prefect.
The senators hauled Jesus to Antonia, a fort Herod 1 had built next to the temple (and named for his patron, Marcus Antonius) so soldiers could watch the Judeans worship… just in case any riots broke out. There, they presented their unrecognized true king to Pontius.
Mark 15.1 KWL - Next, in the morning, the head priests,
- consulting with the elders, scribes, and the whole senate,
- carry and deliver the bound Jesus
- to Pontius Pilatus.
Matthew 27.1-2 KWL - 1 As it became morning, all the head priests and people’s elders
- gathered in council regarding Jesus,
- and how they’d put him to death./dd>
- 2 Binding him, they led Jesus away
- and handed him off to Pontius Pilatus, the leader.
Luke 23.1-2 KWL - 1 Getting up, the crowd leads him to Pontius Pilatus.
- 2 They begin to accuse Jesus,
- saying, “We find this man twisting our nation,
- preventing taxes to be given to Caesar,
- calling himself ‘Christ’—which means king.”
In all the gospels, Pontius questioned Jesus… and came away unconvinced this man was any threat to Rome whatsoever. In Luke and John, he didn’t even believe Jesus was guilty of anything. But the Judean senate wanted Jesus dead, and got plenty of the locals to say so too. In the end, Pontius pragmatically gave ’em what they wanted.
“Why’s this guy not defending himself?”
Getting convicted of treason back then meant execution. (Still often does.) For non-Romans like Jesus,
Yet in
Mark 15.2 KWL - Pilatus interrogated Jesus: “You’re the king of Judea?”
- In reply Jesus told him, “If you say so.”
Matthew 27.11 KWL - Jesus was stood before the leader,
- and the leader interrogated him, saying, “You’re the king of Judea?”
- Jesus was saying, “If you say so.”
Luke 23.3 KWL - Pilatus questioned Jesus, saying, “You’re the king of Judea?”
- In reply Jesus told him, “If you say so.”
Some interpreters like to turn Jesus’s words into more of an affirmative declaration; more like “You said it, buddy!” Others figure it was more contrary: In one of these verses The Message goes with, “Your words, not mine.”
Yep, John tells a very different version of events. Jesus interacts with Pontius way more. I’ll start at the beginning.
John 18.28-38 KWL - 28 So the senators bring Jesus
- from Joseph bar Caiaphas to the prætorium.
- It’s morning. They don’t enter the prætorium,
- lest they be defiled instead of eating Passover.
- 29 So Pontius Pilatus comes outside to them,
- and says, “You bring me a certain accusation against this person.”
- 30 In reply they tell him, “We’d never hand him over to you
- unless he were an evildoer.”
- 31 Pilatus tells them, “Take him yourself. Judge him by your Law.”
- The Judeans tell him, “We’re not allowed to kill anyone.”
- 32 Thus Jesus’s word could be fulfilled—
- which he said to signify which kind of death he was about to die.
- 33 Pilate enters the prætorium again, calls Jesus,
- and tells him, “You’re the king of Judea?”
- 34 Jesus replies, “You say this on your own?
- Or do others tell you about me?”
- 35 Pilate replies, “Am I Judean?
- Your ethnic group and head priests turn you over to me.
- What do you do?”
- 36 Jesus replies, “My kingdom’s not from this world.
- If my kingdom’s from this world, my servants should fight
- lest I be turned over to the Judeans.
- My kingdom doesn’t yet exist now.”
- 37 So Pilate tells him, “Therefore you’re not a king.”
- Jesus replies this: “I am a king.
- I had been born into it. I came into the world into it.
- Thus I might testify to truth.
- All who are of the truth, hear my voice.”
- 38 Pilate tells him, “What’s ‘truth’?”
- That said, Pilate goes out again to the Judeans
- and tells them, “I find nothing in him of cause.”
Note in John, Jesus didn’t just answer Pontius with “If you say so,” but a statement of
Yeah, such a kingdom would totally overturn the Roman Empire. And within the next three centuries, that’s exactly what it did. But Caesar had nothing political to fear from such a kingdom. Which is why Pontius didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Not that Pontius necessarily understood Jesus. “What’s truth?” exposes this fact. Pontius had no time for abstract philosophy: He just wanted to know whether Jesus was worth crucifying. Would Caesar want this guy dead or not? Once Pontius had his mind made up—“So you’re not a king”
In Luke he likewise made up his mind right away.
Luke 23.4 KWL - Pilate tells the head priests and the crowd,
- “I find nothing of cause in this person.”
Whereas in the other gospels, Jesus said nothing, and Pontius couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t fight harder to avoid a gory death on the cross.
Mark 15.3-5 KWL - 3 The head priests are accusing Jesus of many things.
- 4 Pilate is questioning Jesus again,
- saying, “You answer nothing! Look at all they accuse you of!”
- 5 Jesus no longer answers anything.
- So Pilate is amazed.
Matthew 27.12-14 KWL - 12 Jesus answers nothing
- in the accusation against him by the head priests and elders.
- 13 Then Pilate tells Jesus, “Don’t you hear
- how much they testify against you?”
- 14 Jesus doesn’t answer him for even one word.
- So the leader was greatly amazed.
It was just strange enough for Pontius’s B.S. detector to go off: “Doesn’t seem to wanna die, but isn’t fighting it. What’s going on here? Why’s he acting this way? Why isn’t he fighting the charges? What, does he wanna get crucified?… Nah; he can’t; that’s nuts.”
Justice wouldn’t be done today.
For Jesus, the suffering came from the fact he knew he wasn’t gonna get justice that day.
It was sunrise when the senate brought him to Pontius. It was noon when he was finally led out to be crucified. Six hours of waiting. In between, getting
But he knew Pontius believed him innocent. Knew Pontius recognized him as no threat to Rome. Knew regardless, Pontius would be of no help. The proper purpose of government is to establish justice, but corrupt governments and parties everywhere, presume it’s to seize and hold power. Pontius was just this kind of corrupt. He figured he was only in Judea to make sure Rome (and he) got their money. He’d kill anyone who got in Rome’s way. Jesus might be innocent, but if Pontius didn’t kill Jesus, he might spark a war and lose his job—which he desired more than justice. So much for justice.
The fact Pontius had Jesus executed regardless, with full knowledge he was executing someone he considered innocent—his whole hand-washing demonstration
So this was how Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilatus: Knowing he’d get no proper hearing, no justice, because the powerful didn’t care. Nobody did. He had no advocate. He was alone.
It’s all the more reason Jesus takes the position of our advocate before his Father.
