Mark 15.1-5,
Matthew 27.1-2, 11-14,
Luke 23.1-4,
John 18.28-38.
After
This meant the Judean leaders had to convince
Simple:
Mark 14.61-64 NLT 61 Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”B 62 Jesus said, “IAM . And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses?64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”- “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
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 Cæsar Tiberius Divi Augusti, princeps (“first citizen”) of Rome. Cæsar 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 prætor.
The senators hauled Jesus to Antonia, a fort
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 Pilate.
Matthew 27.1-2 KWL 1 As it became morning, all the head priests and people’s elders- gather in council regarding Jesus,
- and how they’d put him to death.
2 Binding him, they lead Jesus away- and hand him off to Pontius Pilate, the leader.
Luke 23.1-2 KWL 1 Getting up, the crowd leads him to Pontius Pilate.2 They begin to accuse Jesus,- saying, “We find this man twisting our nation,
- preventing taxes to be given to Cæsar,
- calling himself ‘Christ’—which means king.”
In all the gospels, Pilate questioned Jesus… and came away unconvinced this man was any threat to Rome whatsoever. As Luke and John tell it, 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?”
Back then, treason meant execution. (Whereas today, you can be re-elected president!) For non-Romans like Jesus, execution meant
Yet in
Mark 15.2 KWL - Pilate interrogates Jesus: “You’re the king of Judea?”
- In reply Jesus tells him, “If you say so.”
Matthew 27.11 KWL - Jesus is stood before the leader, and the leader interrogates him,
- saying, “You’re the king of Judea?”
- Jesus is saying, “If you say so.”
Luke 23.3 KWL - Pilate questions Jesus, saying, “You’re the king of Judea?”
- In reply Jesus tells him, “If you say so.”
Some interpreters like to turn Jesus’s words into more of an affirmative declaration like “You said it, buddy!” Others figure it was more contrary: The Message goes with, “Your words, not mine.”
Yep, John tells a very different version of events. Jesus interacts with Pilate 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 Pilate comes outside to them.- He 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 Pilate 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 are turning you over to me.
- What do you do?”
36 Jesus replies, “My kingdom’s not from this world.- If my kingdom is 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 was 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 Pilate 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 Cæsar had nothing political to fear from such a kingdom; not yet. Which is why Pilate didn’t find anything wrong with it.
Not that Pilate necessarily understood Jesus. “What’s ‘truth’?”—and the fact Pilate didn’t stick around for an answer—exposes this fact. He had no time for abstract philosophy: He just wanted to know whether Jesus was worth crucifying. Would Cæsar want this guy dead or not? Once Pilate had his mind made up—“So you’re not a king”
In Luke he likewise made up his mind right quick.
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 Pilate 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 Pilate’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, his suffering came from the fact he wasn’t gonna get justice that day. And he was fully aware of this.
It was sunrise when the senate brought him to Pilate. It was noon when he was finally led out to be crucified. Six hours of waiting. In between, getting
But he knew Pilate believed him innocent. Knew Pilate recognized him as no threat to Rome. Knew regardless, Pilate would be of no help. The proper purpose of government is to establish justice, but corrupt governments and corrupt parties presume it’s to seize and hold power. Pilate was just this kind of corrupt. He figured he was only in Judea to make sure Rome (and he) got the Judeans’ money. He’d kill anyone who got in Rome’s way. Jesus might be innocent, but if Pilate 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 Pilate 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 Pilate: 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.
