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Day 290

John 18:28-40 "BACK TO PILATE'S PRAETORIUM"

Day 290 – John 18

BACK TO PILATE’S PRAETORIUM

The trial before Herod did not last very long, especially when Jesus chose to remain silent before the king and before His accusers. Herod could only vent his frustration on Jesus. He and his men treated Him with contempt and mocked Him. Wanting to waste no more time on this case, Herod promptly sent Jesus back to Pilate.

Pilate had already told the chief priests and scribes that he could find no fault in Jesus worthy of death! Obviously, Herod also could not find anything in Jesus that he could condemn Him for. If Herod did find anything wrong with Jesus that was worthy of the death penalty, he would have condemned Him personally.

What should Pilate do now? He hit upon a plan. Perhaps he could bargain with the Jews. Perhaps he could trade another life for that of Jesus!

Thus Pilate spoke to the Jews and said,

“But you have a custom that I should release
someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore
want me to release to you The King of the Jews?”
John 18:39

Pilate hoped that the Jews would have relented by now. Had not Jesus been beaten already? Twice on the face! The Sanhedrin Council had pounced on Him (Luke 22:63-65). He had also been beaten by Herod and his men of war (Luke 23:11).

The chief priests and scribes had charged Jesus with treason when they appeared before Pilate. They had not come alone. They brought a whole multitude with them. Vehemently, they laid formal charges against Jesus.

“And they began to accuse Him, saying, ‘We
found this fellow perverting the nation, and
forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that
He Himself is Christ, a king.'”
Luke 23:2

That charge was most serious. Pilate had to investigate Jesus carefully, for if the accusation had been proven true, then he would not have hesitated to order the death sentence to be meted out! But as he examined Jesus, he knew that the charges were spurious. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was a spiritual-eternal one! This was a religious problem and not a political one!

What if Pilate were to find Jesus “Not guilty”? Would the Jews accept his verdict? Apparently not! What if Jesus were tried by Herod Antipas, who was Idumean and who had a vast knowledge of Jewish beliefs and customs? Herod also could not find a reason to sentence Jesus to death! Thus he returned Him to Pilate! But Herod had first humiliated Jesus by having Him beaten. To add a twist of cruelty, he had Him dressed in “a gorgeous robe” – a gesture that was meant to add insult to injury! Would this not be punishment enough for Jesus? Apparently not!

A SPECIAL CUSTOM

Pilate had a custom where to show his magnanimity, he would release a prisoner on the Feast of the Passover. He had hoped that he could release Jesus on the Passover. He hinted at this when he said,

“Do you therefore want me to release to you
the King of the Jews?”
John 18:39

To a man who had fought many battles for Rome, Pilate did not see Jesus as a threat at all. Thus he offered to release Jesus on that Passover.

He was unprepared to hear the following words of the Jews! To a man they cried out in reply,

“‘Not this Man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas
was a robber.”
John 18:40

Matthew’s account of this incident is worth noting carefully.

“But the chief priests and elders persuaded the
multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and
destroy Jesus.”
Matthew 27:20

Just who was this man Barabbas? Luke added this information.

“And they all cried out at once, saying, ‘Away
with this Man, and release to us Barabbas’ – who
had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion
made in the city, and for murder.”
Luke 23:18-19

Pilate was stunned by this response! The multitude had obviously been primed. He did not have to think very hard to figure out who had primed them to demand the release of Barabbas. If ever there was a man who ought to be crucified, it would have been this seditious robber-murderer Barabbas!

How degenerate could the human nature become? Pilate had seen hardened war-enemies. One went to war expecting to fight people who were hardened in the heart. But this scene was beyond belief!

The synoptist Mark added this observation as Pilate surveyed the scene in front of him.

“For he knew that the chief priests had handed
Him over because of envy.”
Mark 15:10

Could envy cause people to sink so low that they would make use of the law to kill an innocent Man? What was he dealing with? Who was this Man they accused as “The Christ – a king”?