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Luke

Luke 
Day 
Day 310

Luke 23:1-6; Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14 "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT..."

Day 310 – Luke 23

Text:Luke 23:1-6; Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14

“BEHOLD, MY SERVANT…”

How could Jesus have remained silent and calm in the midst of all the abuse and injustice? First, he was dragged to the home of Annas and then Caiaphas. Then He was hauled up to face the Jerusalem Sanhedrin Council. How would you have responded to such wickedness?

We are reminded of another passage of Scripture in the Book of Isaiah that would help us appreciate how Jesus could have retained His composure.

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him…
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street…”
Isaiah 42:1-2

It was the Lord God Himself who was especially upholding Jesus. He had put His Spirit upon Jesus. It was the power of the Spirit at work in the life of Jesus that enabled Him to remain calm and gentle amidst grave injustice.

BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE

The Sanhedrin Council had already condemned Jesus. They had not really formally tried Him. No defence had been called to speak on His behalf. The whole procedure was entirely wrong!

The Great Council was limited in its powers. It had no power or authority to sentence a person to death. That lay in the governor of the land, Pontius Pilate. Luke recorded the next trial of Jesus.

“Then the whole multitude of them arose
and led Him to Pilate.
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 23:1,2

If the charge against Jesus had not been so serious, Pilate might have been greatly amused. The Jews actually charging one of their own people with not paying taxes? Who among the Jews had liked to pay the Roman taxes?

The other charge was more serious. The accusation laid against Jesus was that He was seditious. He was perverting the nation and declaring Himself King. Yet, if that was true, how could He have allowed Himself to be captured so easily? Where were His followers? How could a king not have followers? Everything about this case looked suspicious.

What a turnaround that was for the Sanhedrin Council! What wickedness and hypocrisy! They had declared that they heard blasphemy from the mouth of Jesus. However, this was not the formal charge laid against Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Instead, the trumped up charge was that He was an enemy of Rome. The charge against Jesus was obviously fabricated! The charge, from a religious one, had become political!

We understand why this was the case. Matthew gives us the reason how this worked out.

“When morning came, all the chief priests
and elders of the people plotted against Jesus
to put Him to death.
And when they had bound Him, they led
Him away and delivered Him
To Pontius Pilate the governor.”
Matthew 27:1-2

John in his Gospel gave an even more vivid picture of how the Jews brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate.

“Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium,
and it was early morning.
But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium,
Lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat
The Passover.
Pilate then went out to them and said,
‘What accusation do you bring against this Man?'”
John 18:28-29

Formal charges had to be made against the accused. That was the Roman legal system. Again, we are indebted to John for his insight into this sinful attack against Jesus.

“They answered and said to him,
‘If He were not an evildoer,
we would not have delivered Him to you.’ “
John 18:30

Pilate understood all too well the hidden meaning behind those words. He knew what the Jews wanted from him. Should he accede and play their game?

“Then Pilate said to them,
‘You take Him and judge Him
according to your law.’ “
John 18:31

It was early in the morning. Surely the Sanhedrin Council could not have met and then concluded the trial of Jesus so quickly? Or could they? Pilate suggested that the Jews tried Jesus in their own court of law rather than have Jesus tried in the Roman legal system.

Was Pilate surprised when he heard the following words from the Jews?

“Therefore the Jews said to him,
‘It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,’
that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled
which He spoke, signifying by what death
He would die.”
John 18:31-32

Jesus had already foretold that He would die at the hands of the Gentiles.

“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem,
took the twelve disciples aside on the road
and said to them,
‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be betrayed
to the chief priests and to the scribes;
and they will condemn Him to death,
and deliver Him to the Gentiles
to mock and to scourge and to crucify.
And the third day He will rise again.'”
Matthew 20:17-19

Pilate, naturally had to begin trying Jesus with the charge of treason that if found to be true would lead to capital punishment.

John’s account of the trial before Pilate has more details. Let’s take a look at Pilate’s examination of Jesus.

“Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again,
called Jesus, and said to Him,
‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
Jesus answered him,
‘Are you speaking for yourself about this,
or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew?
Your own nation and the chief priests
Have delivered You to me.
What have You done?’ ” John 18:33-35

BETRAYED AGAIN

The words of Pilate were poignant and pointed. “His own nation and the chief priests” had delivered Jesus up to Pilate! What did Jesus have to say for Himself?

John’s account of the trial of Jesus offers a stark contrast to the trial Jesus had before the Sanhedrin Council. Here was a Gentile governor showing that he was at least fairer in his approach than the Jews were!

Pilate was at least civil to Jesus even though he had to interrogate and investigate the charges made against Him, one of which dealt with His Kingship.