Jesus before Pilate
TRANSLATION
(28) Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning and, to avoid ceremonial defilement, they did not enter the palace so that they could eat the Passover. (29) So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” (30) They replied, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” (31) Pilate therefore said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews responded, “It is not legal for us to execute anyone.” (32) This took place to fulfill Jesus’ words regarding the kind of death he was about to die.
(33) Pilate then withdrew into the palace and, summoning Jesus, asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (34) Jesus responded, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” (35) Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” (36) Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, then my servants would fight to prevent me from being handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.” (37) Pilate therefore said to him, “You are a king then!” Jesus responded, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose was I born, and for this reason I have come into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of the truth listens to my voice.” (38) Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. (39) However, it is customary for me to release to you one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” (40) They cried out, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment John recounted for us Jesus’ intriguing interchange with Pilate. Repetitions again help us discern the core message. Twice we encounter “Jewish leaders” (vss. 28 & 36) and four times the word, “Jew(s),” is found, twice with the words “king of” (vss. 33 & 39) and twice alone (vss. 35 & 38). “Jesus” is found four times (vss. 28, 32, 33, & 34) while “Pilate” was mentioned six times (vss. 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, & 38) along with “palace of the Roman governor” called the “Praetorium” in the original (vs. 28). “Palace” occurred twice more (vss. 28 & 33). Other repeated words included “charge(s)” (vss. 29 & 38), “kingdom” (twice in vs. 36), “truth” (three times in vss. 37 & 38), and “Barabbas” (twice in vs. 40).
OUTLINE
I. The Jewish leaders brought capital charges against Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor. (28-32)
II. Pilate examined Jesus and found that he had done nothing calling for the death penalty. (33-38)
III. When Pilate offered to release Jesus, the crowd demanded that he release Barabbas instead. (38-40)
IDEA STATEMENT
In response to Pilate’s questioning, Jesus revealed the true purpose of his coming, namely, to reveal God’s truth to a world shrouded in darkness.
APPLICATION
Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question regarding his identity as “the King of the Jews” deserves further probing. He never directly answered the governor’s question, “Are you the King of the Jews,” nor did he defend himself against the charges of the Jewish leaders. Rather, he forced Pilate to consider his own governing responsibility with the assertion, “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” No longer was Jesus on trial in Pilate’s court. In an unexpected reversal, it was Pilate who now stood before the judge of all the earth to give account of himself. In the Upper Room Discourse Jesus had declared the basis for his judgment: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Pilate’s cynical answer, “What is truth,” showed that the opportunity which Jesus had given him to acknowledge the truth of his testimony was now lost. Although Pilate could find no basis for condemning Jesus to death, he would finally be forced to give in to the demands of the Jewish leaders and send an innocent man to his death on the cross.