First Pilate, then Herod
TRANSLATION
(1) Then the whole company of them arose and led Jesus to Pilate. (2) And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be the Messiah, a king.” (3) And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he responded, “You have said so.” (4) Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no guilt in this man.” (5) But they insisted, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, from Galilee to this place.” (6) When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.
(7) When Pilate learned that Jesus was really under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at this time. (8) Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was delighted, for he had desired to see him for a long time because he had heard a lot about him. He hoped to see him perform some kind of miracle. (9) He questioned Jesus at length, but Jesus gave him no answers. (10) The chief priests and the teachers of the Law stood by, fervently accusing him all the while. (11) Herod along with his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him, and, clothing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. (12) Herod and Pilate became friends that day although previously they had been enemies.
OBSERVATIONS
Apart from the designations “Pilate,” “Herod,” and “chief priests,” “Galilee/Galilean” (vss. 5 & 6), and “saw/see” (three times in vs. 8), there are no other significant repetitions in this segment. Luke’s purpose was to highlight the composure Jesus maintained while facing the probing questions of the two most prominent rulers of his day. To Pilate his only words were, “You have said so.” To Herod’s persistent questioning, Jesus answered not a word. It was as if he were communicating, “I will not lower myself to defend my innocence before you.” Both rulers found themselves in a quandary concerning what to do with Jesus.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus first appeared before Pilate who then sent him to Herod because he was from Galilee. (1-5)
II. Jesus then faced interrogation by Herod who then sent him back to Pilate. (6-12)
IDEA STATEMENT
By his dignified behavior before the secular governors of Palestine and refusal to yield to their questioning, Jesus demonstrated that he was the rightful “King of the Jews.”
APPLICATION
While appearing before Pilate, the Roman governor, and Herod, ruler of Galilee and Perea, Jesus offered no defense, made no complaint, and only responded when forced to do so. He “never said a mumblin’ word” according to the well-known spiritual. His refusal to speak up in his own defense has perplexed many as they read the accounts of his arrest and trial. Skeptics have attributed his silence to his internal wrestling with the serious implications of claiming to be Israel’s Messiah. Others have seen it as his struggling with the bleak prospect of crucifixion and death. Others have seen in his refusal contempt for the secular rulers who were refusing to release him. In other words, he would not lower himself to make a defense when his innocence was so patently obvious.
While this last explanation certainly has merit, a more biblical approach would be to view Jesus’ silence as the specific fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah described Yahweh’s suffering servant with these words: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Is. 53:7). By refusing to defend himself, he was identifying himself as Isaiah’s “Servant of the Lord” who had come to offer himself as a willing sacrifice. In closely observing Jesus’ behavior during these fateful moments before his crucifixion, we are doing precisely what John the Baptist told his disciples to do months earlier: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).