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Last time we saw the religious phase of
Jesus’ trial, in which He was accused of blasphemy. But that charge wasn’t
worthy of death in the Roman world, so they need to try to dig something
else up. How about treason? Yes, that would get Caesar’s attention.
v. 1-2, 11a Pontius Pilate was the 6th
Roman Governor to serve in Judaea. He was a cold, calculating man. He was
responsible to Rome for keeping the Jews in this region under control,
especially during Passover season w/ millions of extra people in Jerusalem.
He’s already on thin ice due to some other riots. One of those was quite
interesting according to history, because Pilate herded the Jews into a
great amphitheatre and threatened to cut off all their heads if they didn’t
calm down. They called his bluff by exposing their necks. On another
occasion he used Temple money to build an aqueduct. Another riot ensued but
Pilate squelched that riot by having many of them clubbed or stabbed to
death.
Luke 13:1
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans,
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Pilate had been warned by Caesar that if
there was one more incident it was ‘curtains’ for him. Caesar was well
known for executing the ineffective.
1. Pilate’s conversation.
v. 11b He’s asking, are you a rival
king, are you a threat to Caesar? Pilate is not prepared for the answer he
hears. “Thou sayest”. Pilate wanted to get out of this delicate situation,
but Jesus has pushed him into a corner.
v. 12-14 This was a new experience for
Pilate. He had hundreds of prisoners stand before him, but usually they
denied their charges and defended themselves. I’ve done jail ministry and
can tell you it’s rare that you hear from someone that they were truly
guilty and are being treated fairly. Most play the blame game, and we’re
good at it to...we all get it from our parents in the garden of Eden!
Here’s another interesting aspect of this
story...look at what the Jews did in a parallel passage as they took Jesus
to Pilate:
John 18:28
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was
early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should
be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
Jews believed that if you took 2 steps over a
Gentile threshold you were ceremonially unclean...another of their
legalistic made up rules. So, here they are with murder in their hearts,
yet worrying about this. What phonies these hypocrites truly were!
Wickedness inside, but outward conformity intact.
2. Pilate’s confrontation.
v. 15-16 He’s frantically looking for a
solution, a way out. He knows Jesus is not really a threat, and is innocent
of the charges. Pilate knew what was really going on here...
v. 18 They were jealous and had
personal problems with Jesus, and were trying to make it a legal matter. So
right here is Pilate’s opportunity to bite the bullet and do the right
thing, but he’s afraid of the crowd’s reaction. Suddenly it is Pilate on
trial, and like today’s politicians, he has a finger in the air checking the
wind’s direction, and instead of doing what is right, he does what is easy.
v. 17 It was a custom in those days
for the governor to release a convicted felon on the Passover in order to
appear merciful and win the favor of the people. They would give a pardon
to a criminal who didn’t deserve to be let free.
v. 16 says Barabbas was a notorious
criminal. His name struck fear in people, like if I said the name Charles
Manson or Ted Bundy to you. So Pilate just knew that if he offered the
people the choice between Jesus the healer and Barabbas the killer, they
would want Jesus released.
v. 21 What? Pilate stands astonished
as they answer “Barabbas”. And 2,000 years later the same question is posed
to all of mankind. Jesus or Barabbas? Sin or the Savior?
In John it says that the Jews cried out again
and again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”
Ill.—years ago in an eastern city 2 business
men had lunch on a daily basis. One was a dedicated Christian, the other a
devout Jew. Every day the Christian would talk to the Jew about Jesus
Christ and make His case. The Jew would never answer a word, but would just
sit there and politely listen. After several months the Jewish man became
deathly ill. The Christian man went to visit him, knelt by his bedside,
grabbed his thin hand, and began to pray for him. After a while there was a
change. His breathing became regular, and a smile came across his face. He
died moments later, but not before he made this statement as he entered
eternity: “Not Barabbas, but this man!” He chose Jesus Christ.
v. 19 Pilate’s wife gets thru even
when he is very busy. That is true for all of us. Our spouse gets thru.
It will always be true. This time next year the president might be in an
important meeting, but if her husband, Bill calls, he’ll get thru! [my
apologies!] Seriously though, does she really get thru? She has some
intuition, but he won’t hear it. She declares him just, but that wasn’t
Pilate’s main concern.
It’s amazing how many of Jesus’ enemies
declared Him innocent. Both this woman and her husband, Pilate. Also
Judas, who said, “I have betrayed innocent blood.” Even the Roman soldier
confessed as Jesus hung on the cross, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Pilate hears 2 voices, his wife’s and the
mob’s, and while he ponders it, look what happens...
v. 20 The religious leaders persuade
the people what to answer...to call for the release of the guilty! It
snowballed. The crowd fell for it like dominoes.
Ill.—our kids want to do something that is
wrong, but their excuse is, “but dad...everyone is doing it!” The crowd is
almost always wrong. If Moses had taken a vote at the Red Sea the children
of Israel would have returned to Egypt and slavery! Moses stood alone again
when the crowd wanted to make a golden calf. Joshua and Caleb stood alone
when the crowd said, ‘we can’t’. Elijah, John the Baptist, Stephen, and
many others took their stand, standing alone against the crowd.
Pilate went with the crowd.
v. 22 The same crowd that a few days
earlier lined the streets in His honor saying “crown Him” are now chanting
“crucify Him”. Don’t listen to the crowd. They will take you from hero to
zero in nothing flat! It’s better to be right than to be popular.
Pilate asked the most important question of
this life: What shall I do with Jesus?
Pilate’s conversation, confrontation...
3. Pilate’s Collapse.
v. 24-25
·The neutrality he attempts—but
you cannot be neutral about Jesus, you must make a decision, and to make no
decision is to decide against Him.
·The brutality he permits
vv. 26-31
The Roman whipping post was worse than words
can express, but let’s try: Many men died there. The ‘cat of nine tails’
was a whip w/ glass, bones, and sharp objects attached. They stripped Him
naked, the greatest of indignities. They mocked and jeered, and drove the
crown of thorns into His brow. And Pilate ordered it all, thinking of
himself.
We live our lives in the same way, we think
of ourselves, but we need to consider the Savior. He is the innocent, we
are the guilty. In this story, I am Barabbas! Call me Barabbas!! I’m
guilty, but I was set free because someone who was totally innocent took my
place.
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