Unjust trial

John 18:39-19:16

³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" ⁴⁰They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

John 19

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. ⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" ⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." ⁷The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." ⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" ¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." ¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." ¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. ¹⁶Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

I. Message:

Content:

1. Pilate planned on freeing Jesus but the religious leaders preferred releasing Barabbas, not wanting to let Jesus go. (v.39~40)

2. Trying to please the religious leaders, Pilate allowed Jesus to be beaten and insulted. (v.1~3)

3. Pilate was indecisive, wanting to free Jesus but fearing the pressure from the people as well. (v.4~12)

4. Pilate compromised and handed Jesus over to the chief priests. (v.13~16)

Themes:

1. Unjust trial

2. Jesus who quietly bore pain and suffering

II. Who is God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?

- Jesus Christ who was rejected (v.40)

- Jesus Christ who was beaten (v.1)

- Jesus Christ who was teased (v.2)

- Jesus Christ who was struck in the face (v.3)

- Jesus Christ who was without sin (v.4, v.6)

- Jesus Christ, the son of God (v.7)

7. Jesus Christ, the one who cannot be judged (v.11)

III. What does the passage teach us (about commands, promises, examples, exhortations and warnings)?

• Jesus who was without sin

When Jesus was taken in front of Pontius Pilate, no basis for a charge could be found. Pilate proclaimed three times that he could not find any sin in Jesus. (John 18:38, 19:4, 19:6) This further proves what it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin^[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Therefore, Jesus did not suffer and die because of his own sin but he took the consequences of our sins for us.

Reflection: Do I take it to heart the fact that Jesus, being sinless, willingly suffered for the sins that we commited? Do I still remain bounded by sin?

• Jesus who suffered

1. Was flogged: Pontius Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. (v.1)

2. Was abused: A crown of thorns was placed on his head, a purple robe clothed on him, was called the king of the Jews and was struck in the face. (v.2)
3. Was rejected: Prefered the bandit Barabbas, the wicked Ceasar, but not Jesus, even to the point of crucifying him.

Reflection: Have I truly experienced the pain Jesus Christ suffered for me? Have I ever suffered for the Lord?

• The source of authority

⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" ¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

On the surface, it seems as if Pilate was the judge, having the power to convict Jesus of sin as well as the power to free him. However, in reality there is another of greater authority: the Heavenly God, Jesus Christ. The source of authority is from Him. As a result, it is quite ironic that the one being entrusted is putting the one who truly has authority on trial.

Reflection: Can I distinct and follow our calling? Do I abuse the power of authority?

• The governor who compromises

Pilate knew very well that the group of people took Jesus to him because they were jealous. After the trial, Pilate could not find any basis of a charge against Jesus and planned of freeing him. He even went as far as flogging Jesus and letting the crowd see the battered Jesus to try to reduce their hatred towards him and to prevent his crucifixion.

However once he heard the crowd saying “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar,” he gave in and compromised. Despite being a person of authority, he was afraid of fighting for righteousness and justice. His morality, courage, faith and conscience were all lost. In order to maintain his position of authority and to succumb to the pressure of the crowd, he handed the sinless Jesus over to them to be crucified.

Reflection: Have I ever lost my faith, conscience, morality and conscience in order to please someone or to maintain a position of authority?

• Victim of democracy

The death of Jesus Christ obviously was a part of God’s plan of salvation. But if we look at it from another perspective, we can see very clearly that his death was due to public opinion, democracy and politics. Democracy, in political terms, is a system based on relativity and does not represent the truth. Therefore, we must be careful in using this system, especially in God’s kingdom. We cannot be advocates of democracy but should focus on following God’s will.

Reflection: Is the emphasis placed on democracy so much in the church that following the will of God is forgotten?