Jesus on Trial (2)

 

 

[John 19:13-16]

 

The judge was “Pilate.” John 19:13 says:
“When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).”
The judge sitting on the judgment seat, Pilate, was the Roman governor who ruled over the land of Judea. As the judge, he tried to avoid putting Jesus on trial if possible. There were four reasons for this:

  1. First, Pilate did not think that Jesus had committed a crime worthy of crucifixion under Roman law. This was what Pilate heard from the accusers:
    “All the people rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king’” (Luke 23:1-2).
    Pilate’s response was:
    “Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no basis for a charge against this man’” (Luke 23:4).

  2. Second, Pilate knew very well that the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to him out of envy. Matthew 27:18 (Contemporary English Version) says:
    “Pilate knew that the Jewish leaders had handed Jesus over to him out of jealousy.”

  3. Third, Pilate’s wife told him, “Don’t get involved with that innocent man (Jesus).” Matthew 27:19 (Contemporary English Version) says:
    “While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message: ‘Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, because last night I suffered a great deal in a dream because of him.’”

  4. Fourth, Pilate feared putting Jesus on trial. John 19:7-8 says:
    “The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.’ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid.”
    From the perspective of the Roman governor, Pilate, the Jewish leaders’ accusation that Jesus said he was “the Son of God” caused him fear. John 19:10-11 says:
    “‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate asked. ‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’ Jesus 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.’”
    Pilate’s fear increased because Jesus said that Pilate had authority only because God the Father had given it to him, and thus those who handed Jesus over bore greater guilt. From Pilate’s viewpoint, handling this trial could make him a sinner. John 18:36-37 (Contemporary English Version) says:
    “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “Are you a king, then?” “You say that I am a king.”
    Pilate could not help but fear after hearing these words. For these four reasons, Pilate tried not to judge Jesus, but eventually did so because the accusers pressed strongly.

The plaintiffs were the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin council members. The Sanhedrin was the highest religious court in Israel at that time and led the effort to crucify Jesus (source: internet). The supreme chairman of the council was the high priest Caiaphas, who had great authority. Its members included other high priests, elders, and scribes (Matthew 16:21). While the Roman governor Pilate sought to release Jesus (John 19:12), the plaintiff Caiaphas tried hard to kill Jesus. John 11:50 says:
“It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
This statement was made by the plaintiff Caiaphas (verse 49), referring to “one man” meaning Jesus, and “die for the people” meaning Caiaphas intended to have Jesus killed. Outwardly, Caiaphas argued that Jesus’ death would save the nation, but he failed to grasp the true significance. John 11 records the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and many Jews believed in Jesus because of this (verse 45). As a result, the chief priests and Pharisees called the council and said, “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (verse 48). However, in Caiaphas’ heart, he planned to kill “one man,” Jesus. John 11:53 says:
“From that day on, they plotted to take his life” [(Contemporary English Version) “From that day they began to plot how to kill Jesus.”]
The plaintiffs conspired over when and how to kill Jesus.

Mark 14:61-64 says:
“But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned him as worthy of death.”
Jesus remained silent before the false witnesses’ accusations (verse 61). Then Caiaphas asked Jesus directly if He was the “Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” [(Contemporary English Version) “Are you the Son of God, the Messiah?”] (verse 61). Jesus answered affirmatively and spoke of His future heavenly glory (verse 62). Upon hearing this, Caiaphas tore his clothes and said, “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” The council unanimously condemned Jesus to death (verse 64). The plaintiffs, the high priests, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin members, accused Jesus of blasphemy, deserving death by stoning. But Caiaphas wanted Jesus to be hung on a tree (crucified). This was because the one hanged on a tree was cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13), and they wanted to use that symbolism.

The defendant was Jesus Christ. He had no sin. Hebrews 4:15 says:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
The author of Hebrews states that Jesus was tempted just as we are but never sinned. Though Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary, who was sinful, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18, 20) and thus was born without sin. Even the Roman governor Pilate said three times that Jesus was without guilt (John 18:38; 19:4, 6). Jesus, as the defendant, was sinless—not meaning He sinned but that God transferred all our sins to Him. Isaiah 53:6 says:
“The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 says:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” [(Contemporary English Version) “God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”]
Therefore, Jesus stood trial as the defendant. However, this was not the result of the high priest Caiaphas or Pilate or anyone else, but the fulfillment of God’s prophecy spoken through Old Testament prophets. Luke 18:31 says:
“Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’”
Matthew 20:18-19 says:
“Here comes the Son of Man, who is going to be handed over to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised to life!”
As Jesus said, everything recorded by the prophets would be fulfilled: He was handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and to the Gentile Roman governor and soldiers who mocked, flogged, and crucified Him.

The trial day was “the preparation day for the Passover” [(Contemporary English Version) “the day before the Passover”], and the trial time was “the sixth hour” [(Contemporary English Version) “around noon”]. John 19:14 says:
“Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour.”
Though Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels) show slight differences in this timing, we who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, reflecting God’s perfect nature, accept the Bible without error as a presupposition. When seemingly conflicting verses appear, we humbly wait for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to understand God’s revelation. Scripture declares its own perfection:
“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).
“The law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19:7).
“All the words of God are flawless” (Proverbs 30:5).
These absolute claims reflect the Spirit of God, the author of Scripture. God inspired human authors through the process of inspiration:
“All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16; also 2 Peter 1:21; Jeremiah 1:2) (source: internet).

The trial verdict was to crucify Jesus. When Pilate, sitting on the judgment seat, said to the Jewish leaders and people, “Here is your king!” (John 19:14), they shouted loudly, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (verse 15, Contemporary English Version). When Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” the chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (verse 15, Contemporary English Version). Ultimately, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified (verse 16, Contemporary English Version). As a result, Jesus was crucified and died. This fulfilled God’s original gospel [the first messianic prophecy in the Old Testament] in Genesis 3:15:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
God said to the “serpent” (Satan), “the offspring of the woman will crush your head,” referring to Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit through Mary, betrothed to Joseph but not yet married (Matthew 1:18), and born (verse 25). God also said, “You will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15), which points to Satan using his offspring (such as high priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Jewish leaders) to crucify Jesus on Calvary’s cross. In this way, God planned to save us by transferring all our sins to the sinless Jesus and handing Him over to the cross.