Jesus on trial (2)
[John 19:13-16]
The judge was “Pilate.” Look at John 19:13 – “Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.” Pilate, the judge sitting on the judgment seat, was ruling the Jewish nation as a Roman governor. As the judge, he tried to avoid judging Jesus whenever possible. There were four reasons: (1) The first reason was that Pilate did not think that Jesus had sinned enough to deserve crucifixion according to the Roman law. This was what Pilate heard about their accusation: “Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King’” (Lk. 23:1-2). This was Pilate’s answer: “Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no guilt in this man’” (v. 4). (2) The second reason was that Pilate was well aware that the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to him because they were full of envy. Look at Matthew 27:18 – “For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.” (3) The third reason was that Pilate's wife said to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man” (Jesus). Look at Matthew 27:19 – “While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.’” (4) The fourth reason was because Pilate thought it was a fearful thing to interrogate and judge Jesus. Look at John 19:7-8: “The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.’ Therefore, when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.” From the perspective of the Gentile Roman governor Pilate, the reason why he was afraid was because he heard the Jewish leaders’ accusation that Jesus said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ Look at John 19:10-11: “So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’” The reason why Pilate was afraid again is because Jesus said, if it had not been given to Pilate from above (God the Father gave authority), he would have no authority to harm Jesus. Therefore, the one who handed Jesus over to Pilate was more guilty. Pilate, who heard this, was afraid that he would become a sinner if he dealt with this trial. Look at John 18:36-37: “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.’ Therefore, Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king ….’” When Pilate heard Jesus' words, he could not help but be afraid. For these four reasons, Pilate tried not to judge Jesus. But the reason for the trial was because the plaintiff came out strongly.
The plaintiffs were the high priest of Caiaphas and members of the Sanhedrin. At that time, the Sanhedrin was the highest religious court in Israel that took the lead in crucifying Jesus (Internet). The highest chairman of the council was the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas, and his authority was mighty. Its members were other chief priests, elders, and scribes (Mt. 16:21). The judge, Roman governor Pilate, tried hard to release Jesus (Jn. 19:12), while the plaintiff, the high priest Caiaphas, tried very hard to kill Jesus. Look at John 11:50 – “nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” This word was spoken by the plaintiff, the high priest Caiaphas (v. 49), “one man” was Jesus, and “died for the people” was Caiaphas' attempt to kill Jesus. The reason was that on the surface, Caiaphas said that it is beneficial to the Jews that Jesus' death and the whole Jewish nation not be destroyed, but they are not thinking of it. Its meaning is that John 11 is the chapter where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and because of that miracle, many Jews who saw what Jesus did believed in him (v. 45). So, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council and said, 'If we (If we let Jesus) go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans, who were ruling the Jewish nation at that time, will come and take away our land and nation' (v. 48). However, in the heart of Caiaphas, the high priest, the plaintiff, he tried to kill “one man,” Jesus. This is John 11:53 – “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” The plaintiffs plotted when and how Jesus should die.
Look at Mark 14:61-64: “But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, 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.’ 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 was silent and gave no answer to the false testimony of false witnesses (v. 61). Then the high priest, Caiaphas, asked Jesus again, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” (v. 61). So, Jesus said, “I am. … And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Almighty One and coming on clouds of heaven” (v. 62). When the high priest Caiaphas heard Jesus' answer, he tore his clothes and said, "You have heard that blasphemy. What do you think?” (v. 64), they all said that Jesus deserved the death penalty (v. 64). The plaintiff high priest, Caiaphas, and the members of the Sanhedrin who condemned Jesus in this way had to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy, but the high priest Caiaphas wanted to hang Jesus on a tree. The reason was that those who were hung on trees were cursed by God (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13), so they tried to publicize it that way.
The defendant was Jesus Christ. Jesus, the accused, was innocent. Look at Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. It means that Jesus was tempted just like us, but He did not fall into the temptation and overcame it. So, He was without sin. Even when Jesus was born into this world, He was born without sin because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18, 20), even though He was born of the sinful virgin Mary. That is why Pilate, the Gentile Roman governor, said three times that Jesus had no sin (Jn. 18:38; 19:4, 6). Jesus, the accused, was guilty. It does not mean that Jesus was sinful because He failed the temptation. But even though He did not have sin, He was sinful because God transferred all our sins to Him. Look at Isaiah 53:6 – “… But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That is why Jesus was tried as a defendant. However, this did not come from the plaintiff, the high priest, Caiaphas, or the judge, the Roman governor, Pilate, or anyone else, but God fulfilled the prophecy spoken through the prophets of the Old Testament. Look at Luke 18:31 – “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.” Look at Matthew 20:18-19: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” Just as Jesus said, everything that was written through the prophets and what Jesus also prophesied was handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and also to the Gentiles, the Roman governor Pilate and the soldiers, who mocked Him, scourged Him, and crucified Him.
The day of judgment was “the day of preparation for the Passover,” and the time of trial was “the sixth hour.” Look at John 19:14 – “Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour ….” Although the records of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Synoptic Gospels) seem to be somewhat different about this fact, we presuppose by faith that the Bible is inerrant, reflecting the perfect nature of God who does not make mistakes. Since they are presupposition, we must pray for God's revelation of the words that seem contradictory to human eyes and wait humbly until the Holy Spirit reveals them. The Bible claims itself to be perfect: “The words of the Lord are pure, like silver tried in a crucible of earth seven times” (Ps. 12:6), “The law of the Lord is perfect” (19:7), “All the words of God are pure” (Prov. 30:5). The assertion of these verses about the purity and perfection of the Bible is an absolute statement. And the Bible reflects the author of the book, God the Holy Spirit. God wrote the Bible using human authors through a process of inspiration: “All Scripture is inspired by God …” (2 Tim.3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; Jere.1:2) (Internet).
The result of the trial was the judgment to crucify Jesus. When Pilate, the Roman governor, who was the judge sitting in the judgment seat, said to the plaintiffs, the high priests, the elders, the scribes, and the Jews, “Behold, your King” (Jn. 19:14), they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!’” (v. 15). So, Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” (v. 15). The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (v. 15). So eventually Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified (v. 16). As a result, Jesus was nailed to the cross and died. This is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15, the original gospel of God [the first messianic prophecy in the Old Testament]: “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” God said to the serpent (Satan), ‘The woman’s seed will bruise you on the head.’ Here, ‘the woman’s seed’ refers to Jesus Christ, who was begotten (Mt. 1:25), who was conceived by the Holy Spirit through Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph but was not yet married (v. 18). And God said to the serpent (Satan), ‘You shall bruise him on the heel’ (Gen. 3:15), which refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by Satan on the cross on Mount Calvary, using his offspring (e.g., the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Jewish leaders). In this way, in order to save us as God planned, He transferred all our sins to Jesus, who was without sin, and gave Him on the cross.