Then they (the Jewish Sanhedrin) led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”…… From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
Comment: There have been many rotten court decisions over the years and there are many occurring even these days. But this is especially disturbing. If it had been only for blasphemy the Jews were permitted to stone Jesus – this was the Torah’s command and we know, as in the case of Stephen in the book of Acts, they could do it. The leaders wanted to see Jesus crucified to die a horrible death at the hands of the Romans. The Ethiopian Orthodox call Pilate Kidus Pilatus (St Pilate) because he was the only one who tried to defend Jesus! Pilate declared Jesus guiltless; he had the guiltless Jesus flogged (almost certainly 39 lashes with a cat of nine tails), crowned with thorns (not from roses but inch long tree thorns), dressed up in royal robes, paraded torn and bloodied, spat upon, mocked in order that he himself might not be guilty of condemning Jesus to death! And Pilate ultimately gave the order to have Jesus crucified because he was frightened that the Jews might go behind his back and report him to Caesar! Some saint! But note in the middle of all this Jesus said “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Was Jesus saying that it was God who was permitting His crucifixion?
Prayer: Help me to understand how You, God, are involved in all this.
As I read it! 