“A Rush To Judgment, Part 2” Possible Titles: Screen 1 John 19:1-16 “Behold The Man” “Shaking In His Boots” August 6, 2017 “The Greater Sin”
Last week, we discussed the beginning of the Roman trial of Jesus our Lord in John 18:28-40, before Pilate at his headquarters or praetorium in Jerusalem. That headquarters was located at either the Antonio Fortress north and next to the Temple or Herod’s palace with its three great towers that served as part of the defense system for the Western/Jaffa Gate.
(Map of Jerusalem with loca ons of both of these places.) Screen 2
The Jews were “under the gun” here and had a deadline (pun intended) of sundown and Pilate would have simply wanted to get off work on me, hence the “Rush to Judgment” tle. Read John 18:28-40. (Ref. on screen) Screen 3
John 18:39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the
Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Screen 4
“you have a custom” - Instead of dismissing the case as a good judge interested in integrity based on his statement in verse 38 “I find no guilt in him”, Pilate devises a scheme to help himself poli cally. Pilate’s scheme involved Barabbas (“son of the Father” possibly the son of a rabbi. Jesus Barabbas in some manuscripts.)
Mark 15:7 And among the rebels in prison, who had commi ed murder in the Screen 5 insurrec on, there was a man called Barabbas.
Barabbas is a murderer and an insurrec onist. He is hardly the kind of person people would want back out on the streets > or, at least that’s what Pilate
1 thought. We do not know when this custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover began, we simply know it was a Jewish custom.
John 18:40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Screen 6 Barabbas was a robber.
John only men ons Barabbas in this verse. (Ma hew and Mark emphasize Barabbas more, Mathew the most.)
John 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. Screen 7
Luke 23:16 I will therefore punish and release him.
Pilate’s inten on was to release Jesus a er “flogging” him. This was a vicious and brutal decision to make about an innocent man. There were three types of Screen 8 bea ngs the Romans had:
1. Fus aga o - a lashing for less serious offenses
2. Flagella o - more severe than #1
3. Verbera o - the most extreme
The whips contained spikes, bones or scrapes of metal. Many mes the person died while being beaten and was then hung on the cross. (Remember, the cross execu on was very public. The Romans sought to make a visual example of those they executed this way.) Whether the person lived or died was really irrelevant during the bea ng. (“Passion of the Christ” movie so ened it - otherwise MA ra ng . . .)
2 John 19:2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his Screen 9 head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
“crown of thorns” - long spikelike thorns from the date palm. It has been suggested these long thorns would give the impression of radiance coming from the crown of the Emperor as portrayed on ancient coins.
“purple robe” - the color of royalty p. 246-247 Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2
John 19:3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Screen 10 him with their hands.
“struck him” - open-handed slap
John 19:4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out Screen 11 to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
Jesus evidently was beaten inside Pilate’s headquarters.
John 18:40 never says when Pilate released Barabbas so, we are le to assume Screen 12 Barabbas is s ll in custody here.
John 19:5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Screen 13 Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
“Behold the man” - Pilate’s purpose was “to make the person of Jesus appear to the Jews as ridiculous and harmless, so they would drop their accusa on” of him.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, “Behold the man!” The God-Man, the Second Adam, God’s Son, who dealt with the sin of the world introduced through the first Adam.
3 Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:22 (the first man - “Adam” means “man”) Screen 14
John 19:6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, Screen 15 “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
Pilate actually offers Jesus back to them so they >THE JEWS< can crucify him. >VERY INTERESTING< For the third me, Pilate states here that “I find no guilt in him” (See John 18:38; John 19:4.)
In this verse, Pilate realizes he has lost control of the crowd. (Use three illustrates from last week of how Pilate had done this previously and how it hurt his job with Rome. Screen 9) *Remember, the Jews did not have the legal authority/right to crucify anybody - only the Romans did!*
John 19:7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law Screen 16 he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”
This verse takes the feasico to a whole new lever ➙ for Pilate. No ce: the Jews have said nothing about this “Son of God” charge against him un l now.
Mark 14:61-64 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the Screen 17 high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore Screen 18 his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
4 These verses show us the accusa on made against Jesus in his trial before the Sanhedrin. When you and I hear “Son of God” it means one thing - the Messiah. To the Jew, it meant blasphemy (See John 10:34-38). But to Pilate it meant even something else. Watch his response.
John 19:8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. Screen 19
Pilate was afraid before because he had lost control of the Jewish mob. Now, he is terrified by this phrase “Son of God”. “In pagan mythology the Olympian dei es frequently consorted with men and women, and their semi-divine offspring, such as Hercules, had appeared on earth and performed miraculous deeds.” (E.B.C. p. 177) Pilate could not have cared less about the Jewish God - but he cared deeply and believed wholeheartedly in the Roman gods. The Jewish high court - Annas, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin may not have believed such a statement, but Pilate did!!! The word “afraid” here comes from phobos (GK) - lit. “to tremble or terrify”
Acts 14:11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they li ed up Screen 20 their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
Also remember Pilate’s wife in:
Ma hew 27:19 Besides, while he was si ng on the judgment seat, his wife Screen 21 sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
(This ba le-hardened general “shaking” in his boots . . .)
5 John 19:9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are Screen 22 you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
“Where are you from?” - Mt. Olympus maybe? Pilate was thinking . . . Jesus gives no answer because he’s not ge ng into a philosophical ques on and answer me with Pilate. If he had said John 1:1, 14 Pilate could never have comprehended Screen 23 that. Here, John understands the drama c power of silence. See:
Revela on 8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
John 19:10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know Screen 24 that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?”
In Jesus’ silence, we see his will is much stronger than Pilate’s. This statement from Pilate really shows his weakness. *Personal example here of having to make the statement “I am the pastor” - i.e. “I am the leader and that’s why we/you aught to . . .” Whenever the pastor/leader has to make such a statement > guess who’s not really in charge? * [“Posi onal leadership is the lowest level of leadership”.]
John 19:11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all Screen 25 unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
I see, Jesus very calmly making this statement. (Wow, remember Jesus has just been beaten to within an inch of his life . . . vital organs were exposed) Pilate was not in control of this situa on - Jesus was the he (“he” singular) proved this by
6 rendering a judgment on Pilate and Annas/Caiaphas. Pilate was supposed to be the judge and jury yet Jesus renders the verdict - “guilty”. We really don’t have me to go into great detail here, but there are “greater sins” than others ➙ according to Jesus and (I believe) Annas has the greater sin!
John 19:12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, Screen 26 “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
“From then on Pilate sought to release him . . .”
“Caesar’s friend” - not a random saying, but was bestowed on an elite group in Roman society who gained special privileges because of their undoubted loyalty to the Emperor. We don’t know if Pilate was a “friend of Caesar”. He certainly would have wanted to be. p. 340-341, Word Biblical Commentary ➙➙➙
Informa on on Tiberius emperor at the me of Jesus’ Crucifixion ➙➙➙ Screen 27
“Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” - Annas / Caiaphas were very smart. Pilate could not deny Jesus had claimed to be a king (just not the kind he was accused of). Annas or Caiaphas is threatening to tell on Pilate to Tiberius, the Emperor.
John 19:13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat Screen 28 down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.
“judgment seat” - the bema seat
7 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Screen 29 Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Screen 30 Bema Seat ➙➙➙
“The Stone Pavement” - was probably adjacent to his headquarters.
Gabbatha - means “high” (Antonio Tower or Herodian palace at the Western - Jaffa gate)
John 19:14 Now it was the day of Prepara on of the Passover. It was about Screen 31 the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
“Prepara on Day of the Passover” - “the sixth hour” - this was the very day that the people of Israel slaughtered their lambs in prepara on of Passover. “The sixth hour” - was most likely noon and was more than mere chronology for John. This was the exact me the Jews began their prepara ons for Passover. At the sixth hour (“noon”) all leaven had to be collected and burned; labor stopped at this me so the passover lamb could be killed. John 1:29 - Jesus is the “lamb of God”. The new Exodus, God’s deliverance, was about to begin.
“Behold your king” - Pilate may have lost this ba le (to free Jesus) but he does not go quietly ➙ sarcas cally ➙ definitely.
John 19:15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Screen 32 Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
8 Pilate toys with them in this verse / last me. Then , they state “We have no king but Caesar.” In this text, the religious leaders, who were charged with responsibility of represen ng God, actually commi ed the ul mate hypocrisy by responding to Pilate with these blasphemous words! In doing so they verbally removed God from any role in the kingship of Israel. The Jews in the 11th Benedic on prayed, “May you be our King, you alone!” (TO GOD)
This was blasphemy for a Jew to make such a statement. (Why was Jesus there to begin with? Because of the charge of blasphemy from the Jews. “We have no king but Caesar” was the absolute truth about Annas/Caiaphas and the overwhelming majority of the Great Sanhedrin (70). They truly had no king but Caesar. (Sell outs to the nth degree!) Their end jus fied their means - lying, chea ng and murder! John 1:11 comes to its frui on here.
John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. Screen 33
Jesus declared them guilty (vs. 11)!
John 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. Screen 34
Jesus was “delivered”.
Seven mes John has Pilate going outside and back inside his headquarters.
“Pilate sacrificed truth for what he thought was security (in his posi on, power, Screen 35 etc.) and lost both.”
Jesus declared him (Pilate) guilty (vs. 11)!
Prayer and Invita on Screen 36
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