Then they 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. John 18:28
In Roman law, an accused person was innocent until proven
guilty. John doesn’t give any detail about this meeting with Caiaphas.
Obviously, the high priest didn’t know exactly how to deal with Jesus, so he
sent Him on to Pilate, the governor of Judea. The time of day was about 5 a.m.
and Jesus had already been through two interrogations by Jewish leaders.
This passage just drips with irony, regarding the
hypocritical thinking of the religious leaders. The governor’s headquarters,
also referred to as the Praetorium or hall of judgment, was a habitation of
gentile soldiers; a military barracks. If a Jew entered the habitation of gentiles, he would be ceremonially
unclean and could not celebrate the Passover. Therefore, they would not enter,
even though their whole objective in being here was to assure the death penalty
of a man who had committed no crime. They were plotting the death of the Lamb
of God while keeping themselves “pure” for the celebration which represented
His sacrifice for all mankind. Furthermore, they needed the verdict of the gentile
rulers, whom they despised, to get that job done. They were not ashamed to plot
murder, lie and manipulate the gentiles, but they must not defile themselves by
entering the gentiles’ judgment hall. Evil motivation doesn’t have to make
sense. Evil in the practice of religion seems to be normal procedure.
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. John 18:29-32
Pilate was accustomed to their pettiness, and he simply
accommodated their hypocrisy by going out to them. He needed a charge, however, in order to prosecute. They didn’t have a legitimate charge, so they became
defensive. “If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t be bothering you with this!”
“So,” Pilate said, “judge him yourselves.” Ah. Here we see their problem: “we
don’t have the authority to put anyone to death.” They were not seeking
justice. They were plotting murder by court action, and they needed a
government official to pronounce the sentence.
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?” John 18:33-35
Well, this man had
been brought to him for judgment, so Pilate was obligated to examine Him. Would He claim to be the King of the Jews?
Jesus redirected the issue, asking Pilate to state a reason for the question. “Is
this of interest to you, or did someone tell you I’m the King? Have you
actually considered who I am, governor, or are you just going through the
motions? Think about it.”
Pilate’s boredom and irritation with this whole affair
showed in his retort. “This has nothing to do with me or my belief! Your people
have some reason for bringing you to me. What is the reason? What crime have
you committed?”
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?” John 18:36-38
Jesus emphasized that He had been turned over to the Jews. Jesus and Pilate both knew that the governor was just a tool to be used in this conspiracy. Pilate’s concern was political self-preservation. This might
be a rival to Roman rule standing before him. Our Lord knew exactly what the
issue was with this governor, and set Pilate’s mind at ease about that. “My
kingdom is not about politics; not of human origin; not of the world system. My
kingdom is not a threat to you or to Rome. If it were, I could not have been so
easily taken.” Pilate pressed again about the kingship, now that Jesus had
acknowledged it. Jesus’ answer: “You said it. This is my reason for being. I
represent truth.”
“Everyone who is of
the truth listens to my voice.” There is our principle again, that those
humans who had positive volition at God-consciousness recognize the truth in Jesus, and
believe in Him. This is the case in every generation and in all circumstances
of life. Those who are willing to believe will be given the truth, will believe
the truth, and will be made free from the penalty of sin (John 7:17).
Pilate was frustrated, cynical and bored. He didn’t believe in
the absolute. He wasn’t concerned with truth as a principle and had no concept
of spiritual things. He did understand that this man posed no threat to himself
or to Rome, so there was nothing to punish.
After he had said
this (What is truth?), he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no
guilt in him. 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?” They cried out
again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. John
18:38-40
He thought there might be a way to defuse this situation:
He thought there might be a way to defuse this situation:
There was another Jewish man in custody. He was a career
criminal, an insurrectionist and a robber. His lifestyle was rebellion and
hatred of Rome. His ambition was to see Roman rule overthrown. No, the Jews did
not want their gracious King released to them.
“Not this man, but Barabbas!”
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