JESUS AND PILATE

Jno. 19:4 ... "Pilate came out again and said to them, 'Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know I find no guilt in Him.'"

      After the High Priest and Jewish Sanhedrin had completed their "trial" of Jesus between midnight and dawn of that fateful Friday morning, they led Him to the court of Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Coming out to them, he asked, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" (Jno. 18:39). Contemptuously, they only replied, "If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you," (v.30). Pilate surely saw at this point that the Jews' case against Jesus involved matters of religion rather than matters of state. Being not in the least interested in their religious scruples, he ordered, "Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law," (v.31). When they answered, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death," Pilate realized this case was rather serious and became interested in interrogating Jesus. Knowing that Jews would not follow him into the Judgment Hall, (v.28), Pilate took Jesus there to examine Him privately. Nevertheless, his only concern was whether Jesus posed any threat to Roman government. Being satisfied this was not the case, Pilate gave his verdict to the Jews, "I find no guilt in Him."

      This statement indicates that, within the province of politics and public security, Pilate could determine nothing amiss in Jesus at all. Although the Jewish leaders were loath to admit it, there was likewise no fault in Jesus in the province of religion. Jesus had the highest respect for the Mosaic Law, as witnessed by His declaration in Mt. 5:18, "Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all be accomplished." Jesus was fully dedicated to the application and enforcement of the Mosaic Law until it should have accomplished everything God had designed for it. Furthermore, Jesus had made it explicit that He posed no threat to the Law. He stated publicly in Mt. 5:17, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." The mission of Jesus was to exalt and glorify the Law by conducting it to its ultimate goal, the presentation of the Messiah as the King of kings in an everlasting kingdom. Actually, the Jews differed with Jesus more on the stipulations of their own interpretive apparatus built around the Law than on the content of the Law itself. This great body of interpretation was called the "tradition of the elders," (Mt. 15:2). In one intense confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus told them that by these very traditions they themselves "transgress the commandment of God," (v.3). In other words, while Jesus respected and obeyed the Law absolutely, the Jews were transgressing and abusing it by their own interpretations.

      When the moral character of Jesus' personal life is examined fairly, one has to conclude that no fault can be found there either.  It is significant that in Jesus' "trial" no charge is made against His conduct or the moral fiber of His life. Had such personal blemishes existed, it is certain His enemies, who were viciously devoted to wrecking Him, would have enthusiastically brought them to light. No one could expose indiscretion in Jesus' life and conduct because there was none! This innocence was essential for Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for all who sin. In II Cor. 5:21 we read that God made "Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Heb. 4:15-16 likewise emphasizes Jesus' total purity and its significance for us: "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. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

THE VOICE OF TRUTH

Jno. 18:37 ... "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to

the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears My voice."

      After observing the Passover Feast with His disciples in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, Jesus took them eastward out of the city, crossed the Cedron Brook, and made His way up the slopes of Mt. Olivet to the Garden of Gethsemane in order to pray. But Judas Iscariot, who for thirty pieces of silver sold his allegiance to Jesus to His enemies, knew the spot since Jesus had often gone there with His apostles to pray when He was in Jerusalem. Making himself the most infamous traitor of all time, Judas led the Jewish authorities right to this garden, and they immediately arrested Jesus. They took Him first to the house of Annas, father-in-law to Caiphas, the high priest, in order to interrogate Him and fix charges against Him that would stand up before the Roman governor. Later, they took Him to Caiphas' house to continue this farce of a "trial." It was at this place that Peter denied Jesus the third time, just before the cock crowed, thus fulfilling Jesus' prophecy. As morning broke, the Jews took Jesus to the Judgment Hall of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. For they had determined that this Man of Galilee must die, and only this Roman governor had the legal authority to administer capital punishment.

      The statement of Jesus quoted above was made during His appearance before this pagan official. From secular history we learn that Pilate knew little about the Jewish religion and cared less. In fact, he despised the Jews, especially their rulers, and welcomed every opportunity to act harshly against them. The mere fact that they brought Jesus before him probably made him at once sympathetic toward Jesus. But the only interest he expressed was whether this prisoner constituted a threat to Roman security. His first question was, "Are You the king of the Jews?" Jesus confessed that He was indeed a king, but that His kingdom was spiritual rather than political and that His disciples would not fight. Pilate then saw no problem with Him, and returning Him to the Jews waiting outside, he announced, "I find no guilt in Him." (The Jews had not entered Pilate's house, lest being in a Gentile structure they would "defile" themselves and be unfit to observe the Passover.)

      It was when the governor asked Him if He were king of the Jews that Jesus replied, "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world." God had sent Him to lay the foundation of a kingdom that would be established just fifty days from that very day. It would be an eternal kingdom, the very Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus was already its King before it began. This kingdom and all that pertains to it -- its government, law, territory and destiny -- were matters of truth beyond human ability to discover. It was Jesus' mission, besides being King, to reveal these great truths to mankind. His work of witnessing to the truth was so vital and unique that He personally equated Himself with it. In Jno. 14:6 He declared that "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Jesus is the sole access to the truth of God's will for man; and this, in the final analysis, is the only truth with value and meaning. Jesus said, "Every one who is of the truth hears My voice." He meant that those who seek truth will open their ears and their minds to His instruction. There are two dimensions of truth: the truth about the structure and operation of the physical universe, and the truth about the spiritual world. It is pathetic that people seek the former truth and deny the latter, decrying its meaning and value. They spend fortunes to implant worldly truth in their minds, and with contempt turn away from the spiritual truth that will endure forever after worldly truth has become meaningless. The knowledge and understanding of the structure and operation of the physical universe is beneficial only while one lives in the material realm. The truth Jesus reveals will benefit us, not only in this present life, but in the spiritual realm when we have passed beyond the door of death.