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."
