I have written at length about all the aspects of Jesus’ arrest and trial before the Sanhedrin except His encounter with Pilate.
“So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected…Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.”
John 18:29-31, 33-38 NIV
Surely, Pilate is to be pitied rather than judged, or is he? He was the Roman governor of Judea, raised a pagan, taught to believe in the evil, capricious panel of gods who ruled over Rome. What did he know of a religion that believed in one true, holy God who ruled over Isreal from heaven, requiring obedience to a substantial set of rules administered by His priesthood?
Pilate was caught up in a saga he didn’t know how to handle. A Jewish rabbi claiming to be the Son of this holy God, was on trial for blasphemy. Pilate had no interest in the religious squabbles of his subjects but, when it came to the issue of treason against Rome, he pricked up his ears. It was his responsibility to keep these rabble-rousing Jews under control.
The Jewish authorities had charged Jesus with blasphemy under very flimsy false pretences, but they had no authority to execute Him. They had to bring a charge against Him that rattled the Roman authorities. What better charge than treason since Jesus spoke often of representing another kingdom, albeit an unseen realm over which their God ruled.
Pilate was rudely awoken to face this dilemma. The sun had hardly risen before an unruly mob, led by members of the Jewish Sanhedrin, half pushing, half dragging a bedraggled, dishevelled man along with them. “Crucify Him!” they demanded. “For what reason?” Pilate retorted. “Of what is He guilty?”
Notice how the Jewish rulers side-stepped the question.
“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.””
John 18:30 NIV
Already prejudged and condemned, the Jewish rulers expected Pilate to rubber-stamp their verdict. “Not so fast!” declared Pilate. “What has He done?” Blasphemy would not stick with him but treason was a different matter. Without pressing the Jews for an answer, he questioned Jesus about the verdict. Why had they found him guilty? He, Pilate, was not aware of any uprisings in Jerusalem.
“Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?””
John 18:33 NIV
Jesus’ reply was equally baffling for a pagan Roman.
“Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
John 18:36 NIV
How was he, the Roman governor who had the power to kill or acquit Jesus, supposed to sentence a man to death who was no threat to Rome? Where was the evidence of His incitement to an uprising? Where was this “other place” kingdom of which Jesus spoke?
To get a plain answer, Pilate made a statement he wanted Jesus to corroborate, to which Jesus replied with even more puzzling words…
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.””
John 18:37 NIV
Surely, how was Pilate, this secular man who, seemingly, had no understanding of or interest in spiritual matters, supposed to order the execution of a man who spoke about truth! What was truth? What did he know about truth? Truth, to him, was irrelevant. He lived by his own beliefs and carried out the orders of Rome without question, whether they were good or bad.
With a gesture of contempt, Pilate turned on his heels muttering, “What is truth?”, to wash his hands of this matter by giving in to the mob.
On what grounds was Pilate judged when he stood before this same Jesus in the very realm of which He spoke and over which He now rules? Where once Pilate was the judge and Jesus the condemned, the moment Pilate passed from this life, the tables were turned. What did Jesus say to him? On what grounds was he sent to the place he had chosen in this life? Was it that he had given in to the crucifixion of an innocent man? Was he condemned because he ordered the execution of the Son of God? Was there a place of torment far worse for him than any other person for having had Jesus, the Son of God, killed?
Strangely enough, no! The verdict was, for Pilate, the same as for every other person who is sentenced to live in eternal darkness, “Guilty, as charged.” The charge?
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
John 3:18-20 NIV
“However,” you might say, ”what chance did Pilate have of believing the truth?” The answer is…he had the same chance as every other person on earth who rejects the truth and goes into eternal darkness…
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Romans 1:18-20 NIV
It’s that simple! He was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
It’s not that people don’t know the truth. It’s that it’s inconvenient to know. They don’t want to know because they love the darkness of sin and unbelief rather than the light of truth. All sin, even Pilate’s outrageous injustice, is the fruit of unbelief. So, it’s not the sin that God condemns but the unbelief in the one He sent to tell the truth that will ultimately send them to hell.
But wait…there’s more!
To be continued…