Matthew 27:2,11-14 Mark 15:2-5 Luke 23:1-5 John 18:28-38

Matt. 27:2, 11-14 2 and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.

Mark 15:2-5 2 Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” 3 The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” 5 But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

Luke 23:1-5 1 Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” 3 So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

John 18:28-38 28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. 29 Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” 30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” 31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” 32 to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. 33 Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.

As Jesus is moved from the religious trial held by the Jewish leaders to the secular judgment before Pilate, there are several interesting observations we can make.  All of the accusations change, and the way Jesus is treated is also very different.  The Jews are determined to kill Jesus but don’t have the authority to do so legally.  They have no choice but to bring him into the Roman system of law in order to be able to do away with Jesus.  They cannot make this happen based on their findings, so they set out on a course to deceive in hopes of getting the verdict they want.  Manipulation is a sure sign of sinfulness.  We must be very careful to avoid this kind of rationalization in our own attempts to walk in sin.

THE JEWS MAKE FALSE ACCUSATIONS: When they left the Sanhedrin, the accusation they made against Him was that of blasphemy or making Himself to be God.  They knew that this type of language would simply cause Pilate to pass over the case and tell them to stop bothering him with matters of Jewish law.  So the accusations were not changed to subversion, attempting to overthrow the government and teaching that the Jews should not pay taxes to Rome.  These were issues that Pilate would care about, but they had no basis in truth.  The Roman’s had military assets in the area who would have brought this to his attention if it were true.  Pilate has been dealing with these leaders long enough to understand that there is something else going on here.  It is interesting to note that the Jewish leaders are concerned about making themselves unclean by going into the Praetorium but have no problem with telling lies.  Legalism will focus in on some “pet” issue and then ignore blatant areas of sin.

PILATE MAKES WRONG ASSUMPTIONS: It seems that Pilate is more irritated by having to deal with the problem than he is concerned about what Jesus might have done.  He asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews.  This is a question full of irony and condescension.  Israel is, at this time, under the rule of Rome.  Even if it did have a king, he would have no power.  Pilate assumes that Jesus is some sort of an earthly king descendant from Israel’s royal line that has been overthrown and deposed of power for many generations.  He also assumes that Jesus has made the people upset and all he wants to do is keep the peace.  He assumes that he is in charge of these proceedings.  He does not realize that he is dealing with the Sovereign King of the universe.  

JESUS MAKES TRUE ASSERTIONS: During His questioning, Jesus knows what will happen and the final result of this “trial.”  When asked if He was the King of the Jews, He agreed with him.  However, Jesus also makes it clear that His kingdom was not in this realm.  He had simply come to reveal the truth to man about God, and to testify of who would receive the truth.  Pilate’s response of “what is truth” is typical of the relativistic answers of this world that sees no basis for truth.  Jesus exemplifies true power, under control.  He could have escaped at any time.  He could have called the angels to deliver Him from the situation he was facing.  Instead, He revels the truth that He is King.  Every person who is exposed to the truth about Jesus must decide whether they will believe that truth or not.

APPLICATION: Be careful to guard our hearts from legalism.  Check for areas of spiritual blindness where we might be trying to make compensation in some other area.  When we come before Jesus in prayer, don’t forget who He is.  Recognize that He is the sovereign creator of the universe.  Believe that Jesus is who He says He is and worship Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.