John 19:1-7

John 19:1-7

Therefore Pilate took Jesus and beat Him with a whip.  And after the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns they set it upon His head and they adorned Him with a purple robe.  And they came to Him and were saying, “Hail the King of the Jews.”  And they were giving to Him strikes with their hands.  And again Pilate went outside to them and says to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you all in order that you all should know that I find no basis for condemnation in Him.”  Therefore Jesus came outside while wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  And he says to them, “Behold, the man!”  Therefore, when the chief priests and the assistants saw Him they cried out while saying, “Crucify!  Crucify!”  Pilate says to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify, for I find no basis for condemnation in Him.”  The Jews answered to him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because He made Himself a son of God.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

It might seem in this passage that Pilate’s act of having Jesus scourged is contrary to the Pilate we saw yesterday.  It is absolutely credible to note that Pilate should have released Jesus after finding no guilt in Him.  That would have been the godly and righteous thing to do.  However, just because Pilate has Jesus beaten does not indicate that Pilate desires to have Jesus crucified, either.  Twice in this passage John continues to report to us that Pilate found no guilt in Jesus.  So what is Pilate doing?  The Romans were experts at beating people to an inch of their life but not enough that they would actually die.  Pilate is attempting to give Jesus a royal beating so that the Jewish leadership might be appeased by seeing Jesus’ pain.  Pilate is hoping that when they see that Jesus has been beaten and humiliated that they will come to their senses and be satisfied.  Pilate is wrong in beating Jesus, but it is a political move not a move of judgment.  Pilate is trying to spare Jesus the cross by substituting public humiliation and a beating.  He is trying to find a way to appease the Jews but let Jesus live.  It’s not a truly righteous act to be sure, but neither is it reason to condemn Pilate as one who hated Jesus.

Why is it easy to condemn Pilate’s actions in beating Jesus?  How does your love for Jesus and the hatred of your own sinfulness that brought about the crucifixion actually blind you and make it easy to hate Pilate in this part of the story?

Second Thought:

In this passage we get even more evidence that Pilate did not want Jesus crucified.  Even after Jesus is put on public display, Pilate says to the Jews, “You want Him crucified?  Do it yourself!”  Pilate did not have to admit to the crowd that he found no guilt in Jesus even after the flogging.  But he did.  Pilate found no reason to crucify him.  Imagine standing in front of a crowd that you have tried to appease by doing more than you really felt was necessary.  The crowd shouts with fanaticism that they desire something that is unjust.  Now imagine stepping before that crowd and declaring that you find no reason for the crowd to get what their bloodthirsty cries declare.  That is the situation Pilate finds himself in this passage.

How do these verses help us see the Pilate that we discovered in yesterday’s reading?  Has this in-depth study of Pilate over the last few days helped you understand him better?  How has your opinion of Pilate changed from what is commonly taught about him?

Third Thought:

In the end, the Jewish leaders will not listen to reason.  Their bloodlust will not allow rational thought to prevail.  They claim that Jesus has made Himself a son of God.  Many people read this and comment on the irony that they do not realize the truth of their words.  But notice that in the Greek the Jews clearly do not say, “He made Himself the Son of God.”  Rather, the Greek clearly says, “He made Himself a son of God.”  They are not making a theological argument to Pilate.  They are making a political argument.  Remember that in the Roman system the Emperors were considered to be gods.  Thus, what the Jews are trying to say is that Jesus has elevated Himself so that he is ready to make a run at being the next in line to be emperor.  The Jews are arguing that Jesus is a threat to Rome.  Of course, we know this is incorrect.  In fact, this is only one in a string of lying charges the Jews bring up.  In their private chamber with the high priest the Jews said Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, but they knew that wouldn’t fly with Pilate.  So the Jews then said Jesus was doing evil when He was not.  When that doesn’t work, they drum up these charges of political rebellion that will set up their big fall which we’ll study tomorrow.  It is amazing how hatred within a person can fuel the telling of any lie in order that the person with hatred within should win the argument and get their way.

When has hatred gotten the better of you and allowed you to lie?  Why do the Jewish leaders have to lie in order to get Jesus crucified?  What does this say about Jesus’ obedience to the Father in that He endured the lies of the mob in order to follow the will of the Father?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 19:8-16