The Book of  Luke, The Third Trial of Christ before Pilate - Lesson 238

Luke 23:13-25,  And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 17(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19(Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

We now come to the last appearance of Christ before the governing authorities of Israel.

He has appeared before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin, all Jewish authorities, and has been found guilty.

These three guilty verdicts have been followed by his first appearance before Pilate and Herod, both of whom have found in him nothing worthy of death.

Herod Antipas, choosing to take no position against the Jews and not willing to release Jesus Christ, sends him back to Pilate for adjudication.

So we see Jesus in this passage as He faces Pilate who basically pleads three times with the chief priests and the rulers and the people to simply allow Jesus to be chastised and to be let go.

Pilate even gave them an offer that he most likely thought they could not refuse.

Release this man Jesus who has done no crime and is not a threat to you in any way or release Barabbas, a criminal and murderer who was at that time in prison.

Any sane person would have chosen Jesus over having a murderer loose in the community but these were not sane persons with whom he was dealing.

Pilate recognized that Jesus was a man of peace and committed no harm to anyone but Barabbas was a dangerous criminal.

This I suppose, seemed a reasonable way to get out of this sticky situation but Pilate was not dealing with reasonable people.

They were not reasonable for they were motivated by religious zealotry and self preservation.

They would stop at nothing to preserve their place in Israel.

So they chose to have Pilate release a murdering criminal and take Jesus into custody so that immediate crucifixion would take place.

So in spite of the warning of Pilate’s wife to have nothing to do with this innocent man Pilate gave into the cries from the mob and yielded his authority to carry out their desires.

Pilate had thought he was through with Jesus when he sent him to Herod but he soon found out that Herod too was a politician who did not want to offend the Jews, but who also could not find anything worthy of death in this man.

So Pilate again was faced with making a decision.

He soon found a way for the Jews to make the decision themselves by giving them a choice, Barrabas or Jesus.

It seems from verses 13 and 14 and also from the other Gospel accounts that Pilate had private conversation with Jesus after He was brought back from His "trial" before Herod.

In this private conversation he attempted to satisfy himself concerning Jesus’ guilt or innocence.

After this conversation Pilate called the chief priests and rulers who were assembled as a mob demanding of Pilate a guilty verdict.

He told them again that he was not convinced of any criminal activity that could be charged against this man.

He even tried to overrule them by bringing Herod’s judgment into the picture by saying: 15No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

Herod had also acknowledged the innocence of Jesus but had done nothing about it except to pass the case back to Pilate.

Now the right thing to have done is to simply release Christ for it is apparent that neither Pilate nor Herod had been convinced by the Jews of the guilt of Jesus.

But Pilate and Herod were politicians.

And as politicians they played to the crowd.

They do not want them to go away unhappy with them.

They do not want reports to get back to Rome which would harm their relationship with the Emperor.

So Pilate tells the crowd that he will simply punish this man which we learn from the Gospel of John consisted of severe beatings and scourging.

John 19:1-6,  Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, 3And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. 4Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. 5Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! 6When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

All of these terrible things were applied to a man whose innocence this very Pilate was convinced of and they came from the mind of one who simply wished to appease his own

conscience and to appease the mobs who cried for His death.

Perhaps Pilate, by mistreating Jesus so terribly hoped that the crowd would be satisfied with such harsh punishment and end this call for his death.

But Pilate did not understand the zealotry of this religious crowd for nothing else but death would satisfy them.

But death was not Pilate’s solution.

He brought up a custom that somehow had come to be where he would release to them one prisoner as a kind of goodwill gesture.

It apparently took place during the Passover season.

Pilate brings this into the discussion with the Jewish leaders in the hope, it seems, that he would appease them and also secure the release of Jesus.

Why not convict Jesus as being guilty of the crime of treason—giving government approval to the condemnation of Jesus by the religious community—and then release Him, as a gesture of goodwill?

There was another "criminal" whom Pilate could release—Barabbas—but he was a violent and dangerous man.

It may be that he was scheduled to be executed that very day, and that Jesus in fact took his place.

We do not know this but we do know that Jesus took not only his place but he took the place of mankind.

But I imagine the infamy of Barabbas was well known in Jerusalem and that Pilate was playing to their emotions thinking that they would surely not want this dangerous criminal back on the streets.

But their answer must have shocked Pilate for they said, Yes, we want this dangerous criminal back on the street.

They preferred to have a thief, a revolutionary, a terrorist, a murderer on the street instead of a man of peace, a man who had done many kind and wonderful things to help his fellow Jews.

In Pilate’s mind the choice was clear.

No sensible Israelite would chose Barabbas and reject this man who perhaps had some delusions of grandeur but certainly was no threat to the nation.

But Pilate was not dealing with a man he was dealing with a mob and no mob is sensible.

A mob plays to the lowest emotions of man and despises reason and sanity and will only be satisfied by getting what it wants.

So the crowds, incited by the chief priests and scribes, called for Jesus’ death and for the releasing of Barabbas.

Pilate did not give in right away for he certainly did not want to release a man who had been nothing but trouble and I suppose just the catching of him was a coup for his administration.

Barabbas deserved all the punishment that he was due.

His kind deserved to stay in prison until he was executed for his crimes.

So Pilate, the third time, pled for the release of Jesus.

Again he spoke of the innocence of Jesus and his intention of beating Him unmercifully and then releasing him.

The Jews who were present would not hear of it.

With loud shouts they demanded the crucifixion of Christ and the release of the murderer.

And Pilate, instead of taking the high road, took the political road and caved in to them, giving them their way.

The final verses tell it all.

Luke 23:24-25,  And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Pilate released to them Barabbas, the man who was a danger to society, while He kept Jesus in custody, so that He could be hung on a Roman cross, crucified for crimes Pilate knew He did not commit, and all because of the will of the mob.

So Jesus was led to Calvary, not because he was guilty of any offense or of breaking any law but simply because He was the sinless Son of God, and because He acknowledged that He was the "King of Israel."

The Roman authorities declared him innocent but used none of that authority to stop his death and for that they are not guiltless.

Pilate almost screamed his innocence but caved in to the pressure of the moment.

He was officially declared innocent by all valid civil authority but this did not hinder the will of Christ’s Father for it was His will that His Son Jesus would die that many would live.

John, the forerunner of Christ declared him to be the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

So Jesus was destined to suffer this way as a lamb would suffer.

But little did the religious leaders know that the wrath they displayed against Jesus Christ would only result in honor and glory and praise to the Son of God.

This same Luke who wrote this Gospel also wrote of this very thing in the book of Acts.

It was the occasion as reported in chapter 4 of Acts where the Sadducees came upon Peter and John teaching in the temple and locked them up so that they could teach no more.

But the next day they were let go with threats to teach no more of Jesus and they returned to their own company and said this about the very events that we have been studying today.

23And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

We are to learn from this that the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus was not just that of the Jews, nor of the Gentiles, but it was a rejection by both.

Luke establishes for us, both in the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts which he wrote, the collaboration between Herod and Pilate, and in a broader sense between the Jews and the Gentiles, to put Jesus, the Messiah, to death.

The Bible says All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, there is none righteous no not one.

Those who believe the Jew is responsible for the death of Christ believe not their own sinfulness and try to single out one party to blame but not themselves.

But we have seen the complicity of all parties in His death.

The rejection of Jesus as the Messiah was by both Jews and Gentiles.

It was also a unanimous decision, reached by all.

Ultimately no one stood for Jesus Christ.

All rejected Him.

The disciples had fled. Judas took his own life.

Everyone who is mentioned in these verses in chapter 23 rejects Jesus as the King.

We learn from this the utter sinfulness of men, as evidenced in the rejection of Jesus as the King of the Jews.

Our Pastor has recently instructed us in the 3rd chapter of Romans where the utter sinfulness and lostness of man is described.

As you hear this passage in Romans our travels though Luke 23 are amplified with example after example of the hopelessness of man without a Savior.

Romans 3:10-18,  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17And the way of peace have they not known: 18There is no fear of God before their eyes.

One thing you can be sure of is that if Jesus Christ came to this earth today he would be a hated man with men all around wishing and conspiring toward his death.

There is no difference in the hearts of men today for Annas heart, for Caiaphas’s heart, Pilate’s heart and Herod’s heart continually pass to all men for we are all Adam’s children.

I came across this writing which reminds us of the depravity of the human heart.

A man named R. C. Sproul, wrote the book, The Holiness of God and in his chapter entitled "God in the Hands of Angry Sinners" he tells us that fallen men are not neutral toward God — they hate Him. He writes,

By nature, our attitude toward God is not one of mere indifference. It is a posture of malice. We oppose His government and refuse His rule over us. Our natural hearts are devoid of affection for Him; they are cold, frozen to His holiness. By nature, the love of God is not in us.

… it is not enough to say that natural man views God as an enemy. We must be more precise. God is our mortal enemy. He represents the highest possible threat to our sinful desires. His repugnance to us is absolute, knowing no lesser degrees. No amount of persuasion by men or argumentation from philosophers or theologians can induce us to love God. We despise His very existence and would do anything in our power to rid the universe of His holy presence.

If God were to expose His life to our hands, He would not be safe for a second. We would not ignore Him; we would destroy Him.

The only way that a man cannot hate God is by receiving the love of God through Jesus Christ.

It takes a supernatural transaction.

It takes a new birth performed by God’s Holy Spirit.

If you think you can love God without his Son in you I can say by the authority of God’s word that you are wrong.

Your love for God is a supernatural thing, the result, not of your reaching toward God, but of His reaching out toward you, through the very One whom men rejected—Jesus Christ.

Pontius Pilate tried to avoid making a decision about Jesus but in so doing so he made his decision.

He feared men rather than God.

The first priority is to your maker.

The first fear is to the one who put you on this earth.

And that is what all men lack who lack Christ.