When Rome Met the King

Jerusalem had started the week with a bustle of activity as Jesus rode into the city as a king on a donkey. Fast forward to Friday and now Jesus has been arrested and now standing before Pilate. The Jewish leaders are accusing him of blasphemy for calling himself the son of God (a messianic term). In God’s sovereignty, capital punishment was taken away from Israel, so now they find themselves at the mercy of Rome to do their bidding. Pilate could care less about their religious concerns. His concern is judicial. Was there a crime committed worthy of death?

Beginning in John 18:28 and spanning to John 19:16 we see Jesus encountering the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. During this encounter Pilate will ask Jesus five questions: 1) Are you the king of the Jews? 2) What have you done? 3) Are you a king then? 4) What is truth? 5) Where are you from? We will now look in depth at these questions.

• Are you the King of the Jews? One of the things that immediately strikes me about this scene is the Jewish leaders know they are about to deliver over an innocent man committing murder and yet they are concerned with not defiling themselves by being in the presence of a gentile and not fit to eat the Passover. Well did Jesus say of them that the Pharisees were blind guides which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Pilate sees through their ruse and tells them to judge him according to their own law. This now sets the scene to Pilate calling in Jesus and asking him are you the king of the Jews? Jesus’ response is interesting. He is drawing out Pilate. Do you want to know or is this just part of the judiciary process. Pilate’s answers back that he could care less. He is not Jewish nor concerned about their religious laws.
• What have you done? Pilate now wants to get to the heart of the matter. Jesus responds by elaborating on the first question. He explains how his kingdom works. It is not a direct threat to Rome through warfare. If it were an earthly kingdom Jesus would be delivered from Pilate but as it is he is not a threat to the Roman Empire.
• Are you a king? Jesus admits yes he is a king as Pilate has asked. His mission as a king is very different. His purpose is to bear witness to the truth. He is there to reveal the nature of His Father to the nation of Israel. They had lost their way in their understanding of their unique standing before God as His chosen people and now had replaced their relationship with rules. Jesus is the revelation of the Father to the nation. That is why everyone who is committed to God (hears) responds to the gospel message as it is to this day.
• What is truth? This is as much a bitter statement as it is a question. Pilate is a hardened leader who sees that truth is whatever you want it to be. Since Rome had the military might, it could do whatever it wanted to. Truth, honor and doing the right thing is irrelevant when you have the Roman legion at your disposal. You can make your own truth and have the means to execute it. It is at this point though Pilate sees through the schemes of the Jewish leaders and knows that Jesus is innocent.

At this point Pilate wants to release Jesus and talks about this custom of releasing a prisoner. Surely they would want their King of the Jews released? We also know right at this moment that Pilate’s wife would warn her husband about Jesus and the dream she had (Matthew 27:19). As a pagan this would have disturbed Pilate all the more as dreams were a means for the gods to communicate with man. Imagine the shock as Pilate is expecting the crowd to accept their king but instead as a result of prodding by the Jewish leaders they cry out for Barabbas. They want a man whose name means son of the father but they do not want Jesus, truly the Son of God.

Pilate’s pragmatism takes over decides to have Jesus scourged. He knows that Jesus is no threat to Rome and decides he will beat Jesus to an inch of his life and that will surely satisfy the Jewish leaders. They beat him and mock him and put a crown of thorns (symbolically representing the curse in Genesis) on his head. Pilate figures when they see his marred face and pitiful physical state this will assuage their thirst for this man’s blood. Pilate then sovereignly announces “Behold the Man!”

The chief priests respond even more aggressively to crucify Jesus, Pilate tells them he finds no fault and they should kill him if they want. Their response is true on both accords. To claim divinity in the law would be blasphemy and deserving of death. However Jesus is the son of God as attested by all of the signs he performed. Only God could give sight to the blind, cure lepers, silence the storms, raise the dead and forgive sin. When Pilate heard their accusation about making himself the Son of God, this disturbs him. He now wants to get right to the heart of the matter.

Pilate brings him back into the Praetorium.  This is where he asks the last question “Where are you from?” Any superstition that Pilate has about Jesus and whether in the Pagan sense he is a “god who came down to earth” Pilate wants answers. Jesus is silent before Pilate and this disturbs Pilate. Don’t you know your life is in my hands Pilate angrily responds? Jesus tells him that God has given him his authority and God alone. From here on out Pilate wants to release him.

We now come to this final dramatic scene where Pilate brings out Jesus and exclaims “Behold your king!” Now the leader and the crowd demand him to be crucified. Curiously enough they claim they have no king but Caesar. This is a violation of the law. God is their king not Caesar.

In conclusion, Pilate announces Behold the Man and Behold your King. With these sayings unknowingly Pilate has described the dual nature of Jesus. He is both fully God and fully man undivided in his personhood. The encounters in the gospel of John begin with Nicodemus and end with Pilate. He came to his own people and for the most part they rejected him. Jesus was also trying to reach Pilate but he would not give his life to him. Also in the sovereignty of God Jesus was on trial but he was in complete control. He fulfilled John 10:18, no one was taking his life but he was laying it down for us the body of Christ. As his church we can take comfort in knowing that God is in control even when circumstances seem contrary. Ours is to trust and obey knowing that God will see us through to the end.  Be blessed.

Rob Reilly