He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.
Luke 23: 9 (NIV)
Scripture: Luke 23: 1-25
Just as there were three religious trials, there were three trials before Roman officials. Through most of it, Jesus remained silent and accepted His fate. This devotion looks at Jesus before Pilate and Herod Antipas.
Jesus had been tried before the Sanhedrin. Errr, He was arrested and convicted — there really wasn’t a real trial involved. When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, no charges were filed. There was no evidence proving Jesus had committed a crime. Credible witnesses could not be found. Yet, He was found guilty in their court.
To read Did Jesus Get a Fair Trial?, click the button below.
The Sanhedrin wanted Jesus dead, but they did not want to be the ones who were responsible for His death. They were afraid of the crowd’s reaction.
To achieve an execution, the Sanhedrin had Jesus sent to Pilate. In order to accomplish the sentencing they wanted, they had to come up with charges that would carry the death penalty. They didn’t have much luck in their trials finding something with which to charge Jesus.
Because a charge of blasphemy wouldn’t carry the death penalty according to the Romans, an attempt was made to classify Jesus’ claim to be Messiah as His being an enemy wanting to overthrow Rome. This would have received the death penalty. If they could convince Pilate that Jesus thought He was a King, they thought they had a good shot of having an execution really, really soon.
If we thought Jesus didn’t say much to His accusers during the trials before the Sanhedrin, He was even more quiet before Pilate and Herod. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ last three trials. For a while there, it was looking like a tennis match.
Pilate to Serve
Pilate began his tenure as governor or procurator in AD 26. It appeared that he did not like the people he ruled and sought to destroy the Jews. Eventually, he was relieved on his duties in AD 36 and never heard from again.
Pilate was an ineffective leader and could be bullied by the Jews. All the Jews had to do was to threaten to riot, and Pilate would capitulate to whatever they wanted.
I thought it was interesting that the Jewish people (Sanhedrin members, Caiaphas, even a couple of disciples) would not go in the Praetorium in case there was yeast in the building and they become unclean. They were more interested in the Passover than the Lamb.
To read What Is the Significance of Jesus Observing Passover?, click the button below.
It was to this man Jesus was brought for His fourth trial. First, His accusers tried to not specify what the charges were. They just assured Pilate that they would not bring an innocent man before him (Jn. 18: 30). Finally, they told Pilate, “… We found this man subverting our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is the Messiah, a King” (Lk. 23: 2 HCSB).
Jesus did not undermine the power and authority of the Romans. Quite the opposite. Romans 13: 1 says, “Obey the government, for God is the one who has put it there” (LB).
When He was asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar in Luke 20: 22, He answered in Luke 20: 25. Jesus expected His followers to obey the laws of the land.
Note, though, that Jesus was not tried on these charges the night before. They made these up, too. So, they are trying to get Jesus sentenced on different charges than those on which they tried Him.
Jesus impressed Pilate. All the while the Jews were slinging their accusations, Jesus didn’t say a word (Mk. 15: 3). You get the gist that Pilate doesn’t think this is on the up and up, but Jesus stayed silent.
I always found it fascinating that Pilate asked Jesus point blank if He were the King of the Jews, and Jesus answered a point blank “yes.” But Pilate didn’t see that as something criminal. Instead, He told the Jewish leaders that he found Jesus innocent of the charges (Lk. 18: 4).
Luke’s gospel is the only one that mentioned Pilate handing Jesus off to Herod. Because of this, we don’t know exactly when Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world (Jn. 18: 36).
Pilate seemed convinced of Jesus’ innocence. However, when he said that to the Jews, they got very angry. When someone said He has started revolts in Galilee, Pilate had found an out (Lk. 23: 5).
Pilate must have been happy with this turn of events. Now, he could hand Jesus off and have someone else take the heat.
Lob to Herod
Galilee, a hot spot in the region, was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. He was the son of Herod the Great, who ruled when Jesus was born. We heard of the younger Herod when he had John the Baptist executed.
To read Sticking By Your Convictions, click the button below.
The exchange wasn’t made because Pilate and Herod were allies. They were instead enemies — until this matter brought them together (Lk. 23: 12).
Herod, as a nominal Jew, had heard of Jesus. It is said the He was hoping that Jesus would perform a miracle while He was there.
Still, the involvement of both fulfilled scripture. Psalms 2: 2 says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed …” (NKJV).
The Ball Is in Play to Herod
Herod got his wish: he got to meet Jesus. Herod didn’t get His wish: Jesus didn’t perform a miracle. In fact, Jesus pulled the silent treatment again.
I bet that really burned Herod. That is probably one reason why Herod treated Jesus with contempt. He had Him mocked and dressed in a royal robe.
Herod wasn’t wanting to risk political liability, either. So, he sent Jesus back to Pilate.
The Ball Is Back in Pilate’s Court
Pilate thought he could appease the Jews by having Jesus scourged. This whipping would have removed all the flesh from Jesus’ back. It was also a problem because only those condemned to be crucified could be scourged. Jesus wasn’t condemned yet.
Pilate than tried to release Jesus through the prisoner release program. It was his custom to release one prisoner at Passover. The choice was between Barabbas and Jesus. The crowd roared its response.
Verdict
What could Pilate do? He knew it was wrong. He wasn’t bold enough or moral enough to stand up to the Jews.
But this was God’s plan. Jesus was condemned to die.
What Does That Mean to Us?
Jesus did not respond to His accusers. Not us, boy. We deny and defend ourselves. We try to turn the tables against our accusers. It’s called self-preservation.
I am not saying we shouldn’t defend ourselves. We just need to make sure we don’t careen off God’s Will when we do. We need to remain in God’s plan.
God expects us to follow the rules of the land. He expects us to respect the government that governs us.
I have always been saddened by the fact that Jesus was convicted and executed for what He really was — He really was the king of the Jews. He really was the Messiah. He was really was God’s Son. Because of that, they executed Him.
How can we as believers expect that we will not be persecuted — even if we are in God’s will We will?
There were no credible witness establish Jesus’ guilt, but there was two witnesses — Pilate and Herod — who established His innocence. Still, Jesus was condemned to die. We, too, face persecution even if we are innocent.
Just because people say you did — or didn’t do something— doesn’t mean you did — or didn’t. Lies can be told about us to further their cause. We have to put our trust in God that He is in control of the situation. It may hurt, but events are proceeding according to the plan.
Look at the attitude of the Jews when interacting with Pilate. They thought they were entitled to just bring their case to him and, with no explanation or giving untrue accusations, get him to do what they wanted. Entitlement is a buzz word these days. We have to really examine the situation when we think we are entitled to something. Are we really?
Jesus, the Man Who did no wrong, was convicted of and punished for crimes He did not commit. Even through all of that, He still did not sin. He gave Himself as the sacrificial Lamb for us.
Father. It hurts our hearts when we think about all Jesus went then. Silently. Knowing He was wrongly accused. But also known He was exactly who they accused Him to be — He was and is the Son of God. We, too, are Your children. We, too, can suffer persecution because of that. Lord, help us to keep our faith and our trust in You and accomplish all the tasks You have assigned to us. Amen.
What do you think? What strategies do you use to bite your tongue in difficult situations? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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