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We left off last week in John’s account of Jesus and Pilate in conversation in John 18:37. And we read:
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
And we talked about that last line sort of extensively. And we wrapped with Pilates response when he said to him (at verse 38)
38” What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Let’s talk about Pilates response before we continue to read
Luke 23.16-25
July 12th 2020
Meat
It is believed that Pilate replied with contempt, but when we think about it, we really don’t know for certain if this is the case.
Granted, he could have been contemptuous and said, “What is truth?
OR
He could have said, (questioningly) “What is truth?”
Perhaps he said
(Like a Jew) What is truth? (shrug shoulders)
The thinking is that if the question had been sincere that Jesus would have taken the time to give him a response, like he did with Nicodemus who came to him at night.
The other thing to consider is, what is the answer? I submit that there is really only one answer to that question – especially in light of the surrounding circumstances to the question asked – and that answer is “Jesus is the truth.”
I consider him the definitive answer because all other “truths”
Mammals need oxygen
Fire burns human skin
2 plus 2 is four
Appear to have application to the temporal realm, where He and His truth reaches beyond the temporal and out into the eternities, unchanging and ever reliable.
Perhaps if Pilate was really seeking the truth Jesus would have introduced himself to the man and given him the “living waters” and the “truth” of life eternal.
But it seems like Pilate did not really wait for a response to what could have been a rhetorical question, but instead departed. So, Luke writes:
And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
We don’t really know what Pilate actually thought about Jesus. Did he find him intriguing or a dullard, capable or an ignoramus – we aren’t told.
What we do know is that he did not find the Lord worthy of death or as John has him say:
“I find no fault in him at all.”
At this point let’s pick it back up in Luke 23 where we read at verse 17-:
17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
18 And 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.)
20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
22 And 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.
23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
25 And 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.Luke
Okay, back to verse 17 in Luke
17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
Where Luke says that it was necessary what he really means is that there was a custom at that time where a prisoner of the Jews was released from Roman custody.
Where this tradition came from or how it arose remains a mystery but it seems that it would have done some good in securing good will among the Jews at that time as ANY indulgence or kindness from the Romans toward the Jews would have been received with joy.
In Luke’s account, here at verse 18 we read:
18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:
Which makes it seem like the Jews were the ones who selected Barabbas to be the one released but in Matthews account we have Pilate giving the options as it says there:
17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
To me it seems like all who were being tried on that day were present – and therefore standing there was Barabbas the insurrectionist/murderer, perhaps the other two thieves (who are not mentioned here) and Jesus.
It is believed by many that Barabbas was part of a band of insurrectionists and robbers and that he was to join his two partners in crime on the third cross but instead escaped death here with Jesus taking the cross meant for him in the first place.
Pretty symbolic, right?
Matthew refers to Barabbas as a “notable prisoner” which means he was known to the people – either for good or evil we cannot tell – but it seems to me he was liked by the people because he was trying to overthrow the Roman Government and even killed someone in the process.
Most Christian scholars like to portray Barabbas as a maniacal danger to the community, as a man consummately evil and yet the Jews preferred him to the “Loving Lord.”
I don’t see it this way. What I see is Barabbas represented to the Jews as a hero of sorts, a political hero or leader who at least was willing to try to do something to liberate Israel from bondage to the Romans and even killed someone in the process. He was much more preferable to Jesus who led by love, mercy preaching spiritual emancipation.
So where Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ has Barabbas being a slobbering dangerous nut case (which admittedly has dramatic effect) I think the fact that Barabbas was notable, an insurrectionist, and someone who killed for the cause, made him exactly what that world wanted, and that was what Jesus wasn’t.
I also think that this view is really telling relative to Jesus and the kind of Savior and the kind of Kingdom he offered his own and what they desired to have among themselves instead – a brutal murderous insurrectionist.
At verse 19 of Luke he confirms things about Barabbas that are not found in the other Gospels as he says speaking of him
19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)
Verse 20
20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
Matthew’s account tells us that Pilate knew that the Jews delivered him up for “envy.”
And this gives insight to the diabolical nature of those that had Jesus put to death. They didn’t mind a guy like Barabbas being loose among them. The leaders knew that people are not inclined to follow that radical into the streets to go to war with the Roman armies, so he posed no threat to the religious leaders and their power.
But Jesus? He was loved and followed,
doing miracles, and preaching a truth that changed the lives of others – this sort of person was dangerous to their lives and livelihood and they envied him.
Envy is ugly, it is the unhealthy desire to possess something that someone else has that you lack. It is not jealousy, which is to desire to protect something you do in fact have or possess.
Envy includes the hope for someone elses demise or ill-fate, it is hoping they will lose so that you can win or look better, and it was at the heart of the Jews in their views toward Jesus.
So, Pilate has been, once again, backed into a corner. He knew the score and here is the sad thing about it – his job was to protect the innocent – that is why he is deciding on if Jesus was to be put to death or not. But he was also politically minded and did not allow justice to reign.
He was too fearful of the Jews response. As I mentioned last week, it was in or around this point that the following occurs to Pilate, which information is found in Matthews account:
Matthew 19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
In other words, “do not condemn him.” For he is a just man. Perhaps she was afraid that the vengeance of heaven would follow her husband and family, if he condemned the innocent, which she was apparently convinced that he was.
Perhaps she had known of him or perhaps his innocence was proven in a dream that she had, but in either case, her advice to her husband was let him go.
Some suggest that Pilates wife was a believer or at least a pursuer of the true God. It’s possible, I suppose but what we do know is she was having dreams that he should be set free.
However . . . when we think about this, it’s really quite odd. Why?
Because Jesus was not to be freed – he himself knew that he was going to have to experience what he was about to experience; I mean he even told Peter outside the garden of Gethsemane that they must go and do what he was doing.
He even asked his father if the cup could pass so then, why the dream? And who gave Pilate wife the dream? Was it God? If so, was it just a means to provide just one more witness to set the record straight so Pilate’s guilt would be established?
I mean why would God give her a dream to council her husband to set Jesus free when God told Jesus he was to die and it was to be by crucifixion?
In God’s economy does the truth always have to be spoken or reveled even if the outcome should be different?
Perhaps Satan was the author of the dream that she had? I mean, why would Satan prompt Jesus to be put TO death if at His death Satan would be rendered powerless as the scripture maintains?
Perhaps Pilates wife was not anywhere close to being a follower of God but was actually a Satanist? This view actually makes the most sense as far as I can tell.
Whatever motivated her, she told her hubby to “have nothing to do with that man.”
Matthews account continues and say:
Matthew 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
Apparently, the release of a prisoner was to be to from the mouths of the people or populace and not from the rulers.
Therefore, in order to secure the condemnation of Jesus, the rulers urged on the people to demand Barabbas.
Aside from the fact that the people were greatly under the influence of the priests, Galileans in general were held in great contempt so we can bet that the priests turned to his origins as a means to stoke the fire against him.
There is nothing less stable than a drooling crowd and this one was just weeks earlier crying “hosanna” was now, at least in part, demanding him to be crucified.
Matthew 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
Matthew 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
Matthew 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Pilate put the question to the crowd at least three times – Why?
He had affirmed that he had found no cause to put him to death. He said that he would chastise him and let him go, perhaps hoping to speak to their compassion and set him free but nothing worked.
They wanted his blood and his death by suffering.
Again, Matthew is the one who gives us details about what Pilate does next and we read at Matthew 24
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Now, as we know, the Jews were very accustomed to washing their hands when they wished to show that they were innocent of a crime committed by others. (Deuteronomy 21:6 and Psalm 26:6 support this). This action makes some people believe that Pilate was a Jew.
I don’t think so.
Nevertheless, he employs a sign that they would have used to say, “I am not guilty of his death, you are,” as if to symbolically wash the blood of the innocent off his hands.
And then he added: “See you to it,” which means, “take this upon yourselves. Ye are responsible for it – you put him to death.
But the people put the ball right back onto Pilate and his ability to crucify him and Matthew 25 reads:
“Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
In other words, if there is ANY guilt for putting this man to death, we will assume it – let his blood be on us and on our children. We will be answerable for it – but you do it.
Among the Athenians, if any one accused another of a capital crime, he devoted himself and children to the same punishment if the accused was later found innocent.
Here we see the Jews of that time and place – which because it was the high holidays of Passover in Jerusalem most of the Jews of the world were gathered there – assuming responsibility for the shed blood of the Son of God upon themselves and upon their children.
In less than forty years their city and temple were overthrown and destroyed. More than a million of their very people perished in the siege – the rest spread out over the land in what is called the diaspora.
Tens of thousands died by famine; thousands by disease; thousands by the sword; and so much of their blood ran down the streets that, Josephus says, it extinguished things that were burning in the city.
Additionally, thousands of them were crucified– suffering the very same punishment that they had inflicted on the Messiah.
So great was the number of those who were crucified, that, Josephus says, they had to stop the practice because there was “room being wanting for the crosses, and crosses for the men.”
Some suggest that even to this very day,
the curse remains as the Jews as a Nation have been scattered, persecuted and put to death.
At the same time, they have, as a people risen up and taken some of the most premiere places in the annuls of human accomplishments.
I have no idea of how or why any of these things exist or have existed among them but they have.
Perhaps it hearkens back to this statement.
Back to Luke 23: beginning at verse 23
23 And they (the crowd) were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
25 And 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.
So, lets read more of the text from Luke 23 picking it up at verse 26:
26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
32 And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Luke’s account omits describing the actual scourging that Jesus was subjected at the hands of the Romans prior to being led away.
However, we did read the following from Luke in 23:20-22
20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore have him flogged and release him.” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
It is thought that Pilate had this take place (which Luke doesn’t fully report) as a means to parade Jesus before the masses as a means to gain their sympathy.
But let’s consider what the other Gospel accounts write about this part of His Passion.
Matthew 27:26-31 reads:
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him,
29 and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Mark 15:16-20
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
John 19:1-5
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.
2 And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; 3 they came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again, and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
And it is at this place that Luke continues to describe Jesus being led out and having his cross taken up by a man named Simon – which we will cover next week.
But let me wrap up our time today by taking what all of these other accounts say (which again is missing from Luke) and let’s touch on the details quickly (and I am going to use Matthews words to guide us)
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
Of the whole process, (the part that Luke does not give much attention to, what we are about to read from the other accounts), this rips my heart out the most.
Being put to death was horrible – but that was the sentence and as gruesome as it was, to me it was more perfunctory.
What we are about to read here was mean, personal, a mockery and brutal for anyone to suffer, let alone our Lord who so did not deserve ANY of it.
Because we have heard the story so often, and because we are so far removed from when it happened, there can be the natural tendency to not fully relate to the events with as much empathy as we might like.
To garner such empathy or sympathy it is almost like we have to allow ourselves to work backward, and to really contemplate what is going on here, and to whom it is happening, and the reality of it in that day.
I do this by imagining it happening this morning. Or very recently. And I facilitate it by thinking of it happening to someone I know and love and then I think about how I know and love Him.
What he endures is ruthless, base and comes from a dark place thriving in all of our hearts. Which brings us to another perspective – how would we have treated Jesus if we were Roman soldiers with a convicted Jew in our possession.
These possibilities have the potential to break even the strongest hearts.
So Jesus is taken to the governor’s palace or dwelling as the trial had taken place outside of it – we know from last week that the Jews would not enter in so as to avoid being polluted for the Passover.
He was met by a whole band of Romans soldiers, which represented the tenth part of a Roman legion which amounted to four to six hundred men – so forty to sixty Roman soldiers awaited his arrival.
Can you imagine the terror? Forty to sixty Roman soldiers waiting to torture you?
It is at this point, prior to subjecting him to mockery that they scourged him in John’s account.
We know the details, but He was scourged either at this time or perhaps prior by Pilates men – of this we cannot be certain.
Scourging was known to the Jews and dated all the way back to the Egyptians. It was often call “stripes” and was particularly purposeful to the Romans as a means to inflict severe bodily punishment.
The implement consisted of a handle, to which several cords or leather thongs were affixed, which were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal, to make the blow more painful and effective. It is comparable, in its horrid effects, only with something called the Russian knout.
The victim was tied to a post (Acts 22:25) and the blows were applied to the back and loins, sometimes even, in the wanton cruelty of the executioner, to the face, stomach and groin.
The act was so hideous that most people passed out or even died from it alone.
They often used scourging to get confessions out of people (Acts 22:24) and historians tell us that it was often what they did before inflicting capital punishment on criminals.
Acts 22:5 states clearly that Roman citizens could not be scourged based on what were called Porcian and Sempronian laws, however Tacitus reports that this restriction was often ignored.
In what is believed to be a prophetic reference to Jesus, Psalm 129:3 reads:
Ps 129:3 The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
And Isaiah 53 says:
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Deuteronomy 25:3 fixed the mode of a Jewish flogging and limits the number of blows to forty and apparently what was called flogging was administered by a rod.
The Syrians reintroduced true scourging into Jewish life, when Antiochus Epiphanes forced Jews to eat pig flesh under its influence (2 Maccabees 6:30; 7:1).
Later it was legalized by Jewish law and became customary (according to Matthew 10:17; Matthew 23:34 Acts 22:19; Acts 26:11), but the traditional limitation of the number of blows was still preserved.
Paul says that of the Jews he received stripes five times totaling 40 each time less one,” but he distinguished it from beatings with rods which he said he received three times.
Back to Jesus
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
Meaning they either took his upper garments off or made him completely nude. Matthew says scarlet robe Mark says purple – scarlet was obtained from a species of fruit and purple from species of shell-fish but anciently the name purple was given to any color that had a mixture of red in it.
The robe was probably the kind worn by Roman generals and other distinguished officers of the Roman army. It was made so as to be placed on the shoulders, and was bound around the body so as to leave the right arm free.
It is unlikely that they would put a new expensive robe on him, so it was probably one that was worn out or had been discarded.
29 And when they had platted (or woven) a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
To add to the mockery, the crown (or wreath of thorns) was the product of a thorn-bush which were often worn by noted officials or Kings so obviously this was ridiculing his claim to be a King.
Interestingly, the term thorn was first used by God in Genesis chapter three toward Adam when in explaining the consequences of his eating the forbidden fruit said:
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
To me, we have here the second, perfect Adam (as Paul calls him), taking on to his very person three of the direct results of the fall – the thorns, sweat and death – although this Adam would not see corruption!
It is believed, due to the botanist reports, that the thorns of that area in that age were long, dry and woody, and from this we get the tradition that they were pushed down onto his head therefore causing the thorns to drive into his flesh and cause blood to stream down his face and neck.
And a reed in his right hand. And just as Kings commonly carried a sceptre, made of ivory or gold, as a sign of their office or rank, this reed or staff was again emblematic of his fail Kingship.
And then we read that “they bowed the knee, which was an act of pretended homage, and while bowing said,
“Hail, king of the Jews!”
With hail being a word typically used as a sign of respect, and King of the Jews being another form of insult as the Jews had turned him over and left him.
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head” (which were the final insults).
31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
I can hardly imagine the back and forth changing of the clothes with a body slashed to ribbons – but I do receive what Isaiah says about this – that with his stripes we are healed.
And we will end here.
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