1Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. 2And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; 3and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. 4Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” 5Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” 6So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” 7The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
8Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; 9and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” 12As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” 15So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Interesting Words
scourged
(μαστιγόω – Greek) – mastigoó ► whip, flog, scourge, the victim being strapped to a pole or frame; a brutal act intended to inflict severe pain and humiliation. The whip, or “mastix,” typically consisted of leather thongs with pieces of bone or metal attached, designed to tear the flesh – Matt 10:17, 23:34; Heb 12:6;
Hail
(χαίρω – Greek) – chairó ► rejoice, be glad, be joyful; also a salutation: Hail. In the Greco-Roman world, expressions of joy were often associated with celebrations, victories, and religious festivals. “glad for grace” has a direct “etymological connection with xaris (grace)” – Matt 2:10, 18:12, 13; Luke 1:26, 27-28;
afraid
(φοβέω – Greek) – phobeó ► fear, be afraid, reverence, dread, terrified, from φόβος (phobos), meaning “fear” or “terror, English phobea derived from this word – Prov 9:10 LXX, Matt 10:28, 29-31;
authority
(ἐξουσία – Greek) – exousia ► authority, power, right, jurisdiction, weight, especially: moral authority, influence, in a quasi-personal sense, derived from later Judaism, of a spiritual power, and hence of an earthly power, derived from meaning “it is lawful” or “it is permitted, power or right to act, command, or control – Matt 7:28-29, 8:9, 10;
Cross References
▪︎ Matt 27:17-18;
▪︎ Matt 27:19-20;
▪︎ Mark 15:15;
Discussion Questions
1. What was Pilate trying to do in the first few verses?
▪︎ He was simply trying to weave his way thru the mine field of issues and enemies.
▪︎ First, he does the minimum, scourging Jesus, trying to satisfy the accusers (scribes and Pharisees) to back off.
▪︎ Then he tries to reason with Jesus, thinking He doesn’t want this to go to the cross.
▪︎ He gives his opinion, “I find no guilt”.
▪︎ He humiliates Jesus, calling him just a “man”.
2. Describe the torture Jesus went thru in the first few verses, both physically and mentally?
▪︎ The movie “Passion of the Christ” is a good representation of the torture.
▪︎ They mocked Jesus… putting on Him the purple robe, parading Him before the Jews.
▪︎ They sarcastically praised Him, “Hail, King of the Jews”, using the same language as used by angels at His birth… Matt 2:10; Luke 1:26, 27-28;
▪︎ Also used language He Himself used referring to finding a lost sheep… Matt 18:12, 13
3. What was Pilate’s thinking behind his statements in John 19:4-5?
▪︎ Besides playing the humiliation card, he may have been trying to play into the hands of the Jews, siding with them that Jesus was just a man.
▪︎ Pilate said “I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”… trying to influence them.
▪︎ He may have been trying to satisfy the Jews who had undo influence with Rome, threatening Pilate’s position because of failure to contain rebellions.
4. What does John 19:7, 8-9 tell you about Pilate’s frame of mind (also note references in Matthew)?
▪︎ He may have been rightly concerned that Jesus really was who He said He was.
▪︎ The fear of the LORD may have begun to influence Pilate, Prov 9:10.
▪︎ His wife was certainly troubled by her night visions or dreams and communicated her concerns to Pilate… Matt 27:19, 20;
▪︎ John 18:37, 38 – Pilate was also confounded by Jesus’ statements about truth. Probably rocking his mind that Jesus was who He said He was. Could he hear His voice?
▪︎ The mystery generated by Jesus’ non-response, along with his wife’s statement added to his fear.
5. “If he only knew” could be said about Pilate in John 19:10, 11. How would you explain this to Pilate if asked?
▪︎ Lev 24:16 – the punishment for blasphemy was stoning.
▪︎ John 4:10 – Jesus’ response to the woman at the well under similar questions.
▪︎ If you knew who Jesus really was you may have tried harder to stop the “trial”.
▪︎ If He knew, He would understand the plan. Jesus had to choose this path and could not be thwarted or dissuaded. God placed Him on the path.
▪︎ If he knew, he would have been even more afraid of the consequences.
▪︎ Pilate may not have changed one iota of the progression because of the hardness of his own heart and the hardening of God’s purposes in his life, Rom 9:18.
▪︎ He may have pleaded with the Lord God for his life and that of his wife. God could do this, and for all we know, he may have done it.
6. What is the best application of “authority” in this situation?
▪︎ The Jews had no authority to execute capital punishment in this situation, but God allowed it, making it a part of His Plan.
▪︎ Pilate, who actually had authority, tried to stop Jesus’ death, but failed… Also part of His Plan.
▪︎ Satan, god of this world, sought to thwart God’s plan from the beginning (Gen 3:4-5, 15; Matt 4:8-9), but at every turn God and Jesus had the upper hand.
▪︎ God, who has ultimate authority, pulled off the greatest providential act of grace in the history of the universe.
7. Why is this important?
▪︎ God is to be praised… always.
▪︎ What greater way for Him to be praised than to pull off this entire plan providentially…
▪︎ He raised up a nation from the decadence of the ancient, idolatrous world and formed them into a monotheistic nation to serve Him.
▪︎ He hardened their hearts to kill the prophets and eventually His only Son as a sacrifice for the sins of that same world He just created.
▪︎ He provided the mechanism of “accepted/received grace” to provide a salvation that brings glory to Himself alone, and not to any other.
▪︎ He did most of this with only a minimum of miracles, mostly signs to authenticate and validate His methods and processes, minimizing false positives.
▪︎ What an honor and a privilege for us to have Him to turn or hearts away from sin toward Him, and then to use us in all the various ways He does to bring about His Kingdom.
▪︎ We also have the privilege of waiting for Him to trigger the end that will bring about:
► the rapture of the church.
► the marriage supper of the Lamb.
► the final judgement of all sin.
► the rule during the Millennium.
► the future new heavens and new earth