The Pre-Crucifixion Trials of Jesus

Transcript

GRM 519
3/23/1997
The Pre-Crucifixion Trials of Jesus
Matthew 26:57-27:26
Gil Rugh


For those of you who are regulars at Indian Hills you know Sunday mornings we are moving through the book of Colossians. We are going to take a break in that consideration this week and next week. In our study of Colossians chapter 1 we have talked about the redemptive work of Christ. The one who reconciled the world to God by His death. The one who has brought personal reconciliation to sinful human beings by His death on the cross. We’ve looked at the relationship of that work of reconciliation, God’s work of justification and redemption and propitiation. All bringing a little different light on the work of salvation that God was accomplishing through the sending of His son, Jesus Christ to this earth. What I want to do with you today is talk about the closing events of earthly life of Jesus Christ. This Sunday we celebrate what is called Psalm Sunday and that is recorded in the gospel of Matthew chapter 21. That is when Jesus in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, the foal of a donkey, to the acclaim and praise of the multitudes. And the people cried out that the King is coming! Even as Zechariah had prophesied. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” But this was not a national response of heart to Jesus Christ. And it was much misunderstanding, and the religious leaders of the nation are greatly grieved that Jesus Christ is receiving such praise. And so through the subsequent chapters of Matthew we see some of the events of that last week that will conclude with the trials and death of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has come to Jerusalem not to be crowned as King. As we talk about what we call the triumphal entry let it be clear in our minds that there is no misunderstanding on His part. He has already made clear to His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem to die. He has no misunderstanding about the popular response given to Him on this occasion. He does have great popularity in the broad sense; He is the miracle worker, He is the mighty teacher, He is that person that even the people know the Jewish leaders want to kill. So there is that, if I could use the word, celebrity kind of popularity among many of the people. And true there are some who truly understand and believe in Him as their Messiah, but the events are already in motion for His coming crucifixion. Turn over to chapter 26. Within two days of the crucifixion we see events unfolding in the beginning of chapter 26 when Jesus said to His disciples, verse 2 of Matthew 26, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming. And the Son of man is to be handed over for crucifixion.” So you see, Jesus not only knows He is going to die, He knows how he is going to die. He has told His disciples that if “I be lifted up I will draw all men to myself.” And to be lifted up was a technical expression for crucifixion. Because when they crucified someone they put the cross on ground, they laid the person on the cross and nailed him to the cross and then lifted the cross up and stood it in the ground. And this is important because if the Jews are going to take Him and kill Him their method of execution is not crucifixion it is stoning. In the book of Acts chapter 7 the Jews with a mob action put Stephen to death and the way that they do that is they stone him to death. But you understand Jesus Christ must be crucified. The old testament says ?cursed is everyone who hangs upon the tree.” And it is God’s intention that Jesus Christ becomes a curse, that He bear in His body the fullness of our sin and that penalty. So He will die a Roman death, the death of a Roman criminal, crucifixion. The Jews have planned this, it is their intention. Look over in John chapter 11 if you will. Leave your marker in Matthew, but in John chapter 11, following perhaps the greatest miracle that Christ performed during His earthly ministry, the bodily resurrection of Lazarus from the dead after he had been dead for four days. The Jews are not impressed with the evidence, the religious leaders are not convinced even though such a mighty work has been done. Verse 45 tells us, John 11, “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He had done believed in Him, but some of them when to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. Therefore the Chief Priest and the Pharisees convened a council and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs!”” You note, they do not deny the reality of the miracles. That is left for the fools of our day to do. After 2,000 years they are sure they are experts that these things did not happen. But the Jewish leaders acknowledge mighty miracles are being done. There problem is, ?if we let Him go one like this,” verse 48, “all men will believe in Him.” Wouldn’t that be wonderful? No, because the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. You know what? We’ll lose our position. And furthermore, the nation will be in trouble. You know what thought does not cross their mind? Perhaps the prophecies of the scriptures are being fulfilled. They are unwilling to consider that. We’ll lose our place, the Romans might discipline us as a nation. Caiaphas, we are going to see Him later in our study, “One of them, Caiaphas, who was the High Priest that year said to them, “You know nothing at all.”” Now here is the man who is the High Priest, he is the religious leader of the nation Israel. He says, you are stupid. “You don’t take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people and that the whole nation should not perish.” You know what he intends in the saying of this? Just stop and think, we’ll kill Him, and that way we’ll save the nation. But God was using Him as a mouthpiece. He meant one thing; God meant another. Verse 51, “He did not say this on his own initiative but being High Priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation. And not for the nation only, but in order that he might also gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad.” It was God’s intention that His son die. When His birth was announced by the angel, the angel said, “you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sin.” “From that day on they planned together to kill Him.” Not for any sin in Him, not for any evil He had done, not for any lack of evidence that He was the one He claimed to be, but because they were unwilling to believe in Him, and they felt threatened by His presence.


Come back to Matthew chapter 26. What I want to do with you for the rest of our time is simply walk through in a highlight way the trials that Jesus Christ experienced culminating in His crucifixion. You see the Jews have already planned His death. But they want to give it a semblance of legitimacy. They want there to be some appearance of legality in His death. Jesus is a popular figure among the people. He has fed them miraculously. He has done many healings. His teaching has been marvelous. They have to be careful that they don’t over play their hand and cause the people of revolt against them. And to that would be added the danger, they live under Roman authority. If the Jewish people as a people react against such an illegal deed by their leaders, then the Romans would have reason to remove them. So the Jewish leaders have already decided we have to kill Him. The High priests and the Sanhedrin that will be the court to try Jesus in the Jewish context have already rendered their verdict. We have to kill Him. But now we just have to find a way to get it done.

There are really two major trials of Christ. There is an Ecclesiastical, or Jewish trial of Christ and there is a civil or Roman trial of Christ. He will be tried before the Jewish court and Jewish leaders. He will be tried before the Roman leaders. The reason there are two courts is that the Jews had many powers given to them by the Romans. But capital punishment is not one of them. So we take a Roman court, a Roman authority to give the sentence of death to a prisoner. Now within these two major trials there are breakdowns. For instance, in the Jewish trial Christ will appear before Annas, former High Priest father in law of the present High Priest. Then he will appear before Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, Caiaphas being the present High Priest. Then he will appear before the Sanhedrin. For the Romans he will appear before Pilate, then before Herod, then back before Pilate. And we move through those two major trials and really the six parts, three with each, the sentence will be done, the crucifixion will take place.

Verse 57, Jesus has been arrested in the garden. Matthew 26:57, betrayed by Judas, arrested by the soldiers at night. What Matthew does; he does not break down these trials into all their detail. You have to look at the other gospels. For example John’s gospel chapter 18 tells about him taken first to Annas’ house, then to Caiaphas and so on. But here Matthew just pulls it together in summary fashion of what is taking place. Now I want you to note as we go to talk about these trials, the law is broken. This is a sham to begin with. I mean we already saw that the religious leaders in the Sanhedrin have already decided He has got to die. Now we just have to find a reason to do it. But even within then the trials, they are not handled according to law. Jesus was not offered a defense attorney which the law said He was entitled to. Some of the proceedings took place at Caiaphas’ house. And yet the law required they take place in the temple precinct. They were not allowed to try and hear witnesses during the night in a capital case. Some of these rules were to prevent the very things from happening. You don’t arrest someone in the middle of the night, try him and have him pronounced guilty and execute him. So one of the guarantees was you can only give testimony during the day time on a capital offense. Obviously by the time we get that far along, things are pretty well done. And lastly they were required after hearing all the evidence in a capitol sentence to wait two days before rendering a verdict. Obviously that is not part of what takes place. And that is not surprising they don’t follow the legal technicalities because they have already decided what the end has to be. We are just trying to make it happen in a way that will have a semblance of acceptance.


The Sanhedrin is the Jewish governing court. The ruling body of Israel is the Sanhedrin. Seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees, Pharisees, Scribes, Elders. Twenty-three members formed a quorum. So you don’t have to have a large number here to get done what they want to have done. So the lead Him away to Caiaphas the High Priest. The Scribes and Elders are gathered together. Peter is following at a distance. Peter is brought into view here because Matthew is going to unfold the details of Peter’s denial. So he will talk about the trials, the trial here. Then he will talk about Peter’s denial. Then he will go back to the trial. Then he will talk about Judas’ end. Then he will go back to the trials. So you’re going to work the two key people in here, the two disciples, one a believing disciple who fails, one an unbelieving disciple who goes to destruction, that being Judas.

Peter was following him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the High Priest. He entered and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. So this is Peter, the one who is going to stand with Christ though everyone else forsakes you. Now he is sort of slinking along. He is in the group out here. John gives some of the details on how this occurred in John 18. We won’t go over there in verses 15 and 16 how Peter got in to observe this. John the disciple knew some of the people and had Peter admitted to this. That is just a note. Then he goes on with the trial. And we are going to pick up Peter later. And you understand how Peter got to be here.

“Now the chief Priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any even though many false witnesses came forward.” You see something of the life of Christ. He is the Lamb of God without blemish and without spot. There was no sin in Him. He was a man who has carried on such a public ministry and yet they can find many people who will come and make false accusations, but they can’t find anybody with credibility of any accusations that will stick. You see what kind of court this is. Isn’t there anybody who can bring anything up. Sure he did this. But even they have to admit there is nothing here. There is nothing here.

Finally two witnesses come forward and they say he spoke against the temple. That was a serious offense. That is the same accusation they will bring against Steven at the end of Acts chapter 6. He spoke against this holy place. You know it is so typical when the true spiritual vitality and life begins to leave. We become more focused on the physical things. And here they are more concerned that somebody say something evil about this physical structure. Well that shows Him to be an evil man. That is what they are looking for. See they want to discredit him before the people. Anybody who would speak against the temple, has to be evil. So what did he say? He said I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. He did say that. In John’s gospel chapter 2 verses 19 to 21 He said, “I will destroy this temple and in three days build it up.” They said this temple took 46 years to be built. But John goes on to say he was talking about the temple of His body, this physical temple. But even this is pretty shallow.


So what the High Priest does is ask Jesus to testify against Himself. I mean we are bringing up all these witnesses. Now by their own recognition we don’t have any credible ones. But don’t you think You ought to speak up. Tell us. Verse 62, “What is it that these men are testifying against you?” “But Jesus kept silent.” Remember Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7 written centuries before this. “As a Lamb” [a sheep] “before the shearers is speechless, so it will be with this one, the Lamb of God.” But now the High Priest takes an oath. “I adjure you by the Living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” So he is the High Priest of the nation and he requires Christ by oath, you tell us whether or not you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. And those are titles of Messiah and titles of deity. In Matthew chapter 16 verse 16 Peter testifies to Christ, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” To say He is the Son of the Living God is to declare Him as Messiah. God’s Messiah, God as Messiah in effect when you declare Him the Son of God.

But Christ does not stop there. Jesus responds in verse 64, “You have said it yourself. What you say is true. I am the Christ the Son of God. Nevertheless I tell you” [Let Me tell you something further] “hereafter” [at a future time] “you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Christ takes two Messianic passages, Psalm 110 verse 1 and Daniel chapter 7 verse 13 and applies them to Himself. Yes, I am the Christ the Son of the Living God. And at a time in the future you will see Me sitting at the right hand of power, referring to the Father who is the source of all power, and coming on clouds of heaven, which is what Daniel chapter 7 tells us is what the Messiah would do when He took possession of His kingdom.

This just throws the High Priest into turmoil. He tore his robes. He has blasphemed. What further need do we have of witnesses; besides we couldn’t find any. You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? They answered, He deserves death. You understand where we are. They do have a statement to deal with now. What is the responsibility of this court? To evaluate the evidence. Do not the Old Testament scriptures declare what Christ has just declared of Himself, Psalm 110, Daniel 7? Do not the Old Testament scripture prophesy the coming of the Messiah to rule over Israel, one who would heal the sick and feed the poor and so on? The responsibility of this court now is to evaluate the evidence to see if indeed He fulfills the Old Testament scriptures. But you see their hearts are closed to that. They know the evidence is overwhelming. We don’t want to hear the evidence. They know. We read John chapter 11. He has raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. They know about the other miracles. They have not been done in hidden places. They don’t want the evidence for His claim to be presented.

The verdict is rendered without a willingness to consider who He really is, which is the basis on which most people reject Jesus Christ, without seriously considering what He has said, who He is, what He has done. So we read this and say this is appalling. But it is the same kind of attitude that continues to characterize people who are unwilling to face the reality of who Jesus Christ is. Oh yes celebrate Palm Sunday, celebrate Easter, sure, I am all for that. Talk about Him as a Savior; talk about me as a sinner, talk about the absolute necessity of turning from my sin and believing in Him for forgiveness and all of a sudden things begin to get tense and tight. I don’t want to consider the evidence. I don’t want to be confronted with the truth.

You see things can quickly here dissolve into manifesting what it really is. Verse 67, “Then they spat in His face, beat Him with their fists. Others slapped Him and said, “prophesy to us you Christ. Who is the one who hits You.” This is a trial? This is a court room? This is the religious governing body of the nation? This is the way trials are carried out? This is a pathetic situation.


From here we break into Peter’s situation. Peter is still here. He is observing. Now we sort of break into the movement of the trials. What is Peter doing? I mean this is the man who in the garden wanted to take out his sword and do battle. This is the man who said if everybody forsakes you, I will die with you. Now is his chance to step forward. Now is his chance to stand and a little servant girl comes up and says hey I recognize you. Verse 69, “You were with Jesus the Galilean.” Amazing the way the Devil works. Here is brave Peter. Here is a little servant girl. He denied it. I don’t know what you are talking about. I mean me with Galilean? Well, he starts to retreat. Another servant comes up and said, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth” the end of verse 71. Again, he denied it with an oath. He swore not me. A little later the bystanders come up and said “surely you are one of them.” Your talk gives you away. The Galileans had their own accent. Like people from the South come north, they have an accent. The Galileans came south; they had an accent. Then he began to curse and swear, I do not know the man. Then the rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said, “Before the cock crows, three times you will have denied Me, three times before the cock crows. He went out and wept bitterly.”

We always say how could Peter do it. And what an opportunity He missed. What a privilege to be the only one who would step forward and stand. You know I can understand Peter’s situation. It doesn’t make it right. How often have you been in a situation where somebody asks you about something that relates to your testimony of being a believer and you just don’t want to get into it. I mean at least Peter we could say had good reason. He knows Christ is on trial for His life. And to be identified with Him would put him in the same position. How easily we are intimidated. You know part of the problem goes back to verse 41 of chapter 26 when Christ was in deep prayer and agony in the garden before the betrayal. Peter was sleeping with the rest of the disciples and in 26:41 Jesus said to him, “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Oh, yes I want to be faithful. Yes I want to do it. I want to stand with the Lord. The flesh is weak. I need sleep. Christ says you need prayer. You don’t realize the seriousness of the moment. I mean how often we are in that. We don’t realize the seriousness of the moment. I am sleeping when I ought to be praying. I need to be ready and prepared.

Peter is a godly man. He will be restored to a right relationship with His Lord. We know the outcome. He becomes a very faithful follower. This is a tragic and sad event when he denied the Lord, but it fulfills Old Testament scriptures. It is a follow through of what happened in the garden when they all forsook Him, and He is left to die alone.


We pick up in chapter 27 with the trials. ?Now when morning came, all the Chief Priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death. They bound him and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilot the governor.? We have to go to the civil authorities now. We have rendered the verdict. Now we need their authority to execute Him. See they want it to be done with a semblance of legality. This is Passover time in Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews have poured into the city from all places. Many of them have come talking about Jesus. And they are wondering where He is. What will they do? What will the Jewish leaders do to Him? They want to have a semblance of legality here. The Romans are here in force because they rule this area with the rest of the world. They realize that at times of major events like this there is the potential for things to get out of hand. Pilot is down from his headquarters in Caesarea all a part here to keep things in order. So they take Christ to Pilot the governor. They are asking for a death sentence.
Now verse 3 picks up with Judas. What about Judas, the man who betrayed Him? And Matthew unfolds the remorse of Judas. And it stands in contrast to the genuine repentance of Peter. And Peter is overwhelmed with His sinfulness in rejecting Christ, and he is grieved to heart. He will be restored in that relationship to Christ and become a faithful servant until his martyred death. Judas recognizes things have gone beyond what they should. Evidently Judas didn’t think the betrayal would result in the crucifixion. I don’t know what he was thinking. You know there is one thing about sinners. They don’t think very clearly. They are hostile in mind toward God. They are futile in their thinking. What was Judas thinking would happen when he betrayed Christ? But he wants to come back now and undo what he has done.

You know there is two kinds of repentance or remorse. One is genuine like Peter’s. It leads to change. The other is the sorrow over what happened. You know I am speeding down the road and the policeman stops me. Well, I am angry at the policeman and I am sorry about the fine, but I don’t regret the speeding. I mean I am in a hurry. Don’t the police in this city have anything better to do than pick up law abiding citizens who have good reason to be breaking the law? Well, that shows I don’t have a true repentant heart. Then I go home and dump on my wife about how unfair and unjust and wrong it was for them to give me a ticket. I mean I should know. So, we recognize the difference between the kind of true repentance of Peter and that of Judas. Judas would like to undo what he did. It is like me saying, officer, I will back up to the corner and come through again going the speed limit. Or don’t give me a ticket, I won’t do it again. You know Judas wants to undo what he has done. He wants to give back the money. He returned the 30 pieces of silver. He says in verse 4, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

One thing that is going to come out through these trials... Judas declares Christ innocent. Pilot will declare Him innocent. Herod will declare Him innocent. Pilot’s wife declares Him innocent. One thing that is firmly established is that He is the Lamb of God without blemish and without spot. He does not deserve to die. It is the testimony of all. The Sanhedrin has already born testimony to that. They can’t find anything that He is really guilty of or worthy of death.

So the response of these caring religious leaders, verse 4, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” “What is that to us? See to that yourself.” That is your problem, not ours. Do they care whether He is innocent or not, Christ? No. Do they care that Judas has done wrong? No. But they are very, very scrupulous about their religious convictions. Judas in despair throws the money into the temple and goes out and hangs himself. Remember Jesus said it would have been better for the man who betrays Him that he never have been born.


Now you find these religious leaders in verse 7 conferring together. Verse 6 they said, “The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury. It is the price of blood.”” Isn’t it amazing how religiously careful they can be. Here they are in the process of condemning an innocent man to death, not just an innocent man, the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel. But they have to have a conference and decide, oh we couldn’t put this money back in the treasury. This is blood money. So they bought a potter’s field to bury strangers. A potter’s field where they mined clay to make pottery, so there would be caves and so on here. It would be a good burial place. Very philanthropic. Isn’t this a deed of thoughtfulness? We are concerned that people who don’t have a place to be buried that are not Jews. We’ve provided a place for them. You see the two sides. That’s why sometimes it is so confusing. We see people like these Jews using money, buying a field for the burial of strangers. We say look at their compassion and concern. But these are the people who have determined in their heart they will murder the Son of God no matter what it takes.

They fulfill the scripture in it verses 9 and 10. The prophecy of Zachariah in Zachariah chapter 11. “They took with 30 pieces of silver the price of One whose price had been set by the sons of Israel, they gave them for the potter’s field, they gave them as the Lord directed me.” That was the words of Zachariah. You now even in this seeming emotional response of throwing the money in the temple and the Jews taking the time to decide what to do with the money and so on, all fulfills the sovereign plan of God concerning His Son.

Now verse 11 we pick up the account again. They took Jesus to Pilot. Jesus stood before the governor and the governor questioned Him saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, “it is as you say.” While He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. And “Pilot said, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge so the governor was quite amazed.””

Turn over to John’s gospel chapter 18, John chapter 18. There are going to be three parts to this trial before Pilot. First He is going to appear before Pilot. Then Pilot is going to send Him to Herod. Matthew doesn’t record that. Then Herod is going to send Him back to Pilot and Pilot will render the final verdict. This is really the civil trials before civil magistrates or authority. Let me tell you how Pilot comes on the scene here. It is fascinating history how God has brought everything together so that it all happens according to His purpose. Herod the great was on the throne when Jesus was born. He is the godless man who had all the children, babies under two years of age at Bethlehem executed in an attempt to destroy the Messiah. Herod the great died in 4 BC. We are a little bit off on our calendar, so Jesus is born Before Christ in the calendar, He is born about 6 BC. Following the death of Herod, his kingdom, (Now remember the Romans ruled the world. Herod was appointed by the Romans to rule Palestine) is divided among three sons. Archelaus, one son gets the region of Judea and other areas. Another son, Herod Antipas gets the Galilean region, the region of Galilee. The third son we are not concerned about. Phillip gets the northeastern territory. Now Archelaus who ruled the realm of Judea where Jerusalem is centered proved to be such a wicked and vile man, the Romans couldn’t tolerate him. They removed him. They replaced him with a Roman governor. Pilot is the fifth in the line of these Roman governors. So you have a son of Herod, Herod Antipas ruling over the region of Galilee. You have a Roman governor ruling the region of Judea and then you have another son of Herod ruling in a further out territory. There is naturally constant friction because you know what happens when you get rulers in adjacent territory. They are always jockeying for power. And both Herod Antipas and Pilot ruled at the whim of the Romans. Part of what the Romans were concerned about was whoever they put into an area had to be able to rule that area and keep it from being a trouble spot. If it became a trouble spot, the Romans would replace it with a more fit ruler.

Pilot had his headquarters in Caesarea, not Jerusalem. He comes down to Jerusalem for the trial or for the Passover and these events. That is where the trial will take place. Pilot is a poor ruler. He rules for ten years until 36 AD. And there is some secular history of some stuff that he did which was dumb. He hates the Jews. He is proud. He is cruel. In fact in 36 AD the Romans finally removed him because he slaughtered some Samaritans who did what he didn’t like. That only causes trouble for the Romans so they recalled him to Rome. But he did things when he came. He coined money with a pagan symbol on it which offended the Jews. He had to backoff of that because of the turmoil it created. He had Roman soldiers bring shields into Jerusalem that had a symbol on it that offended the Jews. He had to backoff of that. He used temple money to build an aqueduct. He slaughtered Jews who opposed that. Jesus referred to the fact, he mixed the blood of some who were offering sacrifice with their own blood. I mean he just was a cruel, wicked man, incompetent in many sense, proud. He hated the Jews. So here you have this Roman mini-authority here and yet we see some things in him. You say well there were certain things you appreciate. He recognized Jesus’s innocence. He would like to set Him free. But he doesn’t have the courage to do it.

So Jesus stood before the governor and questioned Him. And we read that account. And Jesus doesn’t answer him. In Matthew chapter 18 where I had you go, you had an unfolding of more of the details that would take place where they lead Him into the praetorium with Pilot. Pilot talks to Him. Verse 33 says, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “did someone tell you this or do you recognize this?” In John 18:35, Pilot said, “Am I a Jew?” Your own nation delivered You to me. What have you done? There is a certain arrogance here. Why would I call you king of the Jews? I am not even Jewish myself. You’re own people don’t accept you. What is the problem here? What is the real issue? Jesus tells him, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it was my servants would fight.” In other words, My kingdom when it is established will not be established by earthly power. It will be established by divine power. Pilot said to Him verse 37, “So you are a king.” Jesus said, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born. For this I have come into the world, to testify the truth. Everyone who is of truth hears my voice.” And that infamous question of Pilot, “What is truth?” And then he goes out. And his testimony is verse 38, “I find no guilt in Him.”


Come back to Luke chapter 23, Luke chapter 23. Now remember, Herod Antipas still rules the region of Galilee. Christ is a Galilean. He is from Galilee. Herod is down at Jerusalem for the feast. Pilot hears Herod is in town and he says I’ll transfer him over to Herod. I mean Christ is from Herod’s territory. Let him handle it. So verse 6, “When Pilot heard that Christ was a Galilean. [He learned verse 7 of Luke 23, He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction] he sent Him to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at that time.” Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus. For he had wanted to see Him for a long time for he had been hearing about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. You see word had spread around. Oh, now I have got this great miracle worker. I am going to see him. I am going to see Him. Good he will do something for me. So this is a circus kind of thing. Come in and do something. Do a miracle for me. Put it on the level of a common magician really. Amazing. When Jesus confronts Herod, he answers him nothing. Verse 9. The chief priests and scribes are there accusing Him vehemently. Herod with his soldiers after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilot. I mean they just mock Him. You see the whole thing is a cruel joke in their thinking. It is just a man to be scorned, to be ridiculed, to be made fun of. Yeah He is a king. Give him a robe. Hitting him, mocking Him as a prophet. Guess who did it. Amazing how Christ unites people.

You know Christ divides people, but then He unites the people He divides. He divides between believer and unbeliever. He unites those who believe in Him into a relationship of oneness with Himself. But you know He also unites those who are opposed to him. So you read in verse 12, “Now Herod and pilot became friends with one another that very day.” Before that they had been enemies of each other. But you see what Pilot had deferred to Herod. Here is a man accused, it’s from, He’s in your territory. I don’t want to usurp your power. You make the decision. Well, that appeals to Herod’s pride. But you know after seeing him, send him back to Pilot. You know we are really in Jerusalem. It’s your territory. I defer to you. Isn’t it amazing how sinners like each other. Stroke my pride and we can agree on a common enemy.

Well, come back to Matthew. Things are rapidly moving to a conclusion. If we had gone on in Luke 23, Pilot again declared that he didn’t find any fault in Christ, and he said neither did Herod. So you have the testimony there of really His civil trials. Herod not being you know he is ruler over Jewish territory. He is not Jewish. He is not part of the Jewish court. He is ruling as a political ruler. He is not guilty. I don’t find anything wrong with Him. This man doesn’t deserve to die. Pilot, “I don’t find anything worthy of death in the man.” Well, the Jews said we have a law. He deserves to die.


So verse 15 of Matthew 27, “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people one prisoner whom they wanted.” That was a practice. The governor had the right. That was a way again to curry favor. I have a prisoner here. He is guilty of a capital offense. He is going to be executed, but, you know, I can let him free. So he gives them a choice. They were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Scripture tells us that Barabbas was guilty of insurrection against the Romans. That is a capital offense. He also was guilty of murder. He killed people during that insurrection, a capital offense. I think Pilot thought that even these Jews in their hatred would not be willing to execute an innocent man and set the guilty man free. Yet even a man of Barabbas’s character is set free. The people gathered together verse 17. “Pilot said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ? For he knew because of envy they had handed Him over.”” He knows what’s going on with the Jews.

“While he was sitting on the judgement seat . . .” Here is a little additional blurb. His wife sent him a message saying “Have nothing to do with that righteous man.” Another testimony to the character of the one who is on trial. “For last night I suffered in a dream greatly because of Him.” Now you have to appreciate the Roman’s attitude toward dreams. In 44 BC Caesar was sitting on the throne. His wife was troubled with dreams that on the ides of March her husband would be executed at the senate. So she begged him not to go to the senate on that day because of the dreams that she had had. Every Roman knew what happened. Caesar went to the senate and was assassinated. So, here Pilot sits and he knows this man is innocent. He knows these trials are a fake. He has talked with Christ personally. Something of the truth has convicted him, not to salvation but to the point he wants him to be set free. What a position.

The Jews will not have it. Verse 20, “The chief priests and the Jews and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas.” Verse 22, “What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They said “crucify Him”. He said why. “What evil has he done?” This is the man who has to make the decision. He said there is nothing wrong. You want me to condemn an innocent man. Now they box him in. When Pilot saw that he was accomplishing nothing rather that a riot was starting. Now he is in trouble. They have accused him, as you read the different accounts, if you let him free you are no friend of Caesar. He claims to be a king. Now I have two problems. If a riot starts Rome will have to intervene. That means Pilot can’t handle it. He should be removed. Secondly, if this comes well I wasn’t willing to kill an innocent man. The Jews will say we had a Jew who wanted to be our king and we wanted to be faithful to Rome and the Emperor. But Pilot wanted to protect this false king. Is Pilot going to win that battle before a Roman court? It doesn’t excuse Pilot but he is in a bad spot.

So he orders water in this again infamous scene and washes his hands before all the people. In effect saying I am driven to this verdict by you. But it is not my verdict. I am not accountable. You know you just can’t wash your hands of Jesus Christ. You know, awesome, when you think someday Pilot will stand before Jesus Christ as his judge. He couldn’t wash his hands of Christ. “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.” “All the people said, His blood shall be on us and on our children. He released Barabbas, had Jesus scourged and turned Him over for crucifixion.”


You know we would say as we read this just as secular history, this is one of the greatest tragedies that could have occurred. What an awful, terrible event. But you know other innocent people have been executed. But, what we have here is a man whose offense was He was God in the flesh, He revealed through His teaching the very character of God. He revealed through His conduct the very character of God. He revealed through His miracles the very character of God. And they could not stand it. The religious people could not stand it. They would not have Him be king.

And amazing in it all through the trials and what is happening, it is all part of what the scripture prophesied. Peter would say in Acts chapter 2, “You have taken according to the predetermined plan of God the one who is none other than the Messiah the Son of God and have by the hands of wicked men, crucified Him.” But it was the predetermined plan of God. Why? Jesus Christ came to be the Savior. So, as He took His disciples to Jerusalem the Son of Man is going to Jerusalem to be crucified. After three days He will be raised up. He is arrested in the garden. The trials are not legal. The plan of God is thwarted. No. Even the sinfulness of man accomplishes the purposes of God. He is absolutely sovereign. Jesus does not open His mouth. Isaiah said He wouldn’t. Isaiah also said that the Lord would place on Him the sins of us all. We see all kinds of people here. Peter, Judas, the Jewish leaders, the Jewish Populus, Pilot all confronted with Jesus Christ. But in it God’s Son will die on a cross to pay the penalty for sin.

Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 puts it this way. “God has made Him who knew no sin,” who was sinless, I find no guilt in Him, this righteous man. I am guilty of innocent blood. “God has made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf,” to take our sin, “in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This is the great demonstration of love, in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Isn’t it amazing? Christ is dying to pay the penalty for the sin of those who hate Him, who reject Him, who aren’t willing to have anything to do with Him. Don’t say yes, they are terrible people. They are people like us, alienated from God, hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds as Colossians 1 said. We are just like them. We are sinners. We need the forgiveness of holy and loving God. He has made that possible through the provision of His Son, Jesus Christ. These trials are part of the plan of God in providing His Son to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now we are called to deal with Jesus Christ, to confront the reality of our sin, the reality of the fact that He is the Son of God who loved us and died for us.

The tragedy in it all is there are still people who will not bow before Him. They will not acknowledge that their sin is so great that Christ had to die to pay the penalty. They will not let go of their self-righteousness and bow before Him. What a terrible tragedy. But what a glorious event. We are celebrating the fact that God has provided a Savior so that you can be reconciled to God by having your sin forgiven and brought into a relationship with Him. There is no other way. There is no other name among men under heaven whereby we must be saved. This is it. One God and one Mediator, the man Christ Jesus. Have you come to believe in Jesus? Have you come to be confronted with Him as Pilot did and Herod did, as Judas did? I can’t help but realize, Judas sat under the ministry of Christ for three years and died an unbeliever. Awesome. Some people will sit under the ministry of God’s word and die in the same state. I trust it won’t be you. Let’s pray together.


Thank You Father for what we have just considered. The trials of the one who is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Lord, we recognize the King who died. He came to give His life a ransom for many. He came because there was no hope. The wages of sin is death. He came that we might have life. Lord, I pray that each one here might consider very carefully the One who we have talked about, might consider what it means that Jesus the Son of the living God was going to be crucified on a cross. Why? They might see their own guilt, that it was for our sin that He died. And Lord by Your grace I pray they might see that only by turning from their own self-righteousness, turning from their sin, casting themselves on Your mercy, believing that Christ died for them can they have forgiveness and cleansing. But how our hearts are thrilled today that the redemption you have provided in Christ. That forgiveness is full enough and complete enough to cleanse every single man, woman and child who will bow before you in faith believing in Christ. And we give You the praise in His name, amen.