Sermon Tone Analysis

Notes

Jesus had told his disciples that this would happen; that he would be delivered to the religious leaders, delivered to the Gentiles, and delivered to the cross.

He said in :33-34...

In the passage before us tonight, we see Jesus delivered to the Gentiles and then delivered to the cross.

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When Pilate asked Jesus, “ ‘Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above’ ” (John 19:10–11a).

As Jesus’ words indicate, God the Father was sovereignly working to accomplish His saving purposes in spite of the wicked schemes of evil men (cf.

Gen. 50:20)

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early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation.

Knowing that Jewish law required all trials to be held in the daytime, and wanting to maintain a veneer of legality, the council created a quick mock trial to condemn Jesus officially (Luke 22:66–71).

Phase #1: Questioned by Pilate (Mark 15:1b-5).

John 18:28 notes the hypocritical duplicity of the religious leaders as they arrived at Pilate’s quarters: “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.”

Incredibly, the chief priests and scribes sanctimoniously refused to enter a Gentile residence for fear of becoming ceremonially unclean, yet they had no compunction about lying in order to murder the Son of God (cf.

Ex. 20:13, 16).

Why did the religious leaders need Pilate’s help in murdering Jesus?

They had already declared Jesus guilty; they only needed the Roman governor to approve and exact his power of capital punishment.

Though the Sanhedrin occasionally executed people without obtaining official permission (Acts 6:12–15; 7:54–60; cf.

23:12–15), Jesus’ public profile was too high for the Jewish council to take that risk.

The chief priests and scribes hoped to avoid appearing responsible for His death, pinning the blame on Rome in case there were reprisals from the people (cf.

Matt.

21:46; Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19).

Why did God require Rome’s help in the murder of Jesus?

(reason = the cross)

It should be noted that God required Rome’s involvement to fulfill biblical prophecy.

The cross was foreshadowed in the Old Testament (Deut.

21:22–23; Num.

21:5–9; Ps. 22:1, 12–18; Isa.

53:5; Zech.

12:10) and explicitly predicted by Jesus in the Gospels (cf.

Matt.

20:18–19; John 12:32).

The Jewish people did not use crucifixion as a form of execution (traditionally carrying out capital punishment by stoning, cf.

Josh.

7:25; Acts 7:58), as the Romans did.

“You have said so” in v. 2 is also translated “It is as you say.”

amazed

To Pilate’s shock, though Jesus was falsely accused of serious crimes, He offered no testimony in self-defense.

Christ’s innocence had already been declared by the Roman governor (Luke 23:4; John 18:38), making any additional defense unnecessary.

Moreover, His silence fulfilled the words of Old Testament prophecy (Isa.

42:1–2; 53:7).

Phase #2: Before Herod Antipas ().

Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great (cf.

Matt.

2:1, 19), was a regional monarch who ruled over Galilee and Perea, under the jurisdiction of Rome.

Murderer of John the Baptist.

Herod then returned Jesus to Pilate without adding any charges, thereby affirming the Lord’s innocence despite the incessant accusations of the chief priests and scribes.

Just as the Sadducees and Pharisees united in their hatred for Jesus, former enemies Herod and Pilate became friends that day, finding common ground in their scornful disdain for the Man of Sorrows.

Phase #3: Back to Pilate and on to the Cross ()

When Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, the Roman governor found himself in a difficult political position.

Though he knew Jesus was innocent and wanted to preserve justice, he was concerned about offending the Jewish leaders.

Pilate’s tenure as governor had been fraught with brash missteps that angered his subjects.

What kind of man was Pilate?

Pilate’s folly began when he allowed his soldiers to enter Jerusalem, carrying banners and standards bearing the image of Caesar.

The Jews regarded such depictions as idolatrous.

The people, incensed by Pilate’s irreverent actions, traveled to his headquarters in Caesarea to complain.

After five days of protests, Pilate finally agreed to meet them in the amphitheater.

Rather than listening to their complaint, he sur rounded them with his soldiers and threatened to have them slain on the spot if they would not stop demonstrating.

The Jews refused to back down, defiantly baring their necks as a sign of their willingness to die.

Pilate realized that he could not carry out his bluff, since such a massacre would have sparked a larger revolt.

Humiliated, he reluctantly acquiesced and removed the images.

On a subsequent occasion, Pilate seized sacred funds from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem.

When the people rioted in response, the governor disguised his soldiers as civilians, sent them into the crowd, and commanded them to attack the protesters with swords and clubs.

Luke 13:1 refers to a similar occasion in which Pilate’s soldiers slaughtered a group of Galilean Jews while they were offering sacrifices in the temple.

That kind of brutality only fueled the people’s resentment toward Pilate.

Another conflict erupted when Pilate insisted on placing gold-covered shields honoring Tiberius Caesar in Herod’s palace in Jeru salem.

Again, the Jews were deeply offended, seeing the shields as idolatrous, and asked Pilate to remove them.

He stubbornly refused.

Finally, a Jewish delegation traveled to Rome and appealed directly to Caesar who, angered by Pilate’s insensitive provocations of the people, ordered him to take the shields down.

By the time of Jesus’ trial, Pilate had already put himself in a precarious political position.

If another bad report about him reached Caesar, it would likely spell his removal from power.

When the Jewish leaders told Pilate, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar” (John 19:12), he understood exactly what they were threatening.

Years later, around A.D. 36, Pilate blundered again when he unwisely ordered his troops to ambush a group of Samaritan worshipers.

When the people of Samaria complained to his immediate superior, the Roman legate of Syria, Pilate was summoned back to Rome.

After that, little is known about him.

According to tradition, he was banished in disgrace to Gaul where he eventually committed suicide.

Pilate thought he was caught between the want of the religious leaders and the want of the people.

But when the people also revealed that they too wanted Jesus crucified, he was no doubt relieved.

Before that, however, Pilate was looking for a way to satisfy everyone without killing Jesus...

declared Jesus innocent

offered to beat Jesus rather than execute him

thought they would select Jesus to go free (rather than Barabbas)

Ironically, the name Barabbas means “son of the father.”

Here the lawbreaking son of a human father was being offered to the people in the place of the sinless Son of the divine Father.

Pilate was glad to oblige when the crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

Aware of Jesus’ popularity from just a few days earlier (Mark 11:8–10), the governor was confident the crowd would never choose Barabbas.

Pilate’s plan was simple: when the multitude selected Jesus, there would be nothing the Jewish council could do.

He could preserve justice and at the same time garner favor with the people.

Thus, Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

By calling Jesus the King of the Jews, Pilate intentionally sought to snub the religious leaders (cf.

John 19:21), for he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

The governor recognized their motivation for executing Jesus had nothing to do with loyalty to Rome, and everything to do with safeguarding their influence and prestige with the people.

Unmoved by any option and driven by jealousy and pride, they rejected their own Messiah, the Son of God, because He exposed their hypocrisy, challenged their authority, and threatened their religion and power.

Put simply, He performed miracles, they could not; He proclaimed truth, they did not; He was from God, and they were not.

In the middle of the unfolding drama, Pilate received an unexpected message from his wife.

Matthew 27:19 records the peculiar incident:

:

another testimony to Jesus’s innocence

As the mob began to riot (cf.

Matt.

27:24), the mounting pressure on Pilate became overwhelming.

Another uprising would end his political career, and the only means of quieting the demands of this angry mob was to sentence Jesus to death.

Using a Jewish custom (Deut.

21:1–9) to symbolize his reluctance to grant their request, Pilate “took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves’ ” (Matt.