Innocent, but a New Charge

Lesson #312

We ended the previous lesson with the verse: “When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”” (John 19:6 ESV). If Jesus had just come from being scourged, he would show marks of cruel punishment. As Jesus stands quietly and with meekness before the chief priests and the officers, they are infuriated and with hatred for who is their King and Messiah, and cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” These Jews are determined on evil and cannot be reasoned with. Every argument used to defeat their plans seem to encourage them to press on with even greater determination to overcome him.

In total frustration, Pilate sternly says to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” At this point Pilate is satisfied of the innocence of Jesus and will not pronounce the death sentence. If you want Jesus dead, then you take him yourselves and you crucify him. You take the responsibility and assume the consequences because I don’t want to and do not believe that I should and remember, Pilate would have said, you will need my consent and without it you will stand guilty before the law and will face justice for your actions.

The Jews, hearing this, bring a greater charge: “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”” (John 19:7 ESV). On the original charge of being a king, the Jews were now convinced that Pilate would not grant the death penalty, so they bring a different charge and pressure him again. The Jews had already arraigned Jesus on the charge of calling himself the Son of God and condemned him for blasphemy (See Matthew 26:63-65).

“When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid” (John 19:8 ESV). Because of the teaching of Jesus and its support by his miracles, Pilate probably had some idea that Jesus was someone rather unusual, but now to have Jesus accused of being the Son of God, he probably wondered who Jesus really was. The conscience of Pilate was probably beginning to bother him, causing him to fear the vengeance he might suffer if he put to death an innocent man who might have some special relationship to a god. It is clear that Pilate is convinced that Jesus is innocent and even for a pagan this additional pressure from the Jews about who Jesus is, is causing serious agitation within him.

In the next lesson the drama will continue as Pilate again confronts Jesus to try to determine who he is.

Prayer

Father, how amazing this is, that Jesus had to be condemned by sinful men to die on a cross in a public setting as a sinner. He was without sin, but being condemned as a sinner he took upon himself our sin and died in our place thus setting us free to be clothed with his righteousness to be able to stand before a righteous and holy God. How amazing that out of such evil you were to bring our salvation. In a similar way in countries of persecution, you are bringing out of such evil the growth of the kingdom of God.