J Philip Bible Readings

^"28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” ³² This was to fulfil the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

³³ So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. ³⁹ But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber."

John 18:28-40

We come now to Jesus' appearance before Pilate. We have seen in our studies of the other gospels that there were two sides to our Lord's trial, there was the religious, or ecclesiastical charge of blasphemy, and there was the civil or political charge of treason. The Jews were very cunning in their manipulation of these charges. They wanted Jesus put to death because He had claimed to be God - this they regarded as blasphemy. But blasphemy was not an indictable offence in Roman law, and Pilate would not be interested in punishing or putting anyone to death for being a blasphemer. So when the Pharisees and chief priests went to Pilate, it was a charge not of blasphemy but of treason that they preferred against Him. And treason being an indictable offence, Pilate was obliged to take notice of it. We noted, in our studies in Matthew, the parallel between this twofold charge and the charge that could be levelled against Adam in the Garden of Eden - the blasphemy of wanting to be 'as gods, knowing good and evil' (Genesis 3:5) and the treason of rebelling against God's rightful rule. The significance of the trial is precisely that Jesus stands in for guilty man, to take to Himself this twofold charge, and meet the consequences of assuming it as His own. The very question Pilate asks Jesus (35), 'What hast Thou done,' is the question God asked of Adam and Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:13). Here is the second Adam taking the place and assuming the guilt of the first, as Redeemer and Sin Bearer. Christ once suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.