As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
Finally! After all this time, the Jewish leaders let Pilate in on their secret. The real reason that they want Jesus killed. The motive for their madness.
When they first showed up at the governor’s palace they claimed that Jesus was a criminal. No crime was specified. So Pilate is left to try and figure out from the accused what, exactly, he was accused of. Pilate and Jesus talk about what it means to be “king of the Jews”. Pilate is not impressed with Jesus as a threat. He declares that there is no basis for a charge.
The Jews refused to accept this tactic. Pilate tries to negotiate using a known rebel nobody would want as a bargaining chip. Nothing. Pilate then flogs Jesus and once again tries to give him back to the Jews. Pushed into a corner, the Jews resort to the truth. They let Pilate know that Jesus “… claimed to be the Son of God.”
Jesus didn’t just “claim” to be the Son of God. If that had been the case, the Jews probably would have ignored him or locked him up themselves. The real story is that Jesus didn’t just “claim” anything. Jesus also:
- Taught with authority
- Healed the sick
- Gave sight to the blind
- Made the mute speak
- Opened the ears of the deaf
- Fed thousands
- Calmed storms
- Walked on water
- Raised the dead
- Forgave sins
- Fulfilled prophecy
He did things that no other person on the planet had ever done or will ever do. He demonstrated all the traits that the Jews expected from their Messiah. Except that Jesus didn’t recognize the opinions of the chief priests and Pharisees as authoritative. Jesus knew the law of Moses better than they did. Since Jesus was the true Author of Life the priests and Pharisees should have bowed down to Him. But they didn’t. Instead, they decided to kill him.
Application: When we finally meet up with our Maker, there is a very real possibility that He won’t be what we expect Him to be. Jesus was a humble carpenter from Galilee. The Jews turned their noses up at such people because they talked funny. They were lower-class citizens. The one thing we don’t want to do is find ourselves unwilling to enter God’s mansion in heaven because we turn up our nose at the appearance of the Builder.
Food for Thought: Pilate wasn’t motivated by seeing Jesus’ miracles. As he says in verse 35, ”Am I a Jew?” Instead, he appears to be motivated by the idea that justice stands for something. If Pilate were willing to go toe to toe with the Jewish leaders to protect an innocent man, how would the news that Jesus might be the Son of God affect Pilate?
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Jesus also received worship. That is really what Pilate was ultimately created to do – worship Jesus. If Pilate knew who Jesus was and is, he would bow the knee to Him. But I do imagine hearing that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God would have struck some concern in the heart of Pilate. His wife was clearly concerned. We are all really in the same position. We must decide what to do with Jesus: Crucify Him, ignore Him or worship Him.
Hmm, I tend to think Pilate was looking out for his own skin, not really concerned with Justice. He was playing the political game and fearing reprisals from Rome. He and the Jews were political opponents. Pilate was known for being brutal and feared if a riot broke out he would be in trouble with Rome.
Rich & Nathan,
Thank you! I am of the opinion that even a pagan who believed in many “gods” could be fearful of the Jewish God. All of this is discussion is predicated on speculation of course. Was Pilate looking out for his own skin? That is a very real possibility. I would like to hear more about how this motivation would have caused him to confront the Jews like he did. It is an interesting puzzle trying to sort out the motivations behind individual actions.