Author: Jeff Englund

…but Jesus gave him no answer.  “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Pilate is starting to wonder about who Jesus is and what he is. When asked where he comes from, Jesus simply does not answer.

Pilate is not used to being ignored. As governor in a world where life is cheap, he is used to people being afraid of him. When he asks a question he always gets an answer. But not today. Today, standing before Jesus, Pilate’s question is ignored.

John’s picture of Pilate is sketchy, but we still have quite a bit of information.

Pilate is a man who holds a high official position with the Roman government.

The chief priests and the crowd that brought Jesus came early in the morning. (Had Pilate even had his coffee yet?)

Immediately the Jews start making demands of Pilate. He doesn’t like that and he doesn’t agree with them.

Emotions are running high on both sides. Pilate is afraid.

Then Pilate finds out that Jesus might be the Son of God. Now Pilate is more afraid.

Nothing seems normal on this most unusual day. The supposed criminal is acting like the adult in the room, and the supposed adults outside are acting like criminals. Finally, Pilate lashes out in frustration, “Don’t you realize I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus’ answer fits in well with this most unusual day. He says, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Application: In the midst of pressure from the crowds, abuse by the soldiers, incredible pain from the wounds on his body and Pilate’s questioning, Jesus gives a brilliantly rational statement of fact. Power comes from God above. Even the power to crucify his own Son. We would do well to remember that at home, at work, and in the public square. Life is better when we see it the way God sees it.

Food for Thought: Jesus tells Pilate that the power he has over himself comes from God. What were the extents of this power? Did Pilate have the power to choose not to crucify Jesus?

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Continue reading “Power – John 19: 9b-11a”

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ‘’Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus…

At this point, Pilate is starting to wrestle with the same question we have wrestled with throughout John’s gospel. Where did Jesus come from? Jesus consistently speaks as if he is not from around here. He talks about coming from the Father and going to the Father. He says that before Abraham was, “I am.” He looks at the world and the people in it as if he had traveled a long way to visit.

Now Pilate asks, ”Where do you come from?”

Pilate’s relationship with Jesus is unique. Pilate has not come to Jesus to be healed. Pilate is not interested in the arrival of the Messiah. Instead, Jesus is brought to him and presented as a man deserving punishment. The only problem is that to Pilate’s eye, Jesus does not appear to be guilty of anything. Now the Jews tell him that Jesus claims to be the Son of God.

Application: Before there can be faith, there needs to be a sense of wonder. The man who is confident that he knows everything there is to know is not open to something or someone larger than he is. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is recorded as saying, ”Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18: 3) A child’s mind is open to wonder. In today’s passage, we see Pilate starting to wonder. The door of his mind is opening a tiny crack to the possibility of something beyond imagination being real. Like Pilate, we need to open our minds to the wonder that is the reality of God on earth.

Food for Thought: Do you allow yourself to wonder? Do you feel wonder is safe or dangerous? Why?

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Continue reading “Wonder – John 19: 8-9a”

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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Continue reading “Motives and Madness – John 19: 6-7”

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Two threads run through this story of Pilate and the Jews. One is the battle between the Jews and Pilate over whether Jesus should be crucified. The other is the idea that the reason Jesus should be crucified is because he claims to be king of the Jews.

If Pilate had better understood the Jews, he would have recognized that the “king of the Jews” was a hot button topic. What Pilate was mocking when he glibly referred to the king of the Jews was not the crowd’s accusations. He was mocking the Jew’s hope for a real king that had been promised to them by God. Each time Pilate mentions the “king of the Jews,” he pours gas on the raging fire of the angry crowd.

In today’s passage, Pilate avoids using the words, “king of the Jews.” Instead, he says simply, “Here is the man!” When Jesus stands before the crowds, “the man” wears a purple robe and a mock crown. Even without words, the message is still the same: Jesus is the one who claimed to be the Messiah, the true king of the Jews. For this affront, this blasphemy, Jesus must die. Instead of calming the crowd, the situation has grown worse. Pilate’s words and actions are at cross purposes with each other.

Application: In his book, ”The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People,” Stephen Covey lists one of them as ”seek first to understand, then to be understood.” If Covey had been around in Pilate’s time, Pilate might have paused to try and understand what was bugging the Jews so much about Jesus. Instead, in his ignorance, he made the situation worse. We can learn from Pilate’s mistake by being sensitive to the emotional needs of others. We can try to understand what makes a person tick before we push for what we want.

Food for Thought: As Jesus stands before the crowd what thoughts might have been going through his head?

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Continue reading “Cross Purposes – John 19: 4-5”

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, ”Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

Pilate thought he might make inroads with the Jews if he had Jesus flogged. John describes this event with three short verses. It is likely that those who first read John’s gospel were familiar with what was involved in a flogging. Today it depends on which part of the world you live in. Far too many people today know what a flogging means because they have seen it first hand. Far too few know what it means because they do not know their history. For brevity’s sake, let’s just say that flogging was a very bad thing. Especially a Roman flogging.

In addition to the flogging, the Roman soldiers thought they might have a little fun with the idea that Jesus was a king. After all the Jews were pushing the idea as if it were a fact, and the Governor was publicly mocking the idea.

To make the point more graphic, they put a wickedly sharp “crown” of thorns on Jesus’ head. I’m just guessing here, but it seems likely to me that the men who just spent a quarter of an hour whipping Jesus to within an inch of his life were none too gentle when they put it on.

Then they mocked Jesus. Then they slapped him.

It should be pointed out that they were not just mocking Jesus. They were also mocking the Jews. The Jews had claimed that Jesus was a threat because he claimed to be king of the Jews. The solders shredded the skin on Jesus’ back, bloodied his head with a ring of thorns, and put a robe on him. The idea that what was left of Jesus was either a king or a threat to Rome was laughable.

Application: Sometimes things that happen to us are not just about us. The Romans were likely mocking the Jews more than they were mocking Jesus. Jesus was being mocked, there is no doubt. Yet the larger point was Pilate’s effort to mock the Jews themselves. Sometimes it helps to realize that it is not about us. When we let go of our hurt in the moment and give it to God, we allow God’s will to be done. At the same time, we avoid being sucked into a vortex of bitterness and rage.

Food for Thought: It may be that Pilate thought flogging Jesus would help get him released. If this is the case how would that work?

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Continue reading “Mocked – John 19: 1-3”

They shouted back, ”No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

This seems like an odd verse to write a meditation on.

“So…” you might be thinking, “… the crowds shouted for Barabbas. So what?” If you didn’t think that, I apologize. But that was my initial thought. Then I started to ponder the irony and hypocrisy of the whole situation.

The claims against Jesus made before Pilate are vague. After all, Pilate would have little to no interest in the theological arguments that the Pharisees held against Jesus. What the Jews needed was some way to manipulate Pilate into crucifying Jesus. What they came up with was akin to saying Jesus was organizing an uprising against the Romans.

The idea that Jesus claimed to be “king of the Jews” could be seen in two ways. The legitimate view is that Jesus, the Son of God, is literally the king of the Jews. The view that the chief priests suggested to Pilate was that the claim that Jesus was king was a direct threat to the Roman Empire. Like the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, the Jews focused on the physical. They suggested Jesus wanted a physical kingship. The claim was that Jesus wanted to be king bad enough to try and overthrow the Roman governor.

In his offer to free a prisoner, Pilate pairs Jesus with Barabbas. In a way, this is a test. Barabbas was a real threat to the Roman Empire. Barabbas had actually taken part in an uprising. If the Jews were all that concerned about protecting their Roman governor, they would want Barabbas locked up if not put to death.

In choosing to let Barabbas go free, the Jews revealed themselves. They cared nothing for the Romans. Freeing Barabbas proves that. All they wanted was to see Jesus dead.

Application: The text of the gospel does not explicitly tell us that Pilate was testing the Jews. Yet we can see the results. The Bible teaches that we need to judge for ourselves and judge correctly. (John 7: 24) Sometimes to make a correct judgment we have to go beyond the words presented to us. Sometimes a test is in order.

Food for Thought: If you were advising Pilate, what would you tell him after watching the Jews choose to set Barabbas free rather than Jesus?

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Continue reading “The Jews Revealed – John 18: 40”

But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?

At this point in Pilate’s encounter with the Jewish leaders, he makes two mistakes. Assuming that he prefers to see Jesus go free, Pilate attempts to negotiate with the mob. For some reason which I cannot fathom, Pilate thinks that if he offers to let Jesus go free that the crowd would want him set free. This is the same crowd that brought Jesus in to be crucified. The second mistake, as I see it, is that Pilate refers to Jesus as ‘the king of the Jews.’

If Pilate had come out to the crowd and shamed them by pointing to Jesus as one of them, things might have gone differently.

“This man is no different than any of you!” he might have raged. “He has not broken Roman law nor has he hurt you in any way. You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves!”

But Pilate didn’t take that approach. Instead, he mocked them and mocked their religion by calling Jesus “king of the Jews.” It was like throwing gas on a fire. The people were insulted and angered by Pilate’s words. Some of the people in the crowd might have been by Sea of Galilee when they wanted to make Jesus king by force. Many were likely in the crowd when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of, “Blessed is the king of Israel!” These people were like a scorned lover. They had wanted Jesus to be their king. But Jesus was not the kind of king that they wanted, one who would fight their political battles for them. Now they were happy to help the chief priests throw Jesus to his death.

Pilate’s attempt to bargain with them failed… miserably.

Application: Fortunately, none of us will ever be in the position of bargaining for the life of our savior! Still, there is something to be learned here. Sometimes crowds can be fickle. People you thought were your friends might one day be your worst enemy. It is important to remember that Jesus has been there and knows what that is like. It is also important to remember that even when the whole world seems to be against us if we are pleasing Jesus everything else will be okay.

Food for Thought: Was there anything Pilate could have done to avert having Jesus crucified?

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Continue reading “Bad Bargain – John 18: 39”

With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ”I find no basis for a charge against him.”

At this point in the conversation, Pilate was likely irritated or frustrated.

Pilate was in a tough spot. In front of him was someone innocent of any wrongdoing by normal standards. Outside of the palace were the people Pilate was supposed to be governing. These particular people, the Jews, were not like other people that the Romans had conquered. These people were stubborn and stiff-necked. They were not easily cowed. They resented their Roman overseers and it was not uncommon for members of their race to form groups and rebel. Today, instead of rebelling, they were using their Roman governor to do their dirty work and have someone killed. Pilate didn’t like this situation one bit.

To his credit, Pilate is not indifferent to the truth, or the fate of an innocent man.

Pilate could have taken the easy road and simply given in to what the Jews were asking of him. Instead, he finishes his interview with Jesus and he goes out to face them with a report that they will not like: “I find no basis for a charge against him.”

Pilate understands enough about truth to know it when he sees it. He may not understand fully who Jesus is, but he recognizes his innocence of wrongdoing. By some means we cannot see, he concludes that the crowd outside is lying about this man, Jesus. Instead of conforming to the crowd, Pilate proclaims the truth.

Application: Pilate is in a tough spot. This is possibly the toughest spot in the history of tough spots. On one hand is Jesus, the embodiment of truth, love, mercy, peace, and joy. On the other hand is the crowd, a witches’ brew of deceit, anger, envy, hate, and enmity. Standing up for truth is hard, yet Pilate is willing to make the effort, not for personal gain, but because it is the right thing to do.

Food for Thought: How would this story about the crucifixion be different if Pilate had not cared about the truth?

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Continue reading “Truth Proclaimed – John 18: 38b”

”In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
”What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

What is truth? Pilate’s question is simple, yet profound.

In the world Pilate lives in, truth changes depending on who is in charge. If the Romans are in charge, then their idea of truth is what people use. If Pilate had been a slave in a world ruled by a Jewish king, then the rules that king espoused would be his idea of truth. Political truth is a matter of power. The strongest political force gets to define reality.

We see this played out in the Old Testament. Good kings recognized the truth of God and honored him. Bad kings said truth was worshipping foreign gods or idols of wood and metal.

From a spiritual perspective, truth is not affected by politics or power. Truth is what is. God exists and the truth of that claim will be self-evident to everyone when they pass from this life to the next. The truth of God’s word is self-evident to people who recognize the reality of God. The truth of who Jesus is and what he said and did will also stand the test of time.

Application: Truth is not the same thing as belief or knowledge. A person can “know” something they read or heard, and they might believe that it is true, but that doesn’t make it true. Only by knowing God can we hope to understand what is true. (Proverbs 1: 7)

Food for Thought: What truth was Jesus born to testify to?

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Continue reading “Truth Revisited – John 18: 37c – 38a”

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king.”

Once again we are caught up in the back-and-forth between Pilate and Jesus.

Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?

Jesus answers, “Is that your own idea?”

Pilate responds, “Am I a Jew?”

Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Pilate says, “You are a king, then!”

Jesus replies, “You say that I am a king.”

If the topic wasn’t so serious, it would almost sound like an old vaudeville act. One reason Jesus cannot come out directly and claim to be a king is that Pilate has no context for understanding what kind of king Jesus is. The word “king” does not really begin to describe the power and majesty of Jesus. If Pilate understood who Jesus was, he would not be able to proceed with the crucifixion.

Application: We live in a world that is blind to the reality of Jesus and who he is. When we testify about Jesus it helps to keep that in mind. People in the world will need help understanding who Jesus is.

Food for Thought: How would you describe the kind of king that Jesus is?

Bonus Question: Are there any other reasons why Jesus would not confirm to Pilate that his is a king?

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Continue reading “A Kind of King – John 18: 37b”