1 And the whole company of them rose up, and brought him before
Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man
perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar,
and saying that he himself is Christ a king. 3 And Pilate asked
him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him
and said, Thou sayest. 4 And Pilate said unto the chief priests
and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man. 5 But they were
the more urgent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching
throughout all Judæa, and beginning from Galilee even unto this
place. 6 But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man were a
Galilæan. 7 And when he knew that he was of Herod’s jurisdiction,
he sent him unto Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in these
days.
8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was of a
long time desirous to see him, because he had heard concerning
him; and he hoped to see some miracle done by him. 9 And he
questioned him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And
the chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him.
11 And Herod with his soldiers set him at nought, and mocked him,
and arraying him in gorgeous apparel sent him back to Pilate. 12
And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day:
for before they were at enmity between themselves.
13 And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and
the people, 14 and said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as
one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined him
before you, found no fault in this man touching those things
whereof ye accuse him: 15 no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back
unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by
him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 18 But
they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and
release unto us Barabbas—19 one who for a certain insurrection
made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison. 20 And
Pilate spake unto them again, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but
they shouted, saying, Crucify, crucify him. 22 And he said unto
them the third time, Why, what evil hath this man done? I have
found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and
release him. 23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that
he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 And Pilate
gave sentence that what they asked for should be done. 25 And he
released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into
prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their
will.
The Jews had been deprived by their Roman conquerors of the right to
inflict capital punishment. When, therefore, their chief council had
decided that Jesus was worthy of death, the rulers brought him to Pilate,
the Roman governor, that he might confirm their sentence and execute the
cruel penalty of crucifixion. The trial before Pilate developed into a
disgraceful contest between the murderous and determined Jewish rulers and
the weak and vacillating Roman governor, who was at last compelled to act
contrary to his conscience and his desire and to submit his will to that
of the subjects whom he detested.
Luke gives only a bare outline of the story, which is sketched best by the
apostle John. Enough, however, is given to show the infamous baseness of
the Jews and the futile endeavors of Pilate to avoid the judicial murder
which he finally committed. The Jewish rulers had asked Pilate to
pronounce sentence without hearing the charge; this Pilate properly
refused to do. When the accusation was made, Luke shows most clearly how
craftily the decision of the Jewish court was perverted, and how forcibly
the false charge was presented. Jesus had been convicted of claiming to be
the divine Messiah. It was the claim of deity, and thus of blasphemy, on
which he was condemned. The Jews knew that this would make no impression
on Pilate. However, the office of Messiah did imply rule and authority,
and therefore the claim of Jesus was distorted into a political offense
and he was charged with sedition, with forbidding tribute to Cæsar, and
with claiming to be a king.
How absurd all these accusations were, Pilate soon learned; he probably
was not a little suspicious of the sudden zeal for their Roman tyrants
shown by these rebellious Jews. However, he lacked the courage of his
convictions; he declared Jesus to be innocent, but fearing to offend the
rulers and the crowds whom they had won to their will, he hesitated to
release Jesus. That was a fatal step; the only thing to do is to act with
decision and promptness as soon as one sees what is right. It is surely
true in matters of conscience that “he who hesitates is lost.”
Then Pilate did what all weak men are apt to do: he attempted to avoid
making a decision; he tried to shift the responsibility; he learned that
Jesus was from Galilee, and so Pilate sent Jesus to be judged by King
Herod, within whose realm Galilee lay. Herod was then in Jerusalem, and he
was eager to see Jesus, of whom he had heard so much, and he hoped that
his curiosity might be gratified by seeing Jesus perform some miracle.
However, when appearing before Herod, Jesus refused even to answer him by
a single word. Jesus has a message for every penitent, and a miracle for
every believer; but for the murderer of John and for the shallow, sinful
profligate there is only silence and contempt.
To wreak upon Jesus a petty revenge, Herod mocked Jesus by clothing him
with royal apparel, and sent him back thus arrayed to Pilate. It was a
cruel jest, but it was an acquittal of Jesus as guilty of no political
offense. Thus Pilate was forced to act as judge; others cannot decide for
us questions of conscience. When compelled to act, Pilate attempted a
second maneuver familiar to all weak souls; he proposed to compromise. He
would do what was wrong but he would avoid the crime of murder. He offered
to scourge Jesus, whom he declared to be absolutely innocent, or to
release him as a notable criminal, as one such was usually released at
this feast. On the one hand, he would be subjecting Jesus to the most
agonizing bodily torture; on the other, he would brand Jesus as a
malefactor who had deserved death. Compromise in a case of conscience is
always a sign of weakness, and the enemy is sure to press his advantage.
As the rulers saw Pilate yielding thus far, they asked for the release of
a notorious murderer by the name of Barabbas; and as they saw Jesus coming
forth from the scourging, torn and bleeding, they cried out for his life,
“Crucify him, crucify him.” As Pilate hesitated, the rulers used their
most deadly weapon; they suggested that they would report Pilate to the
emperor as shielding a political revolutionist; they would imperil the
position and life of the governor. This attack Pilate could not withstand;
when some personal loss was involved conscience was no longer to be
considered. He decided to do what he knew to be wrong; he “gave sentence
that what they asked for should be done;” and so doing he placed himself
near the head of that long list of moral cowards who share his eternal
infamy for fearing to do the right.
The degradation of the Jewish rulers was even greater. With all their
knowledge of the moral law, they who professed to be special
representatives of God put to death his Son, and chose a murderer instead
of the Saviour. To the tragedy of such a choice Luke refers with horror in
the only personal comment he makes upon the scene. V. 25. Are not
thousands, however, making that same choice to-day? There can be no
neutral ground; indecision is impossible: one must choose either Barabbas
or Christ.