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by Sandy Shaw
John Chapter 19 verses 1 to 16. Having looked at the first part of the trial of Jesus and examined its many various facets, we now turn from the ecclesiastical trial, for that is what it was, to the civil trial. Yes, there was an ecclesiastical trial of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is quite shocking what religious people will get up to at times.
Already so many points concerning elementary rules of law and justice have been offended and broken. The Sanhedrin’s judgement was just illegal. This court which was to decide Jesus’ case was also an accomplice in His betrayal. Members were inextricably implicated in the secret plots that had culminated in Judas’ act of treachery. These same men were now going to act as jury.
The trial did not begin with a definite charge against the accused as Jewish law demanded. The problem Caiaphas and his friends had, was to find any charge at all on which they could commit Jesus to Pilate.
When the witnesses disagreed and when no charge was forthcoming, the court ought to have abandoned the case.
The judge, Caiaphas, was also one of the leaders for the prosecution. (John 11:49,50)
He would rather break the law a hundred times than let Jesus Christ slip through his fingers.
There were no witnesses for the defence. No voice was tolerated except the voice of the persecutors. It was Jesus Christ against the world. Yet, He was about to sacrifice His Life to rescue and save the world.
Perhaps the crowning illegality of it all was its haste. It was hurried through in the dead of night.
O, the brief morning meeting at sunrise gave it a faint show of legality, but, the midnight investigation was a flagrant breach of its own laws.
That was not the worst. There was a law that in capital charges sentence of death could be pronounced only on the day after the trial. Twenty four hours had to elapse.
This was a very fair system.
There was a further law that such serious cases were not to be heard at all on the day immediately preceding a Sabbath or one of the great festivals. Both these laws were broken.
They wanted Jesus out of the way lest there be any popular rising among the people in His favour!
His accusers flung principle to the winds and tore justice to shreds.
When Caiaphas and his friends had done their work Jesus was marched off to Roman Governor Pilate. He had been procurator for six years and he had not found it an easy posting. He was a rather harsh administrator and his methods made him unpopular. He despised the Jews and failed to appreciate their religious significance.
Pilate had caused images of Caesar to be carried through the streets of Jerusalem and the people had not forgotten that. It was a flagrant breach of conciliatory policy. He sent his soldiers amongst the crowd causing blood shed and massacre. (Luke 13.)
Neither the Sanhedrin nor the people had much love for Pilate. But, the Sanhedrin wanted Pilate on their side.
He began well demanding a definite statement of the charge. (John 18:29)
This was quite awkward. The charge was blasphemy and that was a religious matter which was unlikely to carry much weight with this irreligious Roman. It certainly would not be deemed worthy of the death penalty.
Verse 30 would not satisfy Pilate. He pressed for further information. They moved away from that charge and introduced TREASON – (Luke 23:2). Jesus was accused of perverting the nation. This was slander. He forbade paying taxes to Caesar which was just a deliberate untruth – (Luke 20:25). And, Jesus claimed to be a king. This was true but not in the sense which they implied.
Having heard these three charges, Pilate decided to examine Jesus in private.
Throughout all this, Jesus Christ was composed and poised and acted with dignity and kingliness. This was no ordinary wrongdoer!
The interview was soon over. His verdict was “Not guilty!”
This inflamed the passion of the crowd and Pilate could see trouble ahead.
What was he to do? I will send Him to Herod. Luke 23:7. Jesus is a Galilean and that is Herod’s jurisdiction. Herod happened to be in Jerusalem, but this did not work!
The second one was just as dastardly. He could find no fault with Jesus so he would scourge Him and release Him. (Luke 23:16). Of course, no-one has ever been able to find fault with Jesus. Pilate is trying to do his duty.
This satisfied no one. The murmur of “Crucify” becomes a tumultuous shout.
O, there was one further possible escape route. He set Jesus over Barabbas. (John 18:39).
John 19:12 – A voice calls out from the crowd – if you let this man go you are not Caesar’s friend! That settled it. It was his career against the life of Jesus. Jesus would have to go!
What do we see? Is it Jesus Who is on trial? Or is it Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate who are on trial? That was one long dark crowded messy night, in which there was a bright full moon, as it was Passover. Light and spiritual darkness were clashing and colliding.
“Behold the man – behold the Lamb of God – behold your king – behold your GOD!”
Remember, that away back in John Chapter 10, Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep. No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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