6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
8 Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; 9 and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Message: The Source of Pilate's Authority
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: The details of Jesus' arrest, interrogation, and verdict are interesting. In the end, He is given up to be crucified. I now see from the reading of my lesson today in Tabletalk that in the last passage, that Pilate tried to appease the Roman officials by going forward with a light flogging (scourging and crown of thorns), but then presented him to the officials as a man, "Behold, the man." Pilate was in a way trying his best to allow Jesus to be innocent as there wasn't a crime Jesus was committing from only Pilate's perspective that would result in Jesus needing to be crucified. But the Jewish leaders still wanted Him crucified.
Pilate gave him over to the leaders in verse 6, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” However, once again the leaders pronounced another accusation and that is Jesus is being made out to be the Son of God. Previously in verse 3, He was said to be, "Hail, King of the Jews" and now the accusation is expanded to be that He proclaims to be the Son of God, meaning He claims to be God. This would violate Leviticus 24:16 according to Jewish law, "Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death."
Pilate still didn't have a reason for carrying out the sentence of crucifixion, but at the same time didn't want his authority usurped and as an official he was charged with carrying out the local laws. And so the Jewish leaders want Pilate to know that he has a responsibility to enforce the breaking of their laws. He asked Jesus of His identity, to defend Himself and yet He also knew that His crucifixion was necessary. Pilate's position of authority was a gift from God. A reminder that our rulers are in their position for a reason. Sometimes this is a hard thing to see and realize given the acts of many leaders.
Other verses:
Daniel 2:20-21 - Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding." Thus, in God's sovereign will He is over the rulers of our land. But His reasons are not readily apparent and these rulers remain accountable for their actions. I think often of Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." What seems random to us is not random with God and yet we remain accountable for our actions. He controls everything and He does it for our good.
Mark 14:21 - "For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." To me, this identifies that God is in control and yet here Judas, his actions are still accountable before God.
Romans 13:1-7 - 1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. - Our response to rulers is obedience. We are to do good. We are to pay taxes. Rulers are servants of God. Render to them what is due. And yet we are not to go along with evil.
James 4:17 - Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. This is a tough verse. Do right, and if you don't, you have done wrong. Another great reminder of the sinners that we are. For we are not perfect, however hard we try to be. We will make mistakes. Be true to yourself. Live with integrity. Do the right thing always. Yet, this works the other way as well in that we must stop sin which is the right thing to do.
Summary: Pilate finds no guilt in Jesus, but the Jewish leaders up the ante to include Jesus proclaiming to be Son of God. Pilate feels obligated to enforce Jewish laws as well and Pilate receives his authority from God.
Promise: If we fail to stop sin when and where we can, we are guilty of sin.
Prayer: Lord God, at times your ways are a mystery to me. And yet there is purpose in Your ways. I know this. Ultimately, you knew I needed a way to be made whole and accepted by You and this was through sacrifice and atonement for sin. History always looked to you for this answer. You are sovereign and in control and I continue to discover the meaning of those words. And yet through all of your crucifixion - arrest, interrogation, and verdict -- you remained innocent and made it clear that those accusing you were the guilty one's. It reminds me of the evil intent of some people and their desire to be god, to be judge and jury. Each of us wants justice served. I want justice in my life and see this often in the work I do on the job, thinking I know the best way to do things and struggling to submit to authority. It is hard to be a leader. We all do what we think is best. We may be right or wrong, but we still have the responsibility to do what we think is right. Help me to always support good and when I see evil, to come against it. Give me the strength to do this. I want to be the best person I can be in all situations. It is hard though and I need your strength to make that happen. Help me to do the right things at work and not engage in activity that is not honoring to You. Thank you for your sacrifice. You took it on willingly but it still came at a cost and you still suffered. You still experienced crazy pain for me. O how we hate pain. I fear death to the point that the taking of my life will result in some sort of pain - like a heart attack or cancer. Life taking from me will result in pain and that is a cause for concern. My dad fears it as well. I know. But, help me to not be paralyzed by that pain and know that Your grace will be sufficient. There is something waiting for me at the other side of the pain and discomfort. O God, give me patience and endurance. I need it now. Calm me. I need your strength always.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
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