Book of John 19:1-17 April 29, 2023
Last time, we covered the Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus.
Jesus faces Annas and Caiaphas
Peter denies Jesus 3 times
Six trials (three Jewish; three Roman, we covered)
Finally, Jesus is Before Pilate:
Remember, Pilate declares Jesus innocent but is becoming
“uptight” over the whole issue because of the Jewish Leadership and what they
threaten to do.
John 19:1 So then Pilate
took Jesus and scourged {flogged} Him.
Scourged Him”: Scourged without cause (an illegal act
before sentencing).
The scourge was
made of thongs to which were attached sharp pieces of metal and pieces of bone.
The prisoners were beaten across the back, having the flesh and sometimes the
organs torn. Many prisoners died from this cruel punishment.
Pilate intended to punish Jesus and then release
Him.
Luke 23:16 So I will
punish him and let him go."
The scourging was more severe than any of us realize.
Jew’s limit: 39 lashes. Romans had no such limit. They often used rods.
A hint at the severity: He couldn’t bear the cross
Luke 23:26 Now as they
led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming
from the country, and on him they laid the cross
that he might bear it after Jesus.
He was unrecognizable as a human
Isaiah 52:14 Just as many
were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of
men;
Mark 15:15 So Pilate,
wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered
Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
John 19:2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and
put it on His head, and they put
on Him a purple robe.
Where did the
Romans Soldiers do all of this
Mark 15:16-17 The
soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. (17) They put a purple
robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
Matthew 27:29-30 and then
twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and
mocked him. "Hail, king of
the Jews!" they said. (30) They spit on
him, and took the staff and struck
him on the head again and again.
Notice: “And they put a reed into His right hand” - in mockery of the regal scepter.
“And they bowed the knee before Him”
The crown of thorns was
in mockery of a kingly crown. Placing a purple
robe on Jesus made Him a description,
or imitation of a person of a royal
conqueror, making fun of Jesus, a mock coronation now being enacted.
But, why crown of thorns”: It was a crown of "Thorns" that drew blood from our Lord’s
head.
Genesis 3:17 He told the
man, "Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten
from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because
of you. You'll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.
Genesis 3:18 Both thorns and thistles
it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. vs 17, cursed.
Crown of twisted thorns, a symbol of the Curse brought
about because of man’s sin in Genesis 3, sign of the earth’s
curse.
Crown of thorns also has symbolic meaning, Did Jesus become curse from the prophecy in Genesis when the soldiers
put the crown of thorns on His head.
When does the curse end?
Revelation 22:3 There
will no longer be any curse. The
throne of God and the lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him
Galatians 3:13 The
Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law
by becoming a curse for us. For it
is written, "A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!"
The Roman
soldiers unknowingly took an object of the curse and fashioned it into a crown
for the one who would deliver us from that curse.
John 19:3 They kept
coming up to him and saying,
"Long live the king of the Jews!"
Then they began to slap him on the face.
One at a time,
a mocking, sarcastic echo of what the soldiers had heard at Jesus’
triumphal entry or at His trial.
“Pilate...went forth again”: Jews refused to enter the
praetorium for fear of ritual defilement. Again, Pilate pronounced Jesus
innocent. The charges should have been dismissed.
John 19:4 Pilate went
outside again and told the Jews,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
Do you think
Pilate was appealing to the people’s compassion so that he could
release Jesus.
John 19:5 Then Jesus
came out, wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe. And
Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"
During all
this, Jesus was meek, patient, and calm, giving evident, His proof of
innocence.
The Jewish
leaders anticipated an outburst of pity. Therefore they began demanding Jesus’
death.
John 19:6 Therefore, when the chief priests and
officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify
Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him
and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."
“Crucify,” like fans in a stadium following cheerleaders.
This was the
third time Pilate declared that he could find no legal grounds for capital
punishment or fault in Him. Pilate proclaimed Him innocent. (John 18:38;
John 19:4)
Interesting,
this is Pilate formal acquittal of the charge of sedition and rebellion that they had
made. He had committed no crime against Roman law. Hence, if punished, it must
be by their law.
So, how does
the Jews answer. Failing in their purpose, they now fall back on their charge
of blasphemy: "He made himself the Son of God. Their criminal charges having come to
nothing, they give up that point, and as Pilate was throwing the whole
responsibility upon them, they retreat into their own Jewish law,
John 19:7 The Jews
answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the
Son of God."
The real motive of Sanhedrin is finally revealed
“...made himself the Son of God”: Blasphemy was the real
reason
As governor,
Pilate was bound by Roman custom to respect Jewish law.
Leviticus 24:16 As it is
for the resident alien so it is to be with the native born: when he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death.
John 19:8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that
saying, he was the more afraid,
Why was Pilate more afraid, could it be, Pilate knew the
accusation were false and could deliver Jesus from death, but when the Jews brought a charge against him
of the most capital nature, from their own laws, he then saw that he had
everything to fear, if he did not deliver Jesus to their will.
The Sanhedrin
must not be offended, the Jews must not be irritated: the Jews might send a
complaint against him to Caesar; the Jews might revolt or proceed to some acts
of violence. Do you think Pilate knew
about Jesus’ miracles, how Jesus acted throughout the trial and to his wife’s
message.
To a pagan leader, the God-man possibility required
investigation: Greek and Roman mythology filled with accounts of gods living
among men.
John 19:9 and went again into the Praetorium, and
said to Jesus, "Where are You from?"
But Jesus gave him no answer.
This statement
arouses the fear of Pilate. He had never seen such calm dignity and majesty
before. Could this prisoner be divine?
Where are from?”: Where are you from, really? Fear.
(The sixth of seven questions...)
Jesus already told Pilate that His kingdom not of this world {John 36,
37}
John 19:10 So Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to speak to me? You realize, don't you,
that I have the authority to release you and the authority
to crucify you?"
Pilate was irritated
by Jesus’ refusal to speak. Pilate falls back upon the pride of the
office. He was not accustomed to be met with silence.
John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at
all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you
has the greater sin."
Jesus breaks
the silence and at once assumes the position of Pilate's judge. Jesus was not, therefore, to be concern by
any claim of power in Pilate hands. His life was not in his hands. Christ submitted because it was the Father's
will that he should drink the cup.
Jesus
acknowledged that Pilate had the power to take His life, but only because God
allowed him that power. This is Christ’s last words to Pilate and Last
official testimony before being crucified.
Acts 2:23 After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified this very man and killed him by the hands of lawless men.
Jesus’ trial before Pilate took place in seven stages: 4
were outside and 3 trials were inside
John 19:12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this
Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes
himself a king speaks against
Caesar."
The Jews
shifted their focus from the religious charge to the political charge, which
they backed up with an appeal to Caesar’s own political interest.
This moved
Pilate to deliver Jesus into the Jewish hands.
Not Caesar’s friend: The Jews resorted to blackmail.
(Caesar’s Friend: a formal title of honor among Romans). Personal loyalty
questioned.
John 19:13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and
sat down on the judgment seat in a place called The
Pavement, which in Hebrew is called Gabbatha.
{being raised, elevated, means ridge of the House}
The Pavement
{pavement of stones}, identified by some scholars as the place in the Fortress
of Antonia where Pilate pronounced the death sentence against Jesus
John 19:14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the
sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
This is about 9 a.m. in the morning
Behold your King”: Pilate is declaring Christ’s Kingship. Having
now made up his mind to yield to them, he takes a sort of quiet revenge on them
by this irony, which he knew would sting them.
John 19:15 But they cried
out, "Away with Him, away
with Him! Crucify Him!"
Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar!"
The Jewish
leaders preferred proclaiming a heathen emperor as their king to
acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah.
We have no king but Caesar”: Roman rule affirmed!
The Result: An official denial of the King of the Jews
Hosea 3:4 For the
Israelites will live many days without king or
prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones {pillars - worship of Baal}, without ephod {priestly garment} or household gods.
Interesting, around 40 years later, these same Jewish
Leaders died miserably in rebellion against Caesar when Jerusalem fell to the
Roman armies.
The Crucifixion
John 19:16 Then he {Pilate} delivered Him to
them {Soldiers} to be crucified.
Then they took Jesus and led Him away.
“led Him away”: “led” as lamb to the slaughter.
Isaiah 53:7 He was
oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
The most significant event in human history was about to
be accomplished. There was no formal sentencing.
Then Pilate “washes his hands” and declares he is
innocent;
Matthew 27:24-25 When
Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was
starting, he took water and washed his hands in
front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said.
"It is your responsibility!"
(25) All the people answered,
"His blood is on us and on our
children!"
Interesting, from the standpoint of Satan, it was both a
triumph and also a defeat.
It was a triumph for Satan to bruise the heel of the
woman’s seed as had been foretold.
Genesis 3:15 "I'll
place hostility between you {Satan}and the woman {Israel}, between your
offspring and her offspring {Lord Jesus}. He'll strike you on the head, and
you'll strike him on the heel."
{heal – suffered terrible but temporary injury – raised}
It was a defeat because the head of Satan is yet to be
crushed: that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil”.
Hebrews 2:14 Since the
children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his
death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil
Romans 16:20 The God of
peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with
you.
As a side, at the same time, Mark said
Mark 15:15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
John 19:17 And He {Jesus}, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew,
Golgotha,
The Place of
a Skull probably got its
name from the shape of the hill
Prophecy verse: Jesus died outside the camp, because Jesus became sin
Hebrews 13:11-13 For the
bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. (12)
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify
the people with His own blood, suffered
outside the gate.
(13) Therefore let us go forth to
Him, outside the camp, bearing His
reproach.
