John 19:17-27

(John 19:1-16)

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.  And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

 

There is a story about the misunderstanding of those in power and the Jewish contradictions of God. The first story is Pilate's misunderstanding. Pilate, knowing that Jesus' words and majesty he was not guilty, was terrified by the Jews saying that he was the Son of God and tried to release Jesus even more. He goes back to the courtyard and asks Jesus seriously. “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer. Pilate said with anxiety.

 

『 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 』 Pilate was firmly convinced that with his own power he could make judgments at his will. The position and authority as governor in the colony is the supreme and powerful. However, what Pilate misunderstood was that he did not realize that the authority and power came from God, and he thought that it was through his own efforts and power, and that he could enjoy and use it to his heart's content. Jesus had no intention of being released by Pilate's favor. There was no need to answer. But Jesus clearly tells Pilate where the authority of the power comes from.

 

『 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. 』The second concerns the Jewish contradictions. The governor of Pilate, who was judging Jesus, persuaded the people, condemned, and suggested a plan to release Jesus innocent anyway, but the Jews were indisputable.『 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?  Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. 』

 

However, Pilate also did not back down. This time he handed over Jesus to whip and insult the soldiers. Pilate thought that seeing Jesus suffering and ridiculing the people from severe torture would relieve their anger. This is because the lash of the Roman soldier was a cruel torture that accompanied the pain of being cut and torn. But the people still cried out to crucify Jesus. The high priests who agitated the people and screamed to kill him were saying that he was the Son of God. Pilate had already questioned Jesus and had a fear that the words might be true.

 

Pilate was really insignificant about the appearance of Christ brought before him, but when he heard that Jesus is the Son of God, he was caught in fear that he should not be exposed to the dignity of God that appeared in a man of lowly and despicable form. If the fear of God had such a great influence on worldly humans like Pilate, those who say they believe in God today but try to judge God and God's work as if they were joking around would face a more terrifying judgment than Pilate. will be.

Another contradiction concerns the Jewish king. Israel, whose father was Abraham, became God's people through God's special calling and covenant. They are the chosen people who serve God as king, and they are a nation and nation under the protection and control of God. In other words, God called them out of the world and made them a people who served God as king. However, they are yelling at Jesus, the Son of God and King of the Jews, saying, "Not our King." Pilate, a Gentile, called Jesus ``the King of the Jews,'' and tried to persuade him why he was trying to kill your king, and he tried hard to release him. did. Pilate made a great effort to free Jesus, but the Jews stubbornly refused.And the Jews cried out to kill the King Jesus and get rid of it. This was a foolish act that the Jews who served God as king in the world were agitated by the high priest. Israel had their eyes closed. God spoke beforehand through the prophet Isaiah.