The Red-Letter Words of Yeshua ~ Part 173

Passion Week ~ Trial Before Pilate ~ Part 4

In our last post, we explored Yeshua’s Trial Before Pilate. Yeshua appears again before Pilate in this post.

Crown of Thornes

¹ Pilate then took Yeshua and had Him flogged.  ^{[1]  27} The governor’s soldiers took Yeshua into the headquarters building, and the whole battalion gathered around Him. ²⁸ They stripped off His clothes and put on Him a scarlet robe, ²⁹ wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on His head, and put a stick in His right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of Him and made fun of Him: “Hail to the King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spit on Him and used the stick to beat Him about the head.  ^[2]

The whole battalion consists of 600–1,000 soldiers. They probably were stationed in Yerushalayim to provide extra security during Pesach. With their mock royal robe, crown, and scepter, the soldiers ridiculed Yeshua’s Messianic claims.

Pilate Displays Yeshua to the Crowd

⁴ Pilate went outside once more and said to the crowd, “Look, I’m bringing Him out to you to get you to understand that I find no case against Him.” ⁵ So Yeshua came out, wearing the thorn branch crown and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look at the man!” ⁶ When the head cohanim and the Temple guards saw Hm, they shouted, “Put him to death on the stake! (Crucify Him!) Put him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You take him out yourselves and put him to death on the stake because I don’t find any case against him.”

Pilate now goes forth again with Yeshua wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and hopes by the spectacle to move the people’s sympathy and prevent the rulers’ design. Had he found proof of a legal crime, he would have ordered His execution and not have led Him forth in this mock royal attitude to move the people’s feelings. Usually, Pilate’s decision would be final, but the Jews would not let the matter drop.

“Look at the man!” conveys a sense of “Look at that poor fellow!” In His mock regal clothes, Yeshua made a heartrending sight. In the context of Yochanan’s Gospel, the statement may also highlight Yeshua’s humanity and invoke Messianic passages such as Zechariah 6:12.

Yeshua Questioned Again

⁷ The Judeans answered him, “We have a law; according to that law, he ought to be put to death because he made himself out to be the Son of God.” ⁸ On hearing this, Pilate became even more frightened. ⁹ He went back into the headquarters and asked Yeshua, “Where are you from?” But Yeshua didn’t answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to Him, “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you understand that it is in my power either to set you free or to have you executed on the stake?” ¹¹ Yeshua answered, “You would have no power over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above; this is why the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”  ^[3]

The Jews’ comment may refer to Lev 24:16: “Whoever blasphemes the name of Yahweh is to be put to death.“ Pilate was more afraid than ever. Earlier that morning, his wife’s dream disturbed him (Mattityahu 27:19).

Pilate Tries to Set Yeshua Free

¹² On hearing this, Pilate tried to find a way to set Him free; but the Judeans shouted, “If you set this man free, it means you’re not a ‘Friend of the Emperor’! Everyone who claims to be a king is opposing the Emperor!”

“Friend of the Emperor” was a technical term sometimes used as a title of honor for provincial governors and here as a sign of loyalty.

¹³ When Pilate heard what they were saying, he brought Yeshua outside and sat down on the judge’s seat in the place called The Pavement (in Aramaic, Gabta); ¹⁴ it was about noon on Preparation Day for Pesach. He said to the Judeans, “Here’s your king!” ¹⁵ They shouted, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Put Him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You want me to execute your king on a stake?” The head cohanim answered, “We have no king but the Emperor.”  ^[4]

Pilate Washes His Hands from the Whole Affair

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing but rather that a riot was starting, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “My hands are clean of this man’s blood; it’s your responsibility.” ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and our children!”  ^[5]

Verse 25 has been used to justify the persecution of Jews through the centuries by Christians who presumed that the Jewish people had invoked a curse on themselves and on their posterity and willingly accepted responsibility for their decision. But a mob cannot speak officially for anyone, let alone for a people. Nor, in the light of Ezekiel 18, can anyone invoke a curse on unborn generations. Moreover, even were e curse effectual, Yeshua prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Besides, if the Jews were the only ones who killed Him, He didn’t die for anyone else. But He died for all, not just for Jews: the righteous Messiah died for everyone who is unrighteous, which is to say, for everyone. Everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, is a sinner. By sinning, everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, killed Him. Therefore everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, is guilty of Yeshua’s death. See Yochanan 3:16; Romans 3:23, 5:7–8; 1 Yochanan 2:1.

In our next post, Bar-abba is released, and Yeshua Is Led Out to be Crucified.

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^[1]  Yochanan 19:1.
^[2]  Mattityahu 27:27–30.
^[3]  Yochanan 19:2–11.
^[4]  Yochanan 19:12–15.
^[5]  Mattityahu 27:24–25.