John 19:12

John 19:12 says, And thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him: but the Jews cried out saying, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever makers himself a king speaketh against Caesar."   Pilate was again ready to do the right thing.  He was going to release Jesus.  He had attempted to do it and still placate the Jews, but now he was ready to just do his duty and release Jesus.  When we attempt to justify doing right on the based on the actions of a mob, we are ultimately going to have to decide whether to do right or not regardless.  The Jews then accused Pilate of not being Caesar's friend if he released Jesus.  If they could not convince Pilate based on false charges, then they would appeal to him based on fear for his own safety.  If he released Jesus and a revolt broke out, he would be responsible.  If we deny Christ based on what the world may think of us or do to us, we are just like Pilate.  We are letting fear rule our lives instead of faith.  Though Jesus had said His kingdom was not of this world, His people, the Jews, were using the claim that He was going to establish an earthly kingdom to get Pilate to do what they wanted.  We need to ensure that we, as followers of Jesus, never allow fear to rule our relationship with Him.  Verse thirteen adds, When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and set down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, or in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.  Pilate, having already found no fault in Jesus, was ready to judge Him again.  Pilate was now more concerned with how Caesar would view his actions than he was the innocence of Jesus.  When people of the world today cannot convict Jesus on one lie, they will look to another.  When we as His followers allow the crowd to determine our faithfulness to Jesus, we will never be the witness we should be.  When we, like the Jews, actually work against Christ to be accepted by the crowd, there is something fundamentally wrong with our faith in Him.  We must stand for what is right, even if we stand alone.  Again, Christ is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.  We cannot say that there are areas of life where morality does not matter and truly follow Christ.

John 19:10

John 19:10, says, Pilate said unto Him, "Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have the power to crucify Thee, and have the power to release Thee?"  Pilate was in effect telling Jesus that He had better answer him, if not out of respect, then out of fear.  Pilate, like so many leaders or rulers was full of self-pride.  He had just declared that he found no fault in Jesus, but now said he had the power to crucify Him.  No ruler truly has the right to put the innocent to death, though they may have the authority to do it.  The more powerful the individual, the less the reason needed to put someone to death.  They, like Pilate, feel that everyone should be grateful to them for just allowing them to live.  Verse eleven adds, Jesus answered, "Thou could have no power at all against Me, except it were given unto Thee from above: therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin."  That was most likely not what Pilate was wanting to hear.  He had just declared how much power he had, and Jesus said he only had the power that God gave or allowed.  Pilate had become arrogant, since he felt he was in a position to either crucify or free Jesus.  Jesus said he was guilty of sin.  This had to have made Pilate angry, I would think.  We may feel that the way we react to Jesus today gives us a certain power over Him, but this is never the case. We do not have any power over God.  We are simply called to serve. Jesus said Pilates sin was not as great as those who brought Him to Pilate.  Does this mean that some sins are worse than others?  In our separation from God because of the sin, I don't think so.  We can start to justify our sins as being less important than the big sins, usually those of others, if we start to classify some sins as greater.  Any sin is great, because it separates us from God.  When we start to feel God should forgive our sins, but not those of others, we have made ourselves more righteous than them.  This is not what we are called to do.  If we decide that we can be forgiven and restored to a right relationship to God, but that others may be forgiven but still not good enough to be restored to a right relationship to God, and to His followers, we are not following what God teaches. Sometimes, we might even feel that our sins make us unworthy, but again, this is not what God teaches.  We are either fully forgiven and restored when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, or we are not restored at all. This is true for every person.  I think this means that they had a greater understanding of what they were doing than Pilate did.  We who understand the teachings of God and go against them have a greater responsibility than those who do not know.  Any sin brings with it the penalty of death, but Jesus provides forgiveness for all sins, if we accept it.  We need to remember that Jesus said that just the thought of sin is as great as the actual committing of the sin in the eyes of God.  Pilate, for all his feeling of power, was a secondary player in the crucifixion.  The Jews, God's people, were the ones who bore the main responsibility, so were more accountable for their sins. We, as followers of Christ, bear a greater responsibility when we fail to follow Him than do those of the world.  God's people, then and today, should know His truth and follow in it.

John 19:7

John 19:7 says, The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, for He made Himself the Son of God."  They did not listen to the judgment of Pilate, but instead stated that they had a law that said Jesus must die.  We must be careful when we base actions on what the Bible says that we don't attempt to make it justify what we want to do.  The Jews did have a law to put to death those guilty of blasphemy, but Jesus was not guilty of it.  They also had scripture that said the Messiah was coming and how He would come into the world, but they did not apply these scriptures to Christ.  They were looking to carry out their will, and to do it in the name of God. They in effect told Pilate that if he wouldn't crucify Jesus, they would.  Verse eight adds, When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid.  Pilate had thought that Jesus was being accused of claiming to be royalty, and now he understood he was accused of claiming to be a deity.  The people would not be easily persuaded to let Him go, but what if this were true.  We can understand why Pilate was afraid.  If we find ourselves in a position where we have to choose between the crowd and God, we do not need to be afraid.  We can never let fear overrule God.  Verse nine continues, And went again unto the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, "Whence art Thou? "But Jesus gave him no answer.  Pilate was again wanting to find fault with Jesus.  He did not directly ask Jesus if He were the Son of God, but only where He came from, heaven or earth.  The Romans didn't fear any army, but they feared many gods.  If Jesus were a god, then Pilate didn't want to offend Him.  Jesus didn't answer because Pilate had no understanding of the Jewish Messiah, and if Jesus had pronounced Himself any god, Pilate would have likely freed Him.  People today may want to accept Jesus as some kind of god for fear of offending Him, but we must accept Him as the only true God.  He can never be anything less.

John 19:4

John 19:4 says, Pilate 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."  Having scourged Jesus and allowing Him to be beaten, Pilate said he was turning Jesus back over to the crowd.  Every individual is responsible for the crucifixion of Christ.  We cannot avoid this fact by saying that we find Him blameless, and then rejecting Him.  Pilate had to either acknowledge Jesus as Who He said He was, and then worship Him, or reject Him.  Pilate chose to reject Jesus.  He attempted to stay basically neutral, but there is no neutrality with Jesus.  We either accept Him totally as Savior and Lord, or we reject Him totally.  Those around us cannot make the decision for us.  Verse five adds, Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe.  And Pilate said, "Behold, the man!"  Again, if Pilate thought he would appease the people by bringing Jesus out looking defeated and beaten, he was wrong.  Even when people today attempt to discredit Jesus, they are never satisfied with what seems to be a victory.  Pilate said in effect that Jesus was no threat, and the crowd still wasn't satisfied.  Verse six continues, Now the chief priests and therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him."  Pilate said unto them, "Take ye Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault with Him."  Again, the mob mentality won.  How sad for Pilate to find no fault with Jesus but to hand Him over to a mob to be crucified.  Pilate may have thought himself blameless by his actions, but he rejected both his responsibility and the Savior.  The cries of the mob cannot sway us in our decision about Christ.  We either accept or reject Him.  There can be no neutrality.  We also need to remember that many of these same people had welcomed Jesus earlier proclaiming Him to be the Messiah.  It was only a superficial proclamation though.  Some today get caught up with the crowd in a moment of excitement and proclaim to follow Christ. Soon, they find themselves back in a world that rejects Christ, and they join right in.  We must come to a real, personal relationship with Christ in order to be truly saved.

John 19:1

John 19:1 says, Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. Pilate had found no fault with Jesus, but he still scourged Him. Whether he himself did it or had it done is not certain, but the fact remains that Jesus was unfairly scourged.  Pilate may have done it to placate the Jews.  Some think he may have thought that would satisfy the Jewish leaders.  Whatever his reasons, the scripture was being fulfilled before his eyes.  People today may treat Christians badly because they think it will impress the world.  I think of church burnings, or even shootings in churches.  Neither the church building nor those gathered inside were guilty of hurting the person burning the building or shooting the people.  When the hatred of Christians in the world becomes too strong, people lash out, whether in the name of another religion or just a hatred of Christianity.  Verse two adds, And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.  They were attempting to make a mockery of Jesus being the King of the Jews.  As Romans, they likely had no understanding of what this really meant, but since Jesus had been scourged, they may have just wanted to be a part of the action. There are people today who really know nothing about Jesus, but if they are in a group that opposes Christianity, they will take an active role just to impress others.  I have watched parts of some movies where Jesus is portrayed as thinking of given up when the abuse starts.  We must acknowledge that this thought never entered His head.  He submitted to the Father's plan for salvation.  Had Jesus decided He wasn't going to the cross at any point, He had the power of the universe at His disposal to stop it.  We can begin to believe what Hollywood portrays about Jesus more than what the Bible tells us.  The emphasis here should not be on what Pilate and the soldiers did, but on the fact that Jesus willingly endured this abuse for us. That is not to say that we discount the abuse, but that we don't start almost glorifying it.  What Pilate and the soldiers did was horrible, but we need to glorify the sacrifice of Christ for us.  The cross was the ultimate cruelty, and Jesus went there willingly for us, never faltering in His resolve.  Verse three continues, And said, " Hail, King of the Jews. " And they smote Him with their hands.  The humiliation and suffering of Jesus was very real, but we must always focus on the cross.

John 18:38

John 18:38 says, Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth.  And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in Him no fault at all.  The question what is truth is a valid question.  At one time in the history of the world, the truth was that the world was flat.  Today, two people can look at the same event and recount it differently and both know they are telling the truth.  Jesus did not say He was a truth, but that He was the truth.  We need to spend time daily searching God's word and praying to know His truth.  My feelings may lead me to believe that I know the truth in a particular situation, but I must make sure it is God's truth.  Then, Pilate went out to the Jews and told them he could find no fault at all in Jesus.  Pilate may not have accepted Jesus' claim, but he could find no fault with Him.  If those who oppose Jesus today were to really examine His teachings, His truth, they could find no fault with Him. The trumped-up charges didn't stand then, and they won't stand today. Verse thirty-nine adds, 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?  Pilate should have freed Jesus when he could find no fault with Him, but he attempted to pass the decision off to others.  Today, some people find no fault with Jesus, but they still refuse to accept Him for Who He is.  They basically say that it is okay what others believe, but Christ is not the Truth for them.  Maybe Pilate thought they didn't want Jesus condemned.  We would think religious leaders would want the Messiah to reign, but they had brought Jesus there to have Him put to death.  Verse forty continue, Then they cried again, Not this Man, but Barrabas.  Now Barrabas was a robber.  They chose to free a guilty robber over an innocent Jesus.  We today are faced with the same question.  When it comes time to choose, will we pick Jesus or the evil of this world?  The religious leaders that day chose the evil of the world.  We need to be in prayer daily that we don't make the same choice.  We must choose Jesus.

John 18:36

John 18:36 says, Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered unto the Jews: but now My kingdom is not of hence.  Jesus did not directly answer Pilates question but told him the kingdom He was King of was not of this world.  If Jesus was establishing an earthly kingdom, He would have His followers fighting the Jews.  We today spend a lot of time fighting the world, but is that what Jesus really wants us to do?  Just as His kingdom was not of this world, neither is ours.  Where do we draw the line between witnessing to and battling the world?  I am not sure exactly where the line should be drawn, but I am sure that God would never say, "Kill them all, and let Me sort it out."  Verse thirty-seven adds, Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a king then?  Jesus answered him, Thou sayest that I am a king.  To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice.  Jesus came for one purpose, and that was to redeem mankind.  He was not here to establish an army and a worldly kingdom, but to call the lost people of the world to Him, even those that professed to be following the Father already.  It is not enough to say we follow Christ without recognizing the truth of Christ.  If we are of the truth, that is, His followers, then we recognize His voice.  We should be attuned enough to God through the Holy Spirit to recognize what He is saying to us.  Christ's kingdom in this world is in the hearts of His followers.  It is not in a geographic location but is worldwide.  His followers are not characterized by any dividing factor, but by the uniting factor of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.  Sometimes, I believe that we live as though this world is the most important thing to us.  We spend a majority of our time and resources on earthly things when we are called on to lay up treasures in heaven.  Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world, and He wasn't fighting to claim it.  He laid down His life for the world.  What are we as His followers expected to do?