33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
As we have entered into Holy Week, we should be continually drawn into the passion narratives in the Gospels. I've always been intrigued by Jesus being on trial before Pontius Pilate. The Roman governor asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews... Probably a tongue in cheek question. I have no doubt Pilate took part in mocking Jesus.. at least until his interrogation led him nowhere. "I find no guilt in Him." If he was convinced Jesus was innocent, why did he have Him beaten? His political maneuvering is evident to all. He had to keep the Jewish leaders happy. He still tries to make an exchange.. Barabbas would surely deserve the punishment. He was a bad guy.. Jesus was a good guy. Certainly these people were not THAT determined for Jesus to die.. were they? Unbelievably, when given a choice as to which prisoner would go free they chose Barabbas. None of this catches God by surprise... He planned this long ago. Jesus would die for sinners. The illustration is obvious... WE are Barabbas. We are the bad guys. We deserve death as much as Barabbas did. We're the criminals... Just as Jesus took Barabbas' place, He takes our place as well. The innocent dies for the guilty. This theme runs throughout the Bible. Only God would come up with this plan.
Something else is important in this narrative: Pilate asks about truth .. What does this mean? The truth that Jesus testifies to is the truth about Himself . He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Pilate asks this question, but does He really want to know? ... Jesus is an inconvenient truth to Pilate... And to all who refuse to believe Who He is. He's the substitute for sinners. Pilate and all other unbelievers don't see this...That's the greatest truth in the world... Jesus died for sinners... Are YOU one?
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