Pilate Standing Before Jesus Series

Pontius Pilate Did Not Exist (pause). Let me repeat: Pontius Pilate did not exist.

Well at least, that’s what a lot of atheists and critics of Scripture USED to say. They knew that Pilate’s name showed up about 55 times in the Bible, but they gleefully pointed out that (at that time) there was no record of Pilate’s existence anyplace else in history. And so, they mocked the Bible as NOT being truthful, and boldly declared Pilate did not exist.

(PAUSE) Well, then one day in 1961, someone found a huge stone at Caesarea with Pilate’s name on it. It’s called the “Pilate Stone” and it reads: “Tiberium, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”

So, yes - PILATE DID EXIST! That was not good news for the enemies of scripture. But, once they REcovered from the shock, they moved on to attack other things mentioned in scripture that could NOT be found in archeological digs of the time.

For example (at one time) they claimed the Hittites didn’t exist; and that there were no lions in Nineveh; and no camels in Egypt… even though the Bible said that they existed. But then (of course) archaeologists found the Hittites… and the Lions… and Camels, and critics had to move on to try find something else they could complain about being missing from history.

You see, there are lots of people who despise the Bible and hate God, and if they can find a way to accuse Scripture of lying, they’ll do it. Because if the Bible is TRUTH, then maybe they’ll have to change. And they don’t want to do that.

Jesus said to Pilate, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And Pilate replied “What is truth?”. John 18:37-38

Now, why would Pilate ask that question “WHAT IS TRUTH?” Well… because, if what Jesus was saying was true then Pilate had to change. And HE didn’t want to do that.

As we come to our text this morning, we find Pilate standing before Jesus. A lot of people think that Jesus was on trial here … before Pilate. But that’s not true. It was Pilate who was on trial before Christ.

Pilate had no control over this conversation, and it bothered him. And, part of the reason Pilate had no control over the conversation was because he didn’t really know WHO Jesus is! I mean, he realized Jesus is not a wild-eyed fanatic. He’d been beaten, spat on, abused in a number of ways. But there’s no anger. He didn’t yell or scream or threaten. Instead, Jesus is calm and quiet - that was not the behavior of a fanatic! And so, Pilate realized that Jesus was innocent. In John 19:4 Pilate declared “I find no fault in Him.”

But that didn’t trouble Pilate. What troubled Pilate was that he was beginning to see WHO Jesus was. Pilate was troubled because - Jesus claimed to be… the KING. In John 18:33-37

We’re told that Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 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.” 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….”

The problem for Pilate was that from the moment Jesus stepped thru the door, He was in charge. Not only did Jesus claim to be a King, HE WAS the KING. Jesus spoke with the absolute moral authority of someone who was a King. And now - Pilate stood before Him. He stands before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Revelation tells us - the day’s going to come when we’ll ALL stand before the King of Kings.

In Revelation 20:12 & 15 John writes: I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done… And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”