The Echoes of Easter Pt 3
"His Cross-Examination at Gabbatha"
Luke 23:1-25, John 19:13
Luke 23:1 And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. 3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. 4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. 6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. 13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
Introduction: Let's begin our study with:
I. The Timeline of His trial
a. The characters involved
The Sanhedrin was the "supreme court" of the Jews and was made up of two groups, Pharisees and Sadducees totaling 71 members. The Sadducees did not believe in the supernatural and rejected the resurrection. Annas had been high priest for 16 years but had retired. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Caiaphas. They were both Sadducees. Herod Antipas was a Roman political appointee and who was king of Judea and the son of Herod the Great who slaughtered the children of Bethlehem and who himself was responsible for the death of John the Baptist. There is also the matter of the "chief priests," who are mentioned in Matthew 26:14-16 as the ones who took advantage of the opportunity supplied by Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. Finally there is the Roman governor Pontius Pilate who was the Roman governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36, serving under Emperor Tiberius. He is most known for his involvement in condemning Jesus to death on a cross.
Outside of the four Gospels, Pontius Pilate is mentioned by Tacitus, Philo, and Josephus. In addition, the "Pilate Stone," discovered in 1961 and dated c. A.D. 30, includes a description of Pontius Pilate and mentions him as "prefect" of Judea.
In the Bible, Pontius Pilate is mentioned solely in connection with the trials and crucifixion of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) portray Pilate as reluctant to crucify Jesus. Pilate calls the charges against Jesus "baseless" (Luke 23:14) and several times declares Jesus to be not guilty: "What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty" (Luke 23:22).
Pilate's conscience was already bothering him when his wife sent him an urgent message concerning Jesus. The note begged him, "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him" (Matthew 27:19).
John's Gospel offers some more detail of the trial, including an additional conversation between Pilate and Jesus. Jesus acknowledges Himself as a king and claims to speak directly for the truth. Pilate responds with the famous question, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). The question intentionally communicated multiple meanings. Here was a situation in which truth was compromised in order to condemn an innocent man. Pilate, who is supposedly seeking the truth, asks the question of the One who is Himself "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). A human judge, confused about the truth, was about to condemn the Righteous Judge of the world.
In the end, Pilate sought a compromise. Knowing Jesus had been handed over by the religious leaders out of envy, he appealed to the crowds at the Passover, asking which "criminal" should be set free, Jesus or Barabbas? The leaders convinced the crowd to cry out for Barabbas (Matthew 27:22-24). Giving in to political pressure, Pilate authorized both the flogging and crucifixion of Jesus: "Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified" (Mark 15:15).
Pilate had the charge against Jesus posted on the cross above Jesus' head: "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matthew 27:37). As soon as Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus in order to bury Him, and Pilate granted the request (Mark 15:53-54). The last glimpse we have of Pontius Pilate is when he assigns guards for Jesus' tomb (Matthew 27:64-66).
Pontius Pilate's brief appearance in Scripture is full of tragedy. He ignored his conscience, he disregarded the good advice of his wife, he chose political expediency over public rectitude, and he failed to recognize the truth even when Truth was standing right in front of him. When given an opportunity to evaluate the claims of Jesus, what will we decide? Will we accept His claim to be the King, or will we follow the voice of the crowd? Gotquestions.org
b. The chain of events
Jesus' Arrest and Trial
Step 1 - 1:30 a.m. -3:00 a.m. - Annas, former Jewish High Priest for 16 years - Jesus receives initial physical abuse.
Step 2 - 3:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. - Current Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin Court - Jesus bloodied by abuse.
Step 3 - 5:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. - All the Jewish elders, including the High Priest, scribes and whole Sanhedrin. They decide to ask the Roman government to kill Jesus.
Step 4 - 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Hearing before Roman governor Pilate, who declares, "I find no guilt in this man."
Step 5 - 7:00 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. - Hearing before Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who had jurisdiction over Galilee. Jesus refused to answer any questions so Herod returned Him quickly to Pilate.
Step 6 - 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. - Pilate repeatedly tried to release Jesus but the Jewish leaders continued to object. Pilate physically tortured and beat Jesus beyond recognition seeking to satisfy the Jewish leaders. However the Jews demanded that Jesus be crucified. Pilate resisted but eventually gave the order to execute Jesus.
Next, we have:
II. The Travesty of His Trial
Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?
a. The appeal
One question that needs to be answered is, "Why did the Jews appeal to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to hear this trial?" The answer is simple. The Romans had removed the power to execute prisoners or administer capital punishment from the authority of the Jews so if they wanted to remove Jesus, and they did, then they had to appeal to the Romans authorities which in this case was Pilate.
John 18:31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
b. The accusations
Two sets of accusations were made against Jesus. First, the Jews accused him of blasphemy. To see this we can read Luke 22:66-71 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, 67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. 69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. 71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.... And in John 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. The other charges leveled at Jesus are not religious but secular. He is accused of treason in Luke 23:1-2 & 5 of "...perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King." And "...He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry..."
c. The adjudication
History and documents are available for a study of the moral characters of the judges who sat in judgment at the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. We will draw from the valuable writings of Josephus, the historian, and the Talmud, to enable us to form an opinion of the moral tone of the whole assembly. For nearly a century a detestable abuse prevailed. The high priesthood, which for fifteen centuries had been preserved in the same family, according to the divine command, had at the time of Christ's trial become an object of commercial speculation. This sacred office was given to the one who offered the most money for it. As M. Derembourg remarks, "A few priestly, aristocratic, powerful, and vain families, who cared for neither the dignity nor the interest of the altar, quarreled with each other for this appointment."Josephus, the historian, speaking of those desiring the priesthood, states, "They struggled together they did it by casting reproachful words against one another, and by throwing stones also. There was nobody to reprove them, but these disorders were done after a licentious manner, as if it had no government over it." And, it was these men who were the chief judges of Christ!
How was His trial handled? Did Jesus receive justice? The answer is absolutely not. Are there any proofs that Jesus did not receive a fair trial? Yes, there are 11 illegal acts associated with the trial of Jesus and here are a few examples:
1. "The Jewish law prohibited any part of legal proceedings by night. (Dupin in, "Jesus
Devant Caiphe et Pilate.") Even before Jesus' trial began the law was broken because His arrest was illegal. The Jewish law prohibited any part of a legal proceeding in capital offenses to take place at night,
and Jesus was arrested at night.
2. Jesus before Caiaphas was illegal because the Law stated, "Be not a sole judge, for there is no sole judge but One." (Mishna, in "Pirke Aboth" IV 8) "An accused man must never be subjected to private or secret examination, lest in his perplexity, he furnish damaging testimony against himself." (Salvado in, "Institutions de Moise" pp. 365-366). The high priest's private examination of Jesus was illegal.
3. The indictment against Jesus was illegal because the Law stated, "The entire criminal procedure of the Mosaic Code rest upon four rules: certainty in the indictment; publicity in the discussion; full freedom granted to the accused; and assurance against all danger of errors of testimony" (Salvador in, "Institutions de Moise" p.365) "The Sanhedrin could not originate charges; it could only investigate those brought before it" (Edersheim in, "Life and times of
The illegal trial of Jesus 3 Jesus the Messiah" Vol. I. p.309)
4. The Law stated, "The Sanhedrin was to set from the close of the morning sacrifice to the time of the evening sacrifice." (Talmud, Jerus, Sanhedrin - Vol. I, p. 19) "No session of the court could take place before the offering of the morning sacrifice." (M.M. Lemann in "Jesus Before the Sanhedrin." p. 109) "The morning sacrifice is offered at the dawn of day. The Sanhedrin is not to assembly until the hour after that time." (Mishna, in "Talmud, of the Perpetual Sacrifice." Chapter III) The Sanhedrin Convened before the offering of the morning sacrifice, therefore illegal.
5. The proceedings were conducted on the day preceding a Jewish Sabbath, also on the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Eve of the Passover, therefore it was illegal. The Law stated, "Court must not be held on the Sabbath, or any holy day." (Betza, chapter Vol. II). "They shall not judge on the eve of the Sabbath, nor on that of any festival" (Mishna, Sanhedrin IV. 1.) netbiblestudy.com
Application:
III. The Torture at His Trial
I'm going to try to detail and describe the abuse that Jesus suffered at the hands of His captors over a period from approximately 1:30 to 8:30 AM. 700 years before the death of Jesus the prophet Isaiah recorded these words: Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
a. The verbal abuse
Can you imagine a bleeding, tortured, dying man nailed to a wooden stake being verbally abused? Not only did our Lord suffer physically on the cross, He endured abusive speech from those who demanded His death as well:
"And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!"
Even before the crucifixion, Christ bore unkind words. He knows the pain of physical and verbal abuse firsthand. He was called a "blasphemer," (Matthew 9:3); spit upon, beaten with fists, mocked, slapped, and betrayed unto death, (Matthew 27:65-68). One of the two thieves that were crucified with Jesus insulted Him as well, (Matthew 27:44). spiritual-side-of-domestic-violence.org
b. The sexual abuse
Some of you are going to say that there is no evidence in the Bible that Jesus was sexually abused and you are right but there is plenty of evidence that he was sexually humiliated! What do you mean preacher?
Psalms 22:16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet 17 I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
"They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'" (Matthew 27:28, 29).
Jesus was stripped by Herod's soldiers and a purple robe was placed on him with a crown to mock him; he would have been stripped when He was scourged by Pilates soldiers and he was stripped at the cross.
The public exposure of His body must have been extremely humiliating and was a deliberate attack on His purity, His moral dignity, and His manhood. David Smith
c. The physical abuse
I will deal with the crucifixion of Jesus later in this series so for our purposes in this message we will look at the scourging of Jesus. "The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar is an important part of our study of The Echoes of Easter."
"In our study of what Jesus did for us, we often focus only on the crucifixion itself--the nails ripping through His flesh and the interminable six hours of suffering which ended with the cry "It is finished!" However, we must not forget the setting of the crucifixion--the scourging, the stripping, and the mocking of Christ--which added immeasurably to His grief and sorrow. He was stripped so that we might be clothed with the righteousness of God; He was laid bare before the world so that we might be covered inside and out with the glory of God!" Eddie Cloer
First a word about the procedure that was followed when a prisoner was scourged. We have already mentioned that the Romans stripped the victim of all his clothing in order to humiliate him as much as possible. He would then be tied or chained to a single upright post and the scourging was begun. A tool called a flagrum, sometimes referred to as "a cat of nine tails," would have been the instrument used to administer the scourging. This falgrum consisted of a wooden handle covered in leather with multiple strip of leather imbedded with metal and bone. In Jewish tradition the victim would have received 39 lashes or "stripes," but under Roman law there was no such limitation. Many Roman victims were literally beaten to death. The results of a scourging were predictable. The flesh on the back, ribs, backside and legs would be "cut to ribbons" exposing the rib and backbone and resulting to excruciating pain loss of blood and body fluids. Little wonder that Jesus could not carry the "Stauros" or patibulum to Golgotha and required the assistance of Simon of Cyrene. "...As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:" (Isaiah 52:13-14).
(Get Kim to play scourging scene from the Passion of the Christ movie)
Conclusion: As I prepared for this message it occurred to me that Isaiah 53:5 was a greater blessing than I could have ever dreamed. "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." Jesus paid the price of our salvation and with His stripes we can have spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, and physical healing.
JESUS WAS NOT A VICTIM OF FATE
"Before the scourging began, Jesus was stripped of His garments and bent low over a low post, with wrists and ankles shackled into that position. The instrument used for scourging was a piece of wood fourteen to eighteen inches long, circular in shape, to which were attached long, leather thongs. Into these leather thongs or straps were sewn bits of glass, bone and metal...The flagellum was brought all the way back and whistled forward, making a dull drum sound as the strips of leather smashed against the back of the rib cage...It was designed to reduce the naked body to strips of raw flesh and inflamed, bleeding wounds. It was not uncommon for a man to die on the stump...It is easy to forget that Jesus was tortured, brutalized, and mistreated for an extended period of time before He was led to the place of execution. He had become so marked and swollen that His individual features were scarcely distinguishable...
"Jesus was not a helpless victim of fate. He was not a pitiful martyr...Planned by God so that you and I might have our sins forgiven, the death of Jesus opened the pathway to Heaven -- a pathway prepared and paved with His blood." --Charles Swindoll, The Darkness and the Dawn
