Message
Our King Jesus Falsely Condemned.
Luke 23:13-25
There is a common perception that the trials of Jesus - one conducted by the Sanhedrin and one conducted by Pilate - were both illegal and made without observation of the rule of law.
That is certainly true for the “trial” by the Sanhedrin.
It was conducted at night.
It didn’t take place in the temple.
Jesus was without a defence.
Capital trials were required to last two days.
Trials could not be conducted on Feast days.
The involvement of contrary and false witnesses should immediately end the trial.
The trial conducted by the Sanhedrin wasn’t a trial - this was the religious leadership expediting a death that they had wanted to occur for some time.
The trial which Pilate conducts is actually conducted according to legal process.
A legal trial need four elements.
Accusatio
What are the charges against the accused?
In this case the Sanhedrin bring the charges.
We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.
Luke 23:2
Interrogatio
The judge asks the accused specific questions in order to find the truth.
Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Luke 23:3
Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”
Matthew 27:13
Excusatio
The accused can make their defence
My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.
John 18:36
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
Mark 15:2
Absolvo
The verdict is given
I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.
Luke 23:14-15
It might go against all that we think about Pilate. But Pilate doesn’t deal with Jesus in a ruthless and uncaring manner. Pilate makes sure that Jesus is given a proper Roman-law trial.
And Pilate does more than that.
Pilate knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him
Matthew 27:18
Pilate knows that Jesus is popular with the crowds. Pilate is hoping to pit the crowd against the leaders.
What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
Matthew 27:23
Pilate keeps coming back to the question of the law - tell me where the law has been broken.
At some point Pilate realises he can’t get anywhere in the public forum. So Pilate has a private discussion with Jesus in his own headquarters. During that conversation he reminds Jesus of the situation.
“Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
John 19:10
Pilate is basically saying, “Let me get you out of this.”
After this private conversation we see the heart of Pilate.
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free.
John 19:12
Pilate cares nothing about the political opinions or the religious views of either the prosecutors or the defendants; Pilate is concerned about one thing alone; namely whether Jesus is guilty of the treasonous acts.
So why does Jesus still end up being crucified?
Let’s read Luke 23:13-25
Why does Jesus still end up being crucified even though three times in this chapter Pilate declares that Jesus is innocent?
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
Luke 23:23-24
Pilate knew the truth. Jesus is innocent. But Pilate has a problem. At this moment he is faced with the choice of standing with Jesus, or standing with the crowd.
So even though Jesus is declared innocent Pilate chooses the crowd.
What does this choice tell us? Standing with Jesus comes at a cost
And it comes at a cost because, when our journey crosses with the journey of Jesus, our lives are turned upside-down.
Think about the Rich Young Man in Matthew 19
He thought he was a good Jew who followed the commandments. Jesus asks one thing from him. “Sell all your possession and give them to the poor.” Suddenly the rich man understands - I can’t put putting money before God.
His world has been turned upside down. And he walks away from Jesus … he listens to his crowded heart and the cost is too much.
Think about the Woman Caught in Adultery in John 8
She has been caught in the act, standing before the group of accusers in nothing but a sheet. Jesus writes words in the dirt. Jesus tells the innocent ones to throw the first stone. Finally it is just Jesus and the woman.
Her world has been turned upside down She listens to Jesus and ignores what the crowd thinks of her … and realises that you can make huge mistakes and still be forgiven.
What about Judas?
He has been walking with Jesus for over three years. He has seen the miracles. He has witnessed the power of Jesus. He has sacrificed so much to learn. But there he was, willing to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
His world was turned upside-down by Jesus. Judas has been listening to the religious crowd … and he walks away from Jesus because the cost was too great.
Once your journey cross paths with Jesus your world can never be the same.
For all of us our journey has crossed paths with Jesus … which means we keep facing the same question.
Will I allow who Jesus is and what Jesus has done to be the director of my life?
Or will I listen to the crowd?
Pilate is stuck … he is stuck between the need to defend Jesus and the pressure of the crowd. We get a real sense of how stuck by reading Mark’s version of this event.
Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
For all his short comings Pilate is asking the right question
"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?"
He asks the question just as much of himself as the crowd because there are so many competing voices.
The voice of compromise.
The voice of expedience.
The voice of politics.
The voice of conscience.
What shall I do … with Jesus?
It’s Good Friday … the Friday where we remember the death of Jesus.
What will you do with Jesus?
This is the man who will give His life on a cross. The same man who is willing to take the punishment of God which was never His to take. He hangs cursed … beaten … displayed in nakedness … declared to be the scum of society.
Crucified. But through the crucifixion He is offering hope … and transformation … and a fresh start.
What will you do with Jesus on this Good Friday?
Because the crowd will keep trying to have a voice.
The voice of compromise.
The voice of guilt.
The voice of conscience.
The voice of shame.
Voices from our past.
Voices in the present.
Voices that makes us fear and doubt.
Voices that create pain and sadness.
And then there is the voice of Jesus.
It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)
You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14)
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28)
He can give you all of this because He is innocent.
Listen.
Listen to that voice.
And stop letting the voices of the crowd rule you.
Prayer
