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Barry Metz 06/07/15 The Passion of Christ, Part 2 John 18:28-19:24 Pontius Pilate, famous as the Roman ruler who sentenced Jesus Christ to die, really existed. 1 That might seem like a funny thing to say but we’re always trying to drive home the fact that our scriptures are true. Several historians make mention of him. And as a warm-up to our time in John 18 and 19 this morning where Pilate is a central figure, I thought I’d begin by bringing the historic Pontius Pilate to life through the eyes of historians. Tacitus , a second century Roman historian, confirmed that Jesus was executed during Pontius Pilate’s time in office. He writes this. “Christus, from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, when Tiberius was emperor.” 2 So Tacitus gives reference to Jesus’ execution under Pontius Pilate. Josephus’ lengthy history, Antiquities, mentions Pontius Pilate three times. Josephus tells how Pontius Pilate didn’t leave a good first impression when he first arrived in Jerusalem with Roman troops. Pilate set up Roman standards bearing images of the emperor. The Jews were incensed. They protested and Pilate finally backed down and removed the image bearing standards. Josephus also tells how Pilate enraged the Jews one year by using money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct to carry water to Jerusalem. Again the Jews were very angry at this. And finally Josephus tells us the story of Pilate’s dismissal from office. The year was 36 AD and a Samaritan false prophet pretending to be the Samaritan Messiah promised to show his followers sacred vessels hidden on Mt. Gerazim. (You remember the Samaritans worshipped on Mt. Gerazim) Well Pilate sent a heavily armed band of 1 Pontius Pilate Inscription. Antonio Frova discovered the inscription in 1961 on a dedicatory stone at Caesarea Maritima, an ancient city built by Herod the Great around 25–13 BC. The inscription reads, “Tiberius Pontius Pilate Prefect of Judea.” Pontius Pilate was appointed as the Roman governor of Judaea in AD 26 by Emperor Tiberius, and suspended in AD 37 by Vitellius, the governor of Syria, after massacring Samaritans at Mount Gerizim. Jesus was crucified during Pilate’s governance (Matt 27:2). The inscription not only confirms the historicity of Pilate, it clarifies the title he bore as governor (Schoville, “Archaeological Discoveries”). 2 Water, M. (2001). The life of Jesus made easy (p. 55). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd. 1

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Page 1: Web viewJosephus tells how Pontius Pilate didn’t leave a good first impression when he first ... Here indeed is the man, the second Adam, the Word ... of God--he was even

Barry Metz 06/07/15

The Passion of Christ, Part 2John 18:28-19:24

Pontius Pilate, famous as the Roman ruler who sentenced Jesus Christ to die, really existed.1 That might seem like a funny thing to say but we’re always trying to drive home the fact that our scriptures are true. Several historians make mention of him. And as a warm-up to our time in John 18 and 19 this morning where Pilate is a central figure, I thought I’d begin by bringing the historic Pontius Pilate to life through the eyes of historians.

Tacitus, a second century Roman historian, confirmed that Jesus was executed during Pontius Pilate’s time in office. He writes this. “Christus, from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, when Tiberius was emperor.” 2 So Tacitus gives reference to Jesus’ execution under Pontius Pilate.

Josephus’ lengthy history, Antiquities, mentions Pontius Pilate three times. Josephus tells how Pontius Pilate didn’t leave a good first impression when he first arrived in Jerusalem with Roman troops. Pilate set up Roman standards bearing images of the emperor. The Jews were incensed. They protested and Pilate finally backed down and removed the image bearing standards. Josephus also tells how Pilate enraged the Jews one year by using money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct to carry water to Jerusalem. Again the Jews were very angry at this. And finally Josephus tells us the story of Pilate’s dismissal from office. The year was 36 AD and a Samaritan false prophet pretending to be the Samaritan Messiah promised to show his followers sacred vessels hidden on Mt. Gerazim. (You remember the Samaritans worshipped on Mt. Gerazim) Well Pilate sent a heavily armed band of soldiers who intercepted the pilgrims and slaughtered most of them.3 As a result, Pilate was relieved of his position and replaced.

Well it’s Philo, another historian, who gives us the best window into Pilate’s character and actions. Pilate, said Philo, was “by nature rigid and stubbornly harsh” and of “spiteful disposition and an exceeding wrathful man”. Philo speaks of Pilate’s ‘bribes, (his) acts of pride, (his) acts of violence, (his) outrages, the cases of spiteful treatment, the constant murders without trial and the ceaseless and most grievous brutality’ that he subjected the Jews to.4

It’s this Pilate who takes center stage in Christ’s passion story this morning in John chapters 18-19.

__________

Before we dive into the text, let’s summarize what’s happened so far in Christ’s passion--and we’re using the term passion as an umbrella term for Jesus’s arrest, trial and crucifixion. 1 Pontius Pilate Inscription. Antonio Frova discovered the inscription in 1961 on a dedicatory stone at Caesarea Maritima, an ancient city built by Herod the Great around 25–13 BC. The inscription reads, “Tiberius Pontius Pilate Prefect of Judea.” Pontius Pilate was appointed as the Roman governor of Judaea in AD 26 by Emperor Tiberius, and suspended in AD 37 by Vitellius, the governor of Syria, after massacring Samaritans at Mount Gerizim. Jesus was crucified during Pilate’s governance (Matt 27:2). The inscription not only confirms the historicity of Pilate, it clarifies the title he bore as governor (Schoville, “Archaeological Discoveries”).2 Water, M. (2001). The life of Jesus made easy (p. 55). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd.3 New Bible Dictionary, page 929-9304 New Bible Dictionary, 3rd Edition, pages 929-30

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1. Jesus and his disciples head to the Garden of Gethsemane.2. A mob led by Judas comes to arrest Jesus.3. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss (John doesn’t mention this in his gospel).4. Peter, still not understanding the trajectory of Jesus’s life cuts off a man named Malchus’ ear.5. Jesus heals Malchus’ ear (John leaves this detail out but Dr. Luke mentions it,Luke 22:51).6. Jesus is bound and taken to Annas for an informal hearing and then to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin for

a formal trial. (John only mentions the informal hearing before Annas)7. “(While) Jesus stands up to his questioners and denies nothing….Peter cowers before his questioners

and denies everything”5 Peter denies Christ three times.8. Jesus is accused of blasphemy in the Jewish trial, a charge which “morphs” to a political charge of

sedition (inciting people to rebel), a charge that Pilate can sink his teeth in.9. Jesus is sent to Pontius Pilate

___________________

If you were with us last week when we began to look at John 18, we highlighted the fact that when Jesus was delivered over to Pilate, the Jewish leaders purposely didn’t enter Pilate’s quarters because they didn’t want to become ritually unclean.6 It’s been suggested that the Jews believed that Gentiles would bury aborted fetuses in their homes and contact with a dead body, according to the law, led to a seven-day defilement.7 So because the Jewish leaders didn’t want to miss out on the festivities associated with Passover itself and the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed it 8 they erred on the conservative side and didn’t enter Pilate’s headquarters.

What’s interesting is that their fastidiousness about ritual purity created an interesting dynamic in the trial of Jesus. All of a sudden Pilate was forced to shuffle between the Jews and Jesus--outside to speak to the Jews and back inside to talk with Jesus. And, as we said last week, this movement outside and then inside characterized Pilate’s entire time with Jesus. There are actually seven ‘movements’. Let me show them again to you on the screen:

5 Brown as quoted by Carson, page 5866 Ceremonial defilement could have different degrees. In some cases it could be alleviated through evening bathing. In other cases, it could be alleviated through temple sacrifice. 7 Carson, page 5898 Burge, page 499; Kostenberger, page 524”Eat the Passover probably meant ‘Celebrate the feast” (2 Chron. 30:21)

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As we said last week at the center of these seven movements Jesus is crowned king in a mock fashion. And in a scene dripping with irony, Jesus’ enemies declare exactly who Jesus really is. Even Jesus’ enemies end up communicating who Jesus is! More on that later.

Let me briefly review what happened at the end of John 18 and then we’ll move on into John 19.

When Jesus was brought to Pilate, verse 29 of chapter 18, Pilate went outside to ask them what the accusation was against Jesus. The Jews responded somewhat evasively9 with a non-answer… “If Jesus wasn’t evil, if Jesus wasn’t a criminal we wouldn’t have brought him to you!” Pilate, well aware of the weakness of the Jew’s case, responded essentially, “Handle this yourselves”. And then the Jews tipped their hand at the end of verse 31, “It’s not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” The Jews were determined to put Jesus to death.

We said last week that the Sanhedrin didn’t have the power of capital punishment.10 And if Jesus was to be lifted up (and to be lifted up in the book of John is a repeated euphemism for being crucified)… if Jesus was to be lifted up, as he himself had predicted, the Romans, who practiced crucifixion, had to be involved.11

Well the second movement in this ‘Pilate shuffle’ dance comes in verse 33. Notice Pilate goes inside his headquarters to speak with Jesus. Pilate’s first question to Jesus was “Are you the king of the Jews?” (Clearly the Sanhedrin had clued Pilate in to the charge of sedition, that Jesus was a troublemaker, that he was an enemy of Caesar)12

In verse 34, Jesus returns Pilate’s question with a question and we begin to wonder who really is on trial here. And then in verses 35-38, the subject turns to the nature of Jesus’ kingship: Is he a king? If he is a king what’s his kingdom like?

Jesus replies that his kingdom is not from this world. In fact, Jesus says that the ‘true test of his kingdom can be seen in the behavior of his disciples’13 They won’t fight. Jesus goes on to say in verse 37 that his kingdom is a kingdom of truth. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. What’s Jesus’ kingdom like? It’s a kingdom where truth reigns! I was reflecting on the fact that we give ourselves to the truth as often as we can. We give attention to the truth in every setting. And the reality is that we’re doing kingdom work. The Kingdom of God in its spiritual form has arrived and it makes progress in our lives, it makes progress in the lives of

9 Kostenberger, page 52510 Kostenberger, pager 526 “This was consistent with general Roman practice in provincial administration and capital punishment was the most jealously guarded of all government powers” (Sherwin-White 1963:24-47)11 You see back in John 3 Jesus said As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And in John 12, Jesus said And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. To be lifted up was to be crucified. If Jesus had been put to death by the Jews, by the Sanhedrin, stoning would have been the likely mode of execution, since it was the penalty specified in the Old Testament for blasphemy. The Romans had to be involved because the Jews did not have the power of capital punishment AND because it was determined that Jesus would be lifted up on the cross and thereby become spiritually magnetic, drawing all men to himself. 12 This is what Luke reports, “And they (the Sanhedrin leadership) began to accuse Jesus saying “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” (Luke 23:2). And as we said last week, such a charge would clearly get Pilate’s attention.13 Burge, page 500

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those we disciple when the truth is preached, taught, believed, and obeyed. Jesus’ kingdom is a kingdom characterized by truth.

And then Jesus spoke very personally to Pilate…Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

I said last week that it seems that Jesus is seeking Pilate’s soul. Will you listen to me Pontius Pilate? Everyone who is of the truth listens to me. Are you on the side of truth Pilate? To that, Pilate quickly shrugs his shoulders in a sense, and asks “What is truth?” and then shuffles back outside to announce to the Jews, ‘I find no guilt in him’ …. Pilate essentially says, “I find no case against this man whatsoever!”14

Oh to hear an audio recording of Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” Was he cynical? Seeking? Despairing? Inviting? Dismissing?15

In verse 39 PIlate mentions a custom, a ‘tradition of Passover’16, either a practice of Pilate17 or the governor generally18 where a prisoner would be released.

So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews? Pilate clearly thinks that’s the right idea given that Jesus is innocent. 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Matthew, in his gospel, tells us that Barabbas was a notorious prisoner.19 Mark, in his gospel, tells us that Barabbas committed murder in the insurrection.20 Luke tells us that Barabbas had been thrown in prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.21 Essentially Barabbas was a terrorist22 who had committed many crimes including murder.

We ended last week with the question, , Do you know what Barabbas’s name means? Son of the father. And so the Jewish crowd asks that a terrorist named ‘Son of the Father’ be released and that the true Son of the Father, Jesus, be crucified.

As we pick up in chapter 19 we are in the fourth movement of the “Pilate Shuffle” and Pilate has moved back inside the Praetorium. And from a literary standpoint, the climax or turning point of the structure is in these first three verses of John 19 where Jesus is in a sense, coronated.23

14 Bruner, page 1070 points out that this is an appropriate translation of the dramatic oudemian which means ‘not even one’15 Bruner, page 1069 gives these options16 Burge, page 50117 Mark 15:618 Matthew 27:1519 Matthew 27:1620 Mark 15:721 Luke 23:1922 Burge, page 50223 Burge, page 489

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Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.

Believing eyes see that Jesus is working out our salvation.

Since Pilate had just declared Jesus innocent (back in verse 38), it’s surprising that Pilate would now flog Jesus. But the context shows that this is actually a fresh strategy to set Jesus free. It seems that if Pilate can just punish Jesus enough and evoke a little sympathy for Jesus, the crowd might change their mind about him.24

So Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. Now I didn’t know this but there were actually three types of floggings in the first century under the Romans. Let me put up a slide that summarizes the three on the screen.

As listed on the slide, these three forms of Roman flogging are from ‘least brutal’ to ‘most brutal’ or from ‘least severe’ to ‘most severe.’ You can read the differences between the three. The ‘fustigatio’, the first one on the list, was for troublemakers who needed to be punished and warned. The ‘verberatio’, the final one, was typically a preparation for crucifixion.

It’s believed that Jesus received the fustigatio, the least severe form of flogging, at this point. (When Jesus is delivered over to be crucified after his sentencing, we’ll suggest that he is flogged with the verberatio. More on that later) In giving Jesus this less severe flogging, it seems that Pilate intended partly to appease the Jews and to teach Jesus a lesson.25 Since the task of flogging generally belonged to soldiers, the same soldiers also began to mock Jesus and strike him. In verse 2, they twisted together a crown of thorns. Students of scripture suggest that the soldiers may have used the thorny date palm, whose thorns unbelievably can exceed twelve inches.26 As a mockery of kingship the crown of thorns imitated R-A-D-I-A-T-E crowns worn by ‘divine’ rulers.27 (I saw them described as radiate crowns or radiant crowns)

24 Carson, page 59625 Carson, page 597 and Sherwin-White, pp. 27--2826 Burge, page 50327 Carson page 598

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Here is a picture of Caesar Augustus wearing a “radiate” crown. So the crown of thorns imitated a radiant crown and made Jesus look like a ‘god-king’ with radiating beams coming from his head.28

Besides the crown of thorns, they arrayed him in a purple29—more likely dark red—robe and they began to mock him, “Hail, king of the Jews” again imitating a greeting reserved for Caesar, “Hail Caesar!”30

The robe may have been a military cloak flung around Jesus’ shoulders.31 Mark adds in his gospel that they also hit him with his reed scepter, spit on him, and bowed down before him in mock worship.32

And again believing eyes see that Jesus is working out our salvation.

What irony that Jesus is seen so clearly—but not really seen at all—by these brutal Roman soldiers.

Well in verse 4, the Pilate shuffle continues….Pilate went out….

Follow with me as I read verses 4-8…

28 Burge, page 50329 Burge, page 503, “Since purple was expensive (the dye came from shellfish), the robe is likely dark red, imitating the ‘royal purple” of kings (Rev. 17:4, 18:16)30 Burge, page 50331 Carson, page 59832 Mark 15:19

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4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.

In verse 4, Pilate went out and delivered his verdict again, the second time, “I find no guilt in him” And then Jesus dramatically came out—‘a sorry sight, swollen, bruised, bleeding from the crown of thorns’33…beaten, harmless, pathetic….Pilate says, Behold the man! … “in all his ludicrous unworthiness and wretchedness.”34

Pilate has done everything he can to make Jesus an easy choice for being released35 Jesus is bleeding profusely and terribly bruised. He probably looks pitiable.

“Pilate, as he exclaims “Behold the man” is speaking with dripping irony: Is this the man you find so dangerous and threatening; can you not see he is harmless and somewhat ridiculous?”36 Taking a shot at the religious leaders, Pilate’s unspoken insinuation essentially is this “Is this man, Jesus, really the threat you make him out to be? Look at him!”

But John records the event with a deeper irony—Here indeed is the man, the second Adam, the Word made flesh, the son of God, the son of man, ‘marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind’…that’s Isaiah 52:14

Behold the man!6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”

John 18:38 I find no guilt in himJohn 19:4 I find no guilt in himJohn 19:6 I find no guilt in himThe Passover lamb had to be without defect.

7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” We made the point early on that the Jews charge against Jesus of blasphemy probably wouldn’t influence Pilate to take action and so the charge against Jesus took on a political tone—that he makes himself out to be a rival king to Caesar. So Jewish leaders first played a

33 Carson page 59834 Ridderbos, page 60035 Carson, page 59836 Carson, page 598

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political card with Pilate. Now they play a religious card. He ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.

What law are the Jews talking about? Most think it is Leviticus 24:16

Look at verse 8…. 8 When Pilate heard this statement—about Jesus being the Son of God-- he was even more afraid.

Now what was it about the term ‘son of God’ that would cause Pilate to be afraid?37 Well it turns out that many senior Roman officials were deeply superstitious. And it was not uncommon to believe the idea that in some fashion gods could appear in the world. (If you were with us in our study in Acts, we saw this actually occur in Acts 14. In Acts 14, on the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas entered Lystra. They encountered a man who couldn’t walk and they prayed for the man and he was healed. Do you remember what the citizens of Lystra concluded? “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men”38 And the citizens of Lystra began to worship Paul and Barnabas.)39 So the point is, the term “Son of God” sounded differently in Jewish ears40 than it did in Roman ears. To Roman ears the term ‘son of God’ placed Jesus in the rather mysterious category of divine men, gifted individuals who were believed to enjoy certain ‘divine’ powers. One author said it this way: “The Romans believed in deified humans, and so Pilate is now, with this eerie new intelligence, given his till-now greatest shock of the day. What if this uncanny man in front of him is some kind of divinity?”41 (And Pilate realizes that he has just flogged this deified human)

Well look at verse 9, where the Pilate shuffle continues and he enters his headquarters to talk to Jesus. “Where are you from?,” Pilate asked Jesus. But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to

37 Ridderbos, page 602 says that Pilate’s fear was instead ‘his increasing uneasiness at being driven by the Jews into a position from which he had less and less of a way of extricating himself’38 Acts 14:1139 Burge, page 50440 Carson, page 600 For Jews the term Son of God sounded like pretensions to be the Messiah or ‘a blasphemous excuse to claim prerogatives that are God’s alone’41 Bruner, page 1073

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crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

“Back inside the Praetorium, verse 9, Pilate seeks to alleviate his own fear by questioning Jesus about his origins.” Where do you come from?

“What answer, long or brief, could Jesus have (given Pilate)” that would have sufficed? Pilate is more interested in political maneuvering than in justice. He’s more controlled by superstitious fear than any remorse. No answer, “short or long, would have been sufficient to adequately address Pilate’s question”42

Jesus is silent. Pilate is annoyed, “Do you not know that I have the authority to release you or crucify you?” Pilate mistakenly thinks he is in control, that he has authority given to him by Caesar. But Jesus explains the nature of true power: It is derived from heaven. “The real power above both Caesar and Pilate is God, and so Pilate ultimately has no grounds for boasting.”43 And in fact Pilate is really powerless before God’s plan in this hour.

Who is Jesus referring to at the end of verse 11? Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” It’s tempting to think that Jesus has in mind Judas but Judas has quickly receded from the picture since the arrest. It’s also tempting to think that Jesus has in mind the ‘entire Jewish leadership’. But look again at what Jesus says, “Therefore he who delivered me…” Jesus seems to point to a person. So most students of scripture think that Jesus has Caiaphas, the high priest, in mind. He was the one behind Jesus’ arrest and he was the one who formulated the charges against Jesus.44

In verse 12, Pilate goes outside in the final movement of the Pilate shuffle…

Follow with me as I read verses 12-16…

12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

42 Kostenberger, page 53443 Burge, page 50544 Carson page 601

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For Pilate, neither the charge of sedition or blasphemy held any water. Pilate was still convinced of Jesus’ innocence. But then something dramatic happened. “The Jewish leaders knew they had a weapon…that would make Pilate like putty in their hand.”45

“If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” Wow, what irony! The Jews make themselves out to be more loyal to Caesar than Pilate himself is.46

It’s possible that the phrase ‘Friend of Caesar’ was an official title in Jesus’ day.47 The title was given to senators and other Roman officials who showed marked loyalty and service to the emperor. And it’s possible that Pilate had acquired ‘Friend of Caesar’ status through a mentor.48 But if one wasn’t a friend of Caesar, he just might find himself in the “enemy” category. And furthermore, Tiberius Caesar was quick to entertain suspicions against his subordinates and swift to (punish them) when their loyalty waned.49

So Pilate had reason to worry. Jewish delegations were known to travel to the Roman Senate to complain about the work of governors. Pilate knew that the “Jews would know how to find their way to Rome to hurt his political career.”50 And immediately he switched course.

13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Pilate sat on his bema seat to render judgment on the One who would, at the end of time, judge everyone. The judge’s seat normally stood in the forecourt of the governor’s residence. It was elevated so the judge could look out over the audience.51

14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

Verse 14 gives us day marker and a time marker. It’s probably Friday, the day of preparation for the Passover Sabbath.52

It’s the sixth hour (or 12 o’clock)….Mark 15:25 informs us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour, or 9:00am. How are we to reconcile this apparent discrepancy? It could be as simple as there were no

45 Burge, page 50746 Carson, page 602-347 Burge, page 506; Kostenberger, page 536, writes this, “By the time of Vespasian (AD 69-71), ‘friend of Caesar’ had become virtually an official title; even in Jesus’ day, the term may have had semi-technical force”48 Kostenberger, page 53649 Carson, page 60250 Ridderbos, page 60551 Kostenberger, page 53752 Carson, page 604; And the term ‘passover’ however can refer to the Passover meal, the day of the Passover meal, or the entire Passover week

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watches or I-phones at the time. Think about it. No one ever knew exactly what time it was. What we know is that Jesus was taken for crucifixion in the late morning.53

At the end of verse 14, Pilate taunts his enemies one more time. “Behold your king!” Pilate’s tactics infuriate the crowd: Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!

With mock concern and more taunting, Pilate asks ‘Shall I crucify your king’? And he drives the chief priests to their own blasphemy: We have no king but Caesar! (The Hebrew Scriptures repeatedly insist that the only true king of Israel is God himself—Judges 8:23; 1 Sam. 8:7)

John 1:11 is indeed true… (Jesus) came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Verse 16 So he delivered him over to be crucified.

It’s at this point that Jesus was probably flogged again—and the flogging this time was the most severe, the verberatio. (Mark 15:15b records a flogging in preparation for crucifying so we assume that occurred here)

“In the last form of flogging, the victim was stripped and tied to a post and then beaten by several soldiers until they were exhausted or their commanding officer called them off. For victims who like Jesus were neither Roman citizens nor soldiers, the favored instrument was a whip whose leather thongs were fitted with pieces of bone or lead or other metal. The beatings were so savage that the victims sometimes died. Eyewitness records report that such brutal scourgings could leave victims with their bones and entrails exposed.”54

So they took Jesus, and he went out bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

From what we understand of Roman crucifixions, the condemned criminal carried the cross-member, the horizontal bar, on his shoulders to the place of execution where the upright beam was already fastened in the ground.

We know from the other gospel writers that Jesus—“probably bleeding profusely, his clothes soaked in blood, his thorn-laced crown digging deeply and painfully into his head”55-- carried his cross-beam for a while, maybe as far as the city gate56, where he collapsed in weakness. The soldiers impressed Simon of Cyrene to take his cross-piece the remaining distance.

53 Burge, page 50854 Carson, page 59755 Burge, page 50956 Carson, page 609

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Finally they arrived at The Place of the Skull which was right outside the city walls where people passing by would see the spectacle.

(Golgotha is an English transliteration of the Greek, itself a transliteration of the Aramaic gulgolta which means skull.57 Our more common Calvary comes from the Latin ‘calvaria’ which also means ‘skull’ and which was used in the Latin Vulgate version of all four gospels.58)

“(Jesus) would have then been made to lie on his back on the ground where his arms were stretched out and nailed to the horizontal piece. The cross-member was then hoisted up, and fastened to the vertical beam. Jesus’s feet would then have been nailed to the upright at that point—and the Romans nailed the ankles together, forcing the feet to lay sideways on each other (contrary to most Christian art with the nails inserted on the top of the foot)59. Sometimes they would also attach a piece of wood that served as a kind of a seat that partially supported the body’s weight. This little seat was designed to increase the agony, not relieve it.”60

18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

All four gospels mention that Jesus was crucified with two others. Matthew and Mark describe them with the same word that John used to describe Barabbas61; they were robbers, insurrectionists. Luke tells us that one of them repented.62

Crucifixion was associated with shame and horror. Josephus, who watched many crucifixions during Titus’ conquest of Jerusalem in 70 AD, referred to it as ‘the most wretched of deaths.’63 “It was so brutal that no Roman citizen could be crucified without the sanction of the emperor. Stripped naked and beaten to a pulpy weakness, the victim could hang in the hot sun for hours, even days. To breathe, it was necessary to push up with the legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity opening and functioning. Terrible muscle spasms would wrack the body. But since collapse meant asphyxiation, the strain went on and on.”64 The little seat actually prolonged life and agony—it partially supported the body’s weight, and therefore encouraged the victim to fight on.65

Believing eyes see Jesus working out our salvation.

19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the

57 Carson, page 60958 Carson, page 60959 Burge, page 52560 Carson, page 60861 lestai62 Luke 23:40-4363 Burge, page 52564 Carson, page 61065 Carson, page 610

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city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

It was customary for the Romans to provide a public written notice of the criminal’s name and his crime on a placard or tablet of some form. This placard or tablet would be hung on the condemned criminal’s neck or carried before him as he made his way to the place of execution.66 Once the prisoner was crucified, the placard was fastened to his cross.

The placard in Jesus case said, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews” What was his crime? He was the King of the Jews. It was written in Aramaic, the common language in Judea, Latin, the official language of the army, and Greek the lingua franca of the empire67 and well known in Galilee.68 “The Romans would understand the Latin; the Jewish population would read the Aramaic; and the Greek was the universal language of the Mediterranean world.”69

John’s emphasis on the published charge against Jesus served several purposes. First, it made clear that the charge on which Jesus was finally found guilty was the first one, the (political) charge of sedition. Second, the wording is Pilate’s last act of revenge in the case. Here he is one last time taunting the Jews with Jesus’ kingship. But thirdly, Pilate’s choice of words serves God’s purposes. “The Lord Jesus is indeed the King of the Jews; the cross is the means of his exaltation and the very manner of his glorification. And the placard is a symbol for the proclamation of the kingship of Jesus for the whole world”70

So the two men most actively and immediately responsible for Jesus’ death, Caiaphas and Pilate, unwittingly serving as prophets of the king they execute.71 Caiaphas back in John 11:49-52, said something like “It’s expedient that one man should die for the nation” and Pilate here with the placard detailing Jesus’ name and crime

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things,

66 Carson, page 61067 Carson, page 61068 Carson, page 61069 Burge, page 52670 Carson, page 61171 Carson, page 611

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By custom the clothes of an executed criminal were the perquisite of the executioners. Normally a Jew in Palestine wore a tunic next to the skin and an outer garment like a robe. It’s likely that the four soldiers divided Jesus’ clothes—his belt, his sandals, his head covering and his robe. So each soldier got one item each. Then they cast lots for the tunic which was seamless.

The gambling for the tunic, John registers as a fulfillment of Psalm 22:18.

Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe.

Austin and I visited with a lady at the Willows on Saturday who over the course of the conversation said, “I did my best” and it seemed that she was saying ‘I did my best to live a good life’. As I looked back on it, I wished I had countered her thoughts gently: “It’s really not about what we do; it’s about what Jesus did.”

And even as I awoke this morning to work my heart out for God, I realized I wasn’t living out the gospel. He’s done the work. It’s left for me to believe.

______________________

Hear these words from the prophet Isaiah…

Isaiah 53:3–6 (ESV) 3  He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

5  But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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