Jesus Condemned by the Roman Court. Luke 23:1-25 In Luke’s account of our Lord Jesus Christ, before the Roman court presided over by Pontius Pilate, it is clear that his intention, guided by the Holy Spirit, is to show the Jewish leaders manipulating Pilate into condemning Jesus to death. Pilate, the governor, was in charge, but they pressed him to do what they wanted. The threats they used were effective. He had been a strict governor who had previously angered the Jews enough to cause an insurrection. His job was to keep the peace, and failing in this, he could have been removed. He wanted to be “Caesar’s friend” and "please the people,” even though he knew jealousy and envy motivated the Jews’ accusations against Jesus.
The entire Sanhedrin appeared before Pilate to accuse Jesus, but we know that Joseph of Arimathea had “not consented to the counsel and deed of them.” Nicodemus was also a Sanhedrin member who was willing to identify himself, along with Joseph, with the Lord Jesus by taking part in His burial. Standing against popular opinion doesn't necessarily mean making a loud protest or marching proudly with a banner. Refusing to take part in something we know is wrong and staying there despite dark looks and harsh words is not easy. In our public testimony for the Lord, sometimes our silence can be just as powerful, if not more so, than our words.
Three charges brought by the counsel against Jesus were that He was corrupting the nation with His teachings, that He was forbidding them from paying taxes to Rome, and that He was claiming to be the Christ (Messiah). The first charge wouldn’t have carried much weight with Pilate since it was just a general accusation of disturbing the peace. The second was a clear falsehood that could have easily been proven wrong by witnesses who had heard Jesus publicly say a day or two earlier, “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The third charge was true, but not in a political sense, as the deceptive leaders suggested.
Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, and Jesus gave a straightforward answer when He told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. A full account of this dialogue is in John chapter eighteen. The usual practice of a Roman trial was to present a declaration of the charges against the accused. Then, there would be a period of examination during which witnesses were called. After those steps, a verdict would be reached.
Large crowds followed Jesus into Jerusalem from outlying parts of Israel. The people who lived in Jerusalem strongly supported the religious leaders and did not welcome Jesus into the city. People from Galilee and likely other areas had experienced many blessings Jesus had given them but seemed to be regarded as lower class by those in Jerusalem. The crowd gathered at Jesus’ trial before Pilate and followed the priests' lead were mostly people who lived in the city.
Jesus’ response to Pilate’s first question was brief and direct, as recorded in Luke’s account. John’s account provides more detail when Jesus said, “Yes, it is as you say.” The outcome of that exchange was that Pilate realized he had no grounds to convict Jesus on the charges brought by the Jews. He understood that Jesus was innocent of all the false, envious, and jealous accusations from the Jews.
As a result of Pilate sending Jesus to Herod for judgment, the rift between them was resolved. Perhaps Pilate’s acknowledgment of Herod’s authority in Galilee prevented Herod from feeling threatened by a Roman governor. Pilate also killed some Galileans while they were offering sacrifices, which may have contributed to the tension between them. For whatever reason, their shared issue of what to do with an innocent Person, the Jewish leaders were determined to have killed, brought them together.
Opposition to genuinely faithful Christians who live by biblical principles will unite people from different groups to oppose believers in Christ. Religious denominations will work together in rejecting a literal interpretation of the Bible. This includes denying that God created all things, that the worldwide flood occurred, and that Noah’s ark protected the lives of animals and humans. The standards of righteous living given by God to Moses that support our laws, along with the miracles recorded in the Bible, are dismissed by those who oppose a literal understanding of the Bible.
The person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ are demeaned by those who refuse to accept that He is God, who appeared in human form so He could be the sinless substitute for all who believe in Him. To many, He is merely a “good man,” not God and a man simultaneously in one body. They see people who believe Jesus is the only Way, Truth, and Life, and that no one can go to heaven except through His grace in saving us from our sins, as intolerant, bigoted “fundamentalists.” Today, people unite against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Bible-believing followers to condemn both them and Him.
Three times in this chapter and four times overall, Jesus was declared innocent of all false charges the Jews brought against Him. Four times, Pilate gave in one way or another to the crowd's demands, which shouted, “Away with this Man and release Barabbas to us,” and “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” A total of six times, Jesus was tried by both the Jewish and Roman courts, and never was He found guilty of a crime deserving death, let alone death by crucifixion. He was condemned without being proven guilty. Even more difficult to accept than His innocence is the fact that the people chose Barabbas—who had incited rebellion and committed murder—instead of Jesus. The entire scene is beyond normal, reasonable, and sensible opposition.
When people are allowed to act without restraint by laws that are in place and taught but not enforced, a great evil that surpasses reason or common sense is unleashed within them. To “give place to the devil” is a terrible act. The consequences of such actions lead to irrecoverable and eternal loss and damnation.
The Roman government was legally responsible for Jesus' crucifixion. Luke repeatedly emphasizes that the moral responsibility for Jesus' death lay with the Jews and their leaders. “His blood be on us and our children.” To avoid falsely claiming innocence for Jesus' death, we must remember that “Christ died for the ungodly.” That includes us. It was our sins against God that brought Him to this point and to the cross, where He suffered for our sins to bring us to God.
The only payment for sin is death, and the only person who could make that payment was the One who was “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.” He was willing to do that because God loves us with boundless love. When Jesus laid down His life for us, He took on the responsibility for the sins we committed as well as the sinful nature within us that led us to commit those sins. When He took His life back again through His own power and authority over death, He gave us new life in Christ Jesus. A new nature enables us to be what He desires us to be and to do what He desires us to do.
When those people cried out for the Lord Jesus Christ to be crucified, it was an open display of how deep human depravity has gone. Conversely, it shows how urgent we are for God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, as well as the value of the gift of eternal life. Without God's grace, we would be among that terrible crowd of Christ-rejectors because of our own natural sinful nature. A person may hold power and authority, but that doesn’t mean their public office or opinion can override their own conscience.
Pilate and people like him try to absolve themselves or “wash their hands” of the responsibility of making wrong decisions by blaming others for forcing them to do it. We can't avoid the consequences of our choices and the guilt that comes with them by claiming we're not guilty. We can say whatever we want, but that doesn't change the fact that we say and do what we do.
We choose to take a job or pursue training for a specific occupation because we are willing to do so. We select the person we marry, where we live, and how we spend our money and time, and in doing so, we must accept the lifestyle and consequences that come with those choices. Every person decides whether to believe in God or not. Whatever their decision, it doesn’t change God's existence, but it does mean they will face the consequences of their choice. The same applies when someone chooses to accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. To not believe in Him is to call Him a liar, and there are lasting consequences.
Pilate surrendered Jesus to the will of the people. He is forever remembered as a judge who condemned Jesus to the most brutal death by crucifixion, despite being innocent. He did this to “content the people” and keep his position, even though he knew he was doing wrong. Justice and his own conscience will always haunt him for not doing what he knew was right, just as every Christ-rejecting sinner will live forever with the knowledge that they could have been saved but chose not to.