In The Word
Read: John 18:28-19:16
Jesus before Pilate
28 Then they *brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. 29 Therefore Pilate came out to them and *said, “What accusation are you bringing against this Man?” 30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you.” 31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” 32 This happened so that the word of Jesus which He said, indicating what kind of death He was going to die, would be fulfilled.
33 Therefore Pilate entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “You are the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?”36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”
And after saying this, he came out again to the Jews and *said to them, “I find no grounds at all for charges in His case. 39 However, you have a custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover; therefore do you wish that I release for you the King of the Jews?” 40 So they shouted again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a rebel.
The Crown of Thorns
19 So Pilate then took Jesus and had Him flogged. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him; 3 and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped Him in the face again and again. 4 And then Pilate came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.” 5 Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” 6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for I find no grounds for charges in His case!” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God!”
8 Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was evenmore afraid; 9 and he entered the Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate *said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”12 As a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!”
13 Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement—but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Look, your King!”15 So they shouted, “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 except Caesar.”
The Crucifixion
16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Pilate is introduced to Yahshua and is intrigued by Him. It may have been from the stories he heard about Yahshua, or because of his wife’s dream of not harming this holy man. Pilate asked Jesus some good questions, “Are you a king? Where are you from? What is truth?” Our Lord tells Pilate that He is a king but not from this realm. The Jews tell Pilate that Yahshua has made Himself out to be the Son of God. All three of Pilate’s questions are answered but he did not have the ears to hear.
The Jews, as a whole, finally decide to reject God’s kingdom and His king. They made a decision to have Caesar, their oppressor, as their king instead of Yahshua, their Savior, who would deliver them from the oppressor.
We see by the answers Christ gave that He was more than the king of the Jews. He was, and is, the King of His kingdom given to Him by His Father and our Father. This kingdom lives within us and through us. It is a spiritual realm that those apart from the truth cannot see. The world is blind to God’s kingdom because they have rejected God’s king, Yahshua. He is the truth, and He is the Son of God! When people move from being intrigued and skeptical, to believing in the truth, their eyes are opened to see His glorious kingdom, and their hearts begin to follow our glorious King. Hail to King Yahshua, Son of the living God and Savior to all who would believe! Allow Him to rule your life today.