Luke 23:13-23
Luke 23:13-23
When Pilate gets Jesus back he calls all of the accusers and witnesses back into court and gives his “judgment statement”.
The alleged charges of inciting a rebellion was stated as if Pilate didn’t believe the witnesses statements were accurate. The phrase “as one who” seems to indicate there’s doubt in Pilates mind.
Then Pilate gives his own testimony of examining Jesus in front of the accusers. Maybe the statements he heard didn’t ring true. Either the accusations couldn’t be verified or the statements were conflicting. Maybe the statements sounded identical as if rehearsed.
Pilate even brings up the examination of Herod, another official, who could not find anything to justify a punishment of death.
Pilate finally issued his punishment and release statement.
Pilate probably expected that to be the end of it but the Jews pushed back. “Do away with him!”
Please notice that the scripture given in the study guide leaves out verse 17 and that tweaked my curiosity, so I did a little research. It seems that some of the old documents that are used for translating into English do not have the verse and some do. So depending on which modern version you use, may or may not have that verse. It just depends on what the team of translators thought.
But the teacher’s guide filled in the information using Matthew. Mark also verifies that verse17 was just a comment as to why Pilate offered to release a prisoner from jail. It was customary to release a prisoner from custody during the Feast.
Matthew also gives a reason why Pilate might have been so anxious to release Jesus. It seems at some point during this exchange Pilate’s wife asked him not to have anything to do with this innocent man, Jesus, because she had some bad dreams about Him. Maybe nightmares?
Still wanting to release Jesus, Pilate again pleads with the Jews for Jesus’s release. (This brings up a couple of questions: Didn’t the governor have sufficient authority to release someone without the accusers permission? Wasn’t he working for the Roman government? Did the Jewish rulers really have that much power and influence?)
Now the push back gets even more heated. Instead of just “do away with him”, now it’s “crucify him, crucify him.” Pilate tries again for the third time and offers to punish and release Jesus. But now the shouts get even louder and stronger.
It seems to me that Pilate was caught between a rock and a hard place, and it all had to do with politics and reputations.
If an innocent man is punish under Roman law then the issuing agent is punished or at least relieved of his position.
His apparent fear of the Jewish leaders might also cost him his job or maybe worse.
Then there is his wife, who warned him not have anything to do with that innocent man. Maybe she was just scared of losing her status as the governor’s wife or maybe a real justified fear for her husband.
I know this is about Jesus’s illegal trial that fulfills prophecy and God’s plan, but I also see a warning for us not to compromise our beliefs because of peer pressure or society’s way of thinking. We need to always measure our standards against God’s. Then follow God’s and watch the Lamb.