Mark tends to give fewer details than the other gospel writers do, so he skips over the treatment Jesus endures at the hands of Pilate's soldiers, but both Matthew and John tell us how shamefully these men make sport of the Lord before Pilate presents Him to the people a final time.
"Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' And they slapped Him in the face." (John 19:1-3) Matthew adds these details, "They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. 'Hail, king of the Jews!' they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again." (Matthew 27:29b-30) Oh, the very idea of our precious Lord being treated this way! I want to blot from my mind the picture that forms when I read about the way He was mocked. I want to squirm in shame knowing that the shame Jesus endured should have been mine. By my sins I earned mocking and shame and punishment, but just as the rebellious and murderous Barabbas was set free in place of Jesus, so I was set free as well.
Pilate hopes the punishment has been severe enough to satisfy the enemies of Jesus. A flogging by Roman soldiers was so brutal that prisoners sometimes died from it, so when Pilate once again presents Jesus to the people he hopes the horrifying sight of a beaten and bloody man will be enough to persuade them to stop calling for His death. "Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, 'Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.' When Jesus came out wearing the thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, 'Here is the man!'" (John 19:4-5)
But it's no use. The religious leaders don't want Him. The sight of Him following the beating and mocking is a shocking thing, but it doesn't deter His enemies from demanding His death, as the prophet Isaiah predicted, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem." (Isaiah 53:2b-3) I picture the religious leaders throwing their hands up over their mouths at the sight of Jesus bleeding in the purple robe and crown of thorns, but still they despise Him. Still they cry out, "Crucify Him!" They back up their request with the true reason they've brought Him before Pilate, and it has nothing to do with any imaginary sedition against Rome, "We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God." (John 19:7)
Pilate is used to having prisoners brought before him. No doubt he has cavalierly sent many a man to his death. But he does not want to send this man to His death. When he hears that Jesus claims to be the Son of God, I think all of Pilate's hair stands on end. I think a chill goes over him. Since daybreak he's been plagued by a sense of being used in a game he doesn't understand. Since daybreak his wife has been plagued by a terrible dream she had in the night, and upon hearing that Jesus is in her husband's judgment hall, she sent word for Pilate to have nothing to do with this matter. Pilate is afraid of many things right now. He's afraid a riot will break out under his watch. He's afraid of his superiors in Rome. He's afraid for his position. And now He's afraid of Jesus. He knows this is no ordinary prisoner because the hatred the religious leaders harbor for Jesus is no ordinary hatred. The enemies of Jesus tell Pilate that Jesus claims to be the Son of God and this news shakes the Roman prefect to the core, "When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. 'Where do You come from?' he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 'Do You refuse to speak to me?' Pilate said. 'Do You realize I have power to free You or to crucify You?' Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'" (John 19:8-11)
Pilate goes out again and appeals to those gathered there to let Jesus go, but they play on his political insecurities. They cleverly taunt Pilate, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." (John 19:12) A Roman prefect like Pilate usually served a term of about three years, but historians tell us that Pilate held the position for ten years. He is a gifted politician. He knows how to use the system to his advantage. He didn't get where he is by doing anything to draw the disfavor of Caesar. But there's something about this particular prisoner that causes Pilate to work from sunup til noon to set Him free. But now he feels he has exhausted all his options. If he continues denying the request to crucify Jesus, a riot is going to ensue. Rome will send additional soldiers because it will appear that Pilate is incapable of maintaining law and order in Jerusalem. He will likely be removed from his position and sent to some backwater town to spend the remainder of his career in obscurity. Pilate makes a choice, a self-serving choice, as he offers Jesus to the people for the last time, "'Shall I crucify your king?' Pilate asked. 'We have no king but Caesar,' the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed Him over to be crucified." (John 19:15)
As we discussed yesterday, we too have a choice to make. Pilate made the wrong one. He chose Caesar. Are we going to choose the "caesars" of this world: the pleasures of sin? Or are we going to choose Jesus Christ as our king? If we go with "caesar" we will stand before a holy God someday clothed in our own shame. But if we go with Jesus we will stand before a holy God clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Jesus willingly relinquished every ounce of dignity He had in order to give our dignity back to us. If we reject Him, there is no other sacrifice God will accept for our sins. His Son gave it all so we could go free. "How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3a)
Below is our worship song link for today. It contrasts our sinfulness with the holiness of Jesus. It speaks about what He endured to set us free.
How Can It Be?
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