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Yeshua’s
trial before Pilate; Yeshua’s trial before Herod;
Yeshua’s final trial before Pilate; Pilate’s three-fold
acquittal
Rabbi
Yeshua is the Most Important Person who ever lived.
He is the Son of God, and the Son of Man - fully
God and fully human. That makes Him absolutely
unique. That makes Him uniquely qualified to help
suffering humanity. The events we are considering
are the most important events connected to the
most important day in the life of the Most Important
Man who ever lived!
These
important events, which made a new beginning and
new life possible for humanity - reconciliation
to God, and eternal life - are connected to Spring,
which is a time of new life and new beginnings
for nature, and Passover, which was a time of
new life and new beginnings for Israel as we were
set free from harsh slavery in Egypt. That first
Passover forms a prophetic background to this
greater Passover and greater Lamb who provides
a greater deliverance, a greater rescue and salvation
from darker and more powerful forces than those
of Egypt!
During
His last day, Messiah experienced several trials
- one before the high priest; another trial before
Israel’s Sanhedrin, the highest seat of authority
of the Jewish people; another before Pontius Pilate
- who represented the authority of the Gentiles
of the world; and before Herod - another authority;
and then Yeshua’s final trial before Pilate once
again.
This means
Messiah was thoroughly examined by the representatives
of the Chosen Nation, and by the representative
of Rome - the leading empire of the world. Any
one of these authorities could have done what
was right - declare Yeshua, who was a good and
righteous man - innocent of false charges and
set Him free.
None of
them chose to do what was right. That tells us
that not just Judas and Peter and the other disciples
failed spectacularly, but the Jewish world and
the Gentile world also failed spectacularly. But,
humanity’s spectacular failure doesn’t have to
be the end of our story! God is so great and wise
and merciful and good that He is able to bring
amazing redemption even from mankind’s spectacular
failure!
In response
to their question about whether Yeshua was the
Messiah, the young Rabbi had boldly declared to
the Sanhedrin that He was the Son of Man - a unique
and perfect and powerful and honorable human being
who was and would be very close to God. Yeshua
also clearly declared to the leaders of the Chosen
People that He is the divine Son of God - equal
to the Father in nature, ruling with God the Father
over all things, all beings, all forces, all powers.
The Sanhedrin
had finally gotten what they wanted - a crystal
clear declaration from the mouth of Yeshua Himself
that He was the Messiah and the Son of God. It
happened to be the truth - but among political
and religious leaders who were far from the truth,
it was enough to convict Yeshua of blasphemy and
give them grounds to try and have Him put to death
by the Roman authorities, who had the power to
execute capital punishment. But, Roman law and
Roman authorities weren’t interested in the intricacies
of Jewish religion. The Jewish leaders needed
to approach Pilate along different lines to accomplish
their goal to have Yeshua put to death. And, they
found an area that did interest Rome - potential
rebellion against the empire.
Then
the whole body of them got up and brought Him
before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying,
"We found this man misleading our nation
and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying
that He Himself is Messiah, a King”. So
Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King
of the Jews"? And He answered him and said,
"It is as you say”.
Just as
He had boldly told the truth to the highest Jewish
authorities, now Yeshua boldly declared the truth
to the highest Gentile authority. Yes, He was
the rightful King of the special nation that God
chose to help Him save the nations of the world
that were alienated from Him. Even though this
admission could have caused Him very serious trouble
from the mighty Roman empire, Yeshua declared
that He was the God-ordained leader of the nation
that was designed by God to be a light to the
other nations who were in darkness and far from
God and truth and life.
But, in
spite of His bold declaration of His kingship,
Pilate sensed that the young Rabbi was no threat
to Rome. He would not be stirring up rebellion
against the empire. The charges against Yeshua
were biased and flimsy and motivated by other
considerations, and Pilate knew it. Then Pilate
said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I
find no guilt in this man”. This is the Roman
governor’s first declaration of Yeshua’s innocence.
The Jewish
leaders didn’t give up at Pilate’s first refusal
to do what they wanted. They were determined to
get rid of Yeshua. But they kept on insisting,
saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching
all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as
far as this place”.
Ah, Galilee!
The mind of Pilate saw a potential way out of
this difficult situation - a change of jurisdiction
would help him. He could shift this problem to
someone else. When Pilate heard it, he asked
whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned
that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent
Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem
at that time.
Conveniently,
Herod was in the city. And, he had his own reasons
for being willing to get involved with the Miracle
Working Rabbi from Nazareth. Now Herod was
very glad when he saw Yeshua; for he had wanted
to see Him for a long time, because he had been
hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign
performed by Him.
Even though
Herod was rich and powerful, and could have proclaimed
Yeshua innocent, and spared His life, Yeshua did
not cater to Herod’s desire to see a miracle.
The Righteous One was not and is not impressed
by human power or wealth, and Yeshua would not
do a miracle to impress this king - even if it
meant being set free.
And, just
as Isaiah had predicted 700 years earlier, Messiah
was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open
his mouth to defend Himself; He was led like a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth
during this time of trial. And he questioned
Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.
Doing nothing and saying nothing to Herod was
the right thing to do - even if it caused Yeshua
further suffering.
And
the chief priests and the scribes (the experts
in Torah) were standing there, accusing Him
vehemently. Herod was in charge of this trial,
and if Yeshua was on trial before Herod, these
leaders were still determined to have the popular
young Rabbi from Nazareth eliminated.
Herod
wouldn’t have the silent Galilean, who refused
to answer him or do a miracle, killed - but he
could show the Nazarene who was the real king,
and who wasn’t; who was in charge, and who wasn’t;
and who was worthy of respect, and who wasn’t.
And Herod with his soldiers, after treating
Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him
in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
Herod and his soldiers believed that Herod was
a true king, and worthy of honor, and that the
Carpenter-Turned-Rabbi, even if He did have some
connection to the family of David, was not a true
king, and was worthy of their contempt and humiliation.
The Son of God, through whom the universe was
made and is sustained, could have asked His Father
to destroy these vial, insulting little creatures
- but He did nothing. For our benefit, and to
make our salvation possible, He patiently endured
their humiliation.
How surprised
Herod and his soldiers will be on the Day of Judgment,
which is a real day which is really coming, when
these same men appear before the glorious Son
of God, who will be yielding power and authority
over Israel and the nations, and they find out
who, all along, was the real king, and who wasn’t;
who really was in charge, and who wasn’t; and
who really was worthy of respect, and who wasn’t!
Make sure that you are not like Herod and his
soldiers, and to your shame and horror, are horribly
surprised on that Day!
To get
out of a difficult situation, Pilate tried passing
jurisdiction of Yeshua to Herod. Herod returned
the favor and passed the responsibility back to
Pilate. Politics makes strange bedfellows. It
turned out that Herod and Pilate had more in common
than they thought. Common dislikes can create
allies. My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Luke tells
us that from Yeshua’s trials before the two of
them, a new political alliance was forged that
day. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with
one another that very day; for before they had
been enemies with each other.
Now we
come to Yeshua’s final trial. It was before Pontius
Pilate, the representative of Gentile world power.
He had the authority to kill the King of the Jews,
or do the right thing and release Him. Will the
representative of the Gentiles do the right thing?
Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers
and the people, and said to them, "You brought
this man to me as one who incites the people to
rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before
you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding
the charges which you make against Him. No, nor
has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold,
nothing deserving death has been done by Him.
Therefore I will punish Him and release Him”.
This was the informed determination and the second
declaration of Yeshua’s innocence by the representative
of the mighty Roman empire.
Pilate’s
desire was to set free the innocent young Rabbi.
A Roman custom offered him some hope of doing
just that. Now he was obliged to release to
them at the feast one prisoner. But the Jewish
leaders and the people who supported them would
not make that possible. They pressured Pilate
to release someone else. But they cried out
all together, saying, "Away with this man,
and release for us Barabbas"! (He was one
who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection
made in the city, and for murder.) These were
the leaders of the nation of Israel, and their
supporters. These were the leaders of the nation
that was closest to God. But, this part of humanity
preferred Bar Abba, whose name means, “Son of
the Father” to be released, rather than the true
Bar Abba- the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
Even though
they were very religious men, they were so far
from God that a real criminal, a rebel against
Rome and a murderer was preferable to them than
the righteous and innocent Son of God. This shows
us that even leaders, even the majority of leaders,
even leaders who are deeply religious can go very
far from God, go very far from the truth and make
the most mammoth mistakes.
How about
you? Are you really close to God? Are you really
close to the truth? Are you really doing what
is right in His sight? Are you really pleasing
Him, or is your life based on colossal miscalculations?
Pilate
knew enough of the truth about Yeshua to want
to do what was right. Pilate, wanting to release
Yeshua, addressed them again, but they kept on
calling out, saying, "Crucify, crucify Him"!
Knowing that the popular young Rabbi was innocent,
Pilate again attempted to have Yeshua released.
He could have - if he exerted his political will
- but he was unwilling to do that. It might cost
him something to release Yeshua, and he was unwilling
to pay that price.
And
he said to them the third time, "Why, what
evil has this man done? I have found in Him no
guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish
Him and release Him”. This is the third official
declaration of the representative of the Gentile
leaders of the world that Yeshua was innocent.
There was no question in the mind of Pilate that
the King of the Jewish people was innocent and
should not be put to death.
Another
idea came to this Roman politician: maybe Yeshua’s
adversaries would be satisfied with a severe punishment,
and that suffering and humiliation would be enough
to satisfy them? So he offered to punish Yeshua
and release Him. But they were insistent, with
loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their
voices began to prevail. And politicians tend
to listen to the majority, or to those who make
the most noise - more than the minority who are
right and innocent - especially if it a minority
of one. And, the Roman governor yielded to their
demand. He caved into political pressure. And
Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be
granted. And he released the man they were asking
for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection
and murder, but he delivered Yeshua to their will.
Pilate
made perhaps the worst judicial and political
decision in human history. He also violated his
conscious. He did what he knew was wrong. He knowingly
had an innocent man killed for political expediency.
He showed us what the leaders of the world so
often are like. He showed us what humanity is
really like. He showed us the corruption of human
nature. He showed us the depths of the corruption
of politics. He showed us the corruption of human
judicial systems. He corrupted his office. He
shamed himself and his family and the mighty Roman
empire, and its system of law and justice. In
fact, he shamed all of humanity.
Human
political and religious leaders, nations and even
great empires, have failed humanity time after
time after time. And, they are no better now than
they were 2,000 years ago. That is not where we
look to, to get our hope, our strength, to be
our role models. We need something greater, someone
greater, better, purer, more honest, more truthful,
more reliable.
One of
the Passover psalms teaches us: It is better
to take refuge in the Lord, than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to
trust in princes.
Another
psalm declares: How blessed, advantaged, much
happier and far better off is the man who has
made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to
the proud, nor to those who have gone into error.
And the
prophet Jeremiah wrote: This is what Adonai,
the Great Creator God, says: "Cursed is the
one who trusts in humanity, who depends on other
human beings for his strength and whose heart
turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush
in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity
when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places
of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives
(sound horrible!). But blessed, advantaged,
happier and better off is the man who trusts in
the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will
be like a tree planted by the water that sends
out its roots by the stream. It does not fear
when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never
fails to bear fruit" (sounds delightful
and successful!).
Yeshua
is indeed the Messiah and the Lord that God the
Father sent. We must know that! We must trust
Him! We must place our confidence in Him in order
to lead a truly blessed and successful life in
this world, and have any hope of experiencing
eternal life in the world to come! I pray that
God would help each one of us do that, before
we leave this world!
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