Pronouncing Judgement on Jesus

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This is the Truth Network. Imagine looking into the eyes of Jesus Christ and pronouncing judgment on him. Two thousand years ago, the man who would do that, his wife interrupted him as he was about to make the most important decision he would ever make. In the middle of the greatest trial in all of history, the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife, sent him an urgent message. We read that in Matthew 27, verse 19.

"...have nothing to do with this righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him." So who does Pilate listen to? His own sense of justice, which repeatedly found no fault in him? Harriet, who also found Jesus innocent? The religious leaders and their host of haters crying out for his blood? Or does he actually listen to his wife?

We all know, in hindsight, his wife was the only one right in the whole situation. Wednesday in the Word is our group of men that meet every week, and we bring it to you at the end of Truth Talk every week on Experience Truth. I'm so glad you're here. I'm Stu Everson. With me along with the rider today is the man who rides a lot on national radio, Robbie Dilmore, the Christian car guy. Robbie, thanks for popping in with us, my friend, and joining us. My pleasure.

We got a lot on this great trial. We may have to have you back next week, because we may not get to all this this week, but it's such important territory in terms of history and redemptive history. And I'd love for you to read the passage, if you would, Luke 23, 13 through 25. Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, You have brought this man to me as one who misleads the people, and indeed, having examined him in your presence, I have found no fault in this man concerning those things of which you accuse him. No, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him, and indeed, nothing deserving of death has been done by him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for it was necessary to release one of them at the feast. And they all cried out at once, saying, Away with this man, and release us, Barabbas.

And Barabbas had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city and for murder. Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again cried out to them, but they shouted, crying, Crucify him! Crucify him! Then he said to them the third time, Why, what evil has he done?

I have found no reason for death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that he be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested, and he released them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison. But he delivered Jesus to their will. So that's Luke 23, 13 to 25. That's also in Matthew 27, Mark 15 and John 18. This interchange is parts of it are in all four of the Gospels.

Robbie, ask this first question as we get right into a real fascinating fact of history that many may not remember. Why would they call for the release of a convicted murderer over the innocent one who raised the dead? So here they're calling out for the release of Barabbas, which was an awful man, a bloody man, yet Jesus is innocent. So this is a real contrasting thing.

And what's even more contrasting, a little higher there, Robbie, if you look at that question, I'm baffled. There's so much injustice being miscarried here, where you have all these religious leaders, the Jews declaring Christ guilty, like they would have Barabbas, but the pagan Romans, the ones who have really no conscience, really, that are all debauched. I mean, if you study Pilate's bloody history, if you study Herod's bloody history, it's even bloodier.

Herod had almost all his family murdered, yet they found no fault in Jesus. So you see these contrasting parallels here, and you wonder what's going on. Pilate was bound to represent Roman justice and law. This is the lady justice we have in our courts. You know that lady who's on display in our courts, blindfolded and holding the scales?

This was very much a principle of Pax Romana, the Roman law, Roman justice, Roman peace. So there's a sense of that holding it, but now he's at the greatest trial of history. He's got all these voices in his ear. He says, well, let's scourge Christ so we can at least pacify the crowd, and maybe they'll finally release him. And then he says, hey, you know what I'll do? I'll give him the hardest criminal on death row. This guy's got a cross, and we're going to execute him today. We'll offer him up and let Jesus go free.

Seems natural, because he did the custom was to turn one prisoner loose, and the worst he heard then, release Barabbas. So all of his diplomacy, all of Pilate's political maneuvering, and he chooses popularity over politics, and even over the voice of his wife. Robbie, have you ever had a big decision you've got to make, and there's your wife's voice haunting you, saying don't do it? Somehow our wives are gifted with the gift of discernment, as was the case of Pilate's wife, of all people. I've often heard people say that God sounds a lot like their wife, you know? Yeah, before we become dismissive about our wives, oh great, here she comes again, oh no, she's just trying to ruin my good afternoon, my tea time, or whatever it is.

You remember those words from another wise person, listen to your wife, she's got the gift of discernment. How many times have I heard that on all kinds of Christian radio, AFR radio, and Truth Network, where I've heard, you know, godly men, Dobson and others say, listen to your wife, don't dismiss it. And Pilate obviously didn't.

Even the sobering words of a distraught wife would not deter her husband from the greatest miscarriage in all of history. And I think it's an interesting question to me, is what was God up to in that? In other words, he gave her the dream, and he clearly knew that Jesus needed to make it to the cross.

So I'm sorry, but that question just is, I was sitting there pondering it as you were talking, why did God do that? He obviously wanted to highlight this situation. Yeah, and Pilate, so here he is, there's something significant about this, the wife, her dream, you don't want to treat it too lightly, or too tritely, but in this moment, Pilate stamps his indelible imprint on history as a coward and as the one who condemned the only innocent man to death, Jesus Christ. Can you imagine looking into Jesus' eyes, as Pilate did in John 18.38, and looking him in the eye and saying, what is truth?

Just he's looking into the truth, Jesus Christ. So Pilate's mentioned in the book of Acts, he's mentioned in the epistles, he is even mentioned in the much-acclaimed Apostles' Creed. He's mentioned there, which references how Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate.

History tells us he was exiled to Gaul in 1836, committed suicide just prior to going on trial for another political accusation. His political life was fraught with turmoil and turbulence, but this is the third Roman trial of Jesus, the second trial before Pilate, and the final trial before he goes off to the cross. So, verse 13, 14, and 15, Pilate calls all the people together, the chief priests, the elders, he gets them all together so he can plead the innocence of Jesus once more.

Herod has already found no guilt in him. So there have been a total of three to five declarations of innocence about Jesus from these guys, and the Jews of course were out for him, and they had already declared him guilty. So, I don't know if we can skip down to this next question, Robbie, at the bottom. And when the mob gets loud, and the mob comes after him, he completely gives in to their whims, and he, even after releasing Barabbas or offering to do that, which was traditional to do at the Passover feast, the only reference to that, by the way, is in the Gospel of Luke. So, Robbie, go down to this question of the washing of the hands here. That just fascinates me. Yeah, so, why did he wash his hands? Deuteronomy apparently has some answers here for you.

Yeah. So, there's some significance with the sacrificial system. There's some significance with the deep symbolism of hand washing and what it meant. And in this case, Pilate was basically saying, you know, this is off me. He's completely edemifying himself, there's a fun legal word, against any damages or liabilities, and saying, he is all you. Now, ironically, he offered up Barabbas, whose name means son of the father. Barabbas is also called a robber or a thief. He's called an insurrectionist. He's called a murderer. If you look at all the Gospel accounts that you can piece together, this guy had a pretty nasty resume.

He's probably thinking, don't look at the other accounts, just keep it at thief. But he was a really bad guy. He was a terrorist. John 10 says, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This would be an accurate description, not just of Satan, but of this ringleader.

And he was all three of those things. Barabbas spent his life killing, stealing, and destroying. Ironically, Christ Jesus was bound toward the cross that was meant for Barabbas. So there's a lot of great contrasting between him and Jesus.

Here he is stealing his whole life. Christ is restoring. He's killing. Jesus is raising the dead. He stirred up hate. Jesus brought love and peace. He was the first to ever directly experience a vicarious substitutionary atonement.

Think about that. We always talk about, well, Christ died in my place. Well, Christ literally, the first person he died in the place of was Barabbas.

Why? Because Barabbas was actually targeted or fit for that exact cross. So there is Christ dying for him in his literal cross. You know, literally, what a powerful picture of the Gospel, personal picture. You know, that song I think about, I'm forgiven because he was forsaken. Literally, you know, guilty Barabbas whose name means Son of the Father was pardoned, while innocent Jesus the Son of God was condemned to make me a son of the Heavenly Father.

So there's so many pictures in here. You think about what Jesus said in his stated essence of his mission. Luke 19, 10, earlier in Luke, the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Barabbas would have been that one.

Just Google all the YouTube videos on Barabbas, on the story. Just imagine what would have confounded his mind. Here, I'm going scotch-free. I'm the most guilty man in the whole country. They finally caught me. I've bloodied all kinds of people and destroyed all kinds of homes and Rome and Israel and Herod and Pilate. I'm guilty on all fronts, and yet I'm walking away, and that man who's the innocent, spotless Lamb of God, is taking away my sin and taking my cross.

Wow. So the mob screams, crucify him, verse 21. We're out of time for this, Robbie. We'll come back next time and get into the final verses on down here, you know, verses 21 on through verse 25, this call to crucify him. And even then, Pilate is, you know, still back and forth with them, disagreeing with them, arguing with them, but then he delivers Jesus over.

But a lot there. Do you know Christ? Do you realize you and I are Barabbas? Christ, the Son of God, took our cross, took my place on that cross, so he could make us sons of God. John 1, 12 is amazing. He's received him, to them gave he the right, the power to become sons of God. We'll be here next time on Experience Truth. Read the Word, study the Word, share the Word, memorize the Word, and share the good news of Jesus with someone before your head hits the pillow tonight.