What Jesus Did

"What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "[Jesus] is not guilty of any crime.

—John 18:38 NLT

Key Thought


Pilate answered his own question: Jesus was not guilty of any crime. The whole process is a great reminder of the travesty of injustice and the loss of human decency and integrity. Jesus was delivered into the hands of those who hated him. The Messiah was convicted on trumped up charges in an illegal trial. Jesus was...

 

Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, "Look, here is the man!" When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" "Take him yourselves and crucify him," Pilate said. "I find him not guilty."

—John 19:5-6 NLT

Key Thought


"Not guilty!" That's the true verdict on Jesus. However, he assumed our guilt and sin on the cross so that we can be freed from them. He died as a...

 

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, "I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty."

—John 19:4 NLT

Key Thought


Pilate knew the truth, but couldn't bring himself to live by it! Jesus was innocent. He said it again and again. The problem was he wouldn't live up to what he knew was true. For Christians, Pilate was a hideous and weak ruler, catering to the will of the mob rather than following his conscience. Yet...

 

Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the king of the Jews?" he asked him. Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my...

 

The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on [Jesus'] head, and they put a purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

—John 19:2-3 NLT

Key Thought


If you can't beat him, mock him. That might have been the slogan of the religious leaders who hated Jesus. A long night of mockery and torture was well underway. The people Jesus came to save were repeatedly, one group after another, rejecting him and sending him...

 

Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.

—John 19:1 NLT

Key Thought


Pilate believed Jesus was innocent, but had him flogged! It was a political move for Pilate. It was torture for Jesus. Having your back beaten and chunks of skin ripped out each time the whip struck was horrific punishment. Pilate thought the flogging would appease the blood-lust of the mob. It did not. Instead, flogging Jesus only set the stage for worse tortures that would be inflicted...

 

[Pilate said,] "But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this 'King of the Jews'?" But they shouted back, "No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

—John 18:39-40 NLT

Key Thought


At first glance, we look at the choice made by the people on this horrible day and wonder how they could do it. However, when we take a long look at ourselves, we are struck by the many times...

 

Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."

—John 18:37 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus came as King. He did not come as a king in robes of royalty or with a fine palace and a royal court. Instead, Jesus came as the King of Truth in simplicity and with a band of everyday folks called apostles. His mission was not to conquer...

 

Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover. So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, "What is your charge against this man?" "We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted. "Then take him away and judge him by your own law," Pilate told them...

 

But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?" Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

—John 18:26-27 NLT

Key Thought


Three strikes and you're out. That's true in baseball. That's also true under some of the laws in the United States. It is not true with God's grace. Regardless of what you've done or how many times you've done it...