Six Trials

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Six Trials

John 18:33-38

33 Then [oun] Pilate [Pilatos] entered [eiserchomai] into [eis] the judgment hall [praitorion] again [palin] , and [kai] called [phoneo] Jesus [Iesous] , and [kai] said [epo] unto him [autos] , Art [ei] thou [su] the King [basileus] of the Jews [Ioudaios] ?
34 Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] him [autos] , Sayest [lego] thou [su] this thing [touto] of [apo] thyself [heautou] , or [e] did others [allos] tell it [epo] thee [soi] of [peri] me [emou] ?
35 Pilate [Pilatos] answered [apokrinomai] , [meti] Am [eimi] I [ego] a Jew [Ioudaios] ? Thine own [sos] nation [ethnos] and [kai] the chief priests [archiereus] have delivered [paradidomi] thee [se] unto me [emoi] : what [tis] hast thou done [poieo] ?
36 Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] , My [emos] kingdom [basileia] is [esti] not [ou] of [ek] this [toutou] world [kosmos] : if [ei] my [emos] kingdom [basileia] were [en] of [ek] this [toutou] world [kosmos] , then would [an] my [emos] servants [huperetes] fight [agonizomai] , that [hina me] I should [paradidomi] not [hina me] be delivered [paradidomi] to the Jews [Ioudaios] : but [de] now [nun] is [esti] my [emos] kingdom [basileia] not [ou] from hence [enteuthen] .
37 Pilate [Pilatos] therefore [oun] said [epo] unto him [autos] , Art [ei] thou [su] a king [basileus] then [oukoun] ? Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] , Thou [su] sayest [lego] that [hoti] I [ego] am [eimi] a king [basileus] . To [eis] this [touto] end was [gennao] I [ego] born [gennao] , and [kai] for [eis] this [touto] cause came I [erchomai] into [eis] the world [kosmos] , that [hina] I should bear witness [martureo] unto the truth [aletheia] . Every one [pas] that is [on] of [ek] the truth [aletheia] heareth [akouo] my [mou] voice [phone] .
38 Pilate [Pilatos] saith [lego] unto him [autos] , What [tis] is [esti] truth [aletheia] ? And [kai] when he had said [epo] this [touto] , he went out [exerchomai] again [palin] unto [pros] the Jews [Ioudaios] , and [kai] saith [lego] unto them [autos] , I [ego] find [heurisko] in [en] him [autos] no [oudeis] fault [aitia] at all. KJV-Interlinear

33 Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus, and said to Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' 34 Jesus answered, 'Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?' 35 Pilate answered, 'I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You up to me; what have You done?' 36 Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.' 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.' 38 Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?' NASB

Matt. 27:11
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' And Jesus said to him, 'It is as you say.' NASB

Mark 15:2
2 And Pilate questioned Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' And answering He said to him, 'It is as you say.' NASB

Luke 23:3
3 And Pilate asked Him, saying, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' And He answered him and said, 'It is as you say.' NASB

Palestine at this time was under the rule of three sons of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea, Philip ruled the northeast area, and Archelaus ruled Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. But the supreme Roman official over all of Judea was the procurator, or governor, who had command of the Roman troops. And Pilate is the one to whom the chief priests, elders and such went, in order to obtain a death warrant against Jesus.

They could not come up with any legitimate charge against Jesus with which to try Him let alone to convict Him. They condemned Him based on His telling the truth, which is that He was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

When they took Jesus to Pilate it was early in the morning. Remember that by 9 am Jesus will be on the Cross, and we still have several more legal proceedings to attend to before that time. So it is very early. The charges had nothing to do with their finding of His statement that he was the Messiah, but they fabricated lies implying that Jesus was an enemy against Rome - refusal to pay taxes, was a king, etc.

Pilate has gone back inside to think this all over. The high priests, chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees all hated Jesus because He undermined their religious influence and stature before the people. He exposed their sinfulness, their hypocrisy, and their scriptural error and misapplication. He was popular, they were not. He could heal and perform miracles, they could not. He taught truth, they did not. Their true motivation was financial, power and the various associated lusts and that was probably transparent even to a gentile politician like Pilate. So he pondered the matter and called Jesus in to speak with Him privately.

By the way, this study is not specifically a condemnation of the high priests, chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, because anyone who ignores their Bible study is in effect just as despicable as they. Remember our previous study when these same men suggested that they would not kill the prophets as their predecessors did in centuries past? So do not assume that you would not lower yourself to their levels, for anyone who ignores the Word of God in their life, anyone who compromises, pretends, or is just indifferent to God and His Word is open to these low levels of degeneracy, that these men had.

We are all either for God or not. And to be for God means to be obedient to His word. And that means a daily Bible study, perpetual fellowship, application of His principles to ones life, and the consequent spiritual growth.

Now this is Pilate's examination, in private, with Jesus. Pilate questions Jesus regarding His kingship. Pilate is neither interested in Jewish doctrine nor in the Messiah. Pilate is negative, despite being confronted with God, face to face. Pilate is only interested in preserving the political and civil peace within the jurisdiction of his authority.

Jesus confirms that He is a King, and offers the truth to Pilate. But Pilate also confirms that He is not interested in truth. No negative person is interested in truth, they are only interested in that which affects them directly and immediately.

Satan could not manufacture any sin nor defect against Jesus with which to invalidate His qualification for being the perfect sacrifice. The Judean leadership could find no guilt in Jesus, and now Pilate, the representative gentile governor, could find no sin within Him. There is no one who can find any reason with which to condemn Jesus.