Read John 18:28-40; John 19:1-16.

Introduction⤒🔗

The American humorist, O. Henry, once wrote a short story entitled, “The Ransom of Red Chief.” It was the story about two inept hoodlums, Sam and Bill, who kidnapped a ten-year-old boy and the misadventures they had with their young captive called “Red Chief.”

The two came to the small Alabama town of Summit, kidnapped the ten-year-old son of a prominent resident, and decided to demand $200 for his return. The two hoodlums managed to get the boy into a buggy and carry him off to a cave a few miles outside of Summit, where the little fellow proceeded to terrorize the two outlaws and have the time of his life. The lad kept them up until 2 a.m. playing Indian scout. Then, at daybreak, Sam was awakened by a series of awful screams coming from his partner, Bill; “Red Chief” was sitting on top of Bill, trying to scalp him.

Throughout the course of the day, ten-year-old “Red Chief” dropped a red-hot boiled potato down Bill’s back and then smashed it with his foot; smacked Bill behind the ear with a rock the size of an egg, which he had launched from his slingshot; and then made poor Bill play the role of his horse whom he rode roughshod all afternoon. All the while Sam was out delivering the ransom note.

Once again leaving poor Bill in the “custody” of “Red Chief,” late that night Sam sneaked back to the spot where the ransom for the boy’s return was to be picked up. But what he found there was not the $200 ransom payment; instead, he found a note, which read as follows:

Gentlemen:

I am in receipt of your letter in regard to the ransom you ask for the return of my son. I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands. You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn’t be responsible for what they would do to anybody they saw bringing him back.

Very respectfully,
Ebenezer Dorset

Sam and Bill decided to accept Mr. Dorset’s offer. Without further delay, they showed up at the Dorset house under the cover of darkness, and handed over to Mr. Dorset the $250 and the ten-year-old terror known as “Red Chief.”

In this humorous short story, we find that these two inept hoodlums seriously miscalculated the person with whom they were dealing. In the passage of Scripture presently before us, we find that the Roman governor, Pilate, made the same mistake of seriously miscalculating Christ. We must appreciate Christ’s true identity or else, like Pilate, we will seriously miscalculate the Person with whom we are confronted.

Do Not Miscalculate Christ, By Viewing Him as a Harmless Idealist←⤒🔗

Pilate could not ignore the charge brought against Jesus by the Jewish leaders, as presented in Luke 23:1-2, “Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2^And they began to accuse him, saying, We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” So Pilate now addresses the question to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (Jn. 18:33)

The Greek text indicates Pilate’s scorn, contempt, and disbelief, as it literally reads: “You are the King of the Jews?!?” Pilate views it as incredible that this man standing before him could possibly be the King of the Jews and a threat to Rome. Bear in mind Jesus’ call to discipleship and the way in which He identifies Himself: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29).

Pilate no doubt expected a negative reply to his question and thus a swift end to this whole episode. But Jesus answered him, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others speak to you about me?” (vs. 34) To Pilate’s surprise, Jesus does not respond like a frightened little animal: timidly denying the charge, cringing in fear before the prospect of a horrible death by crucifixion, which Pilate had the authority to administer.

Far from being intimidated in the presence of the imperial governor, Jesus assumes the role of the interrogator. Note that the question He asks Pilate: Have you personally come to the conclusion that I am the King of the Jews or is this just something that others have said about Me? comes close to the question He once asked His own disciples: “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do men say the Son of Man is?...¹⁵But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am?” (Matt. 16:13,15) In effect, Jesus is asking Pilate, “Where do you stand with regard to Me? Do you perceive that I really am the King of Israel? Or do you find that to be incredible?”

With scornful indignation, this proud Roman governor responds, “I am not a Jew, am I?” (vs. 35) Pilate seems to have perceived the import of Jesus’ question, “Have you given serious consideration to who I am?” This Roman governor responds with a complete denial of Jesus’ kingship and a disdain to even be associated with Jesus or His people in any way. Pilate seeks to assert his dominance over Jesus, in effect replying to Him, “You have been delivered to me; you are my prisoner!” He seeks to identify Jesus as a mere man standing before the tribunal of imperial Rome. He inquires of Jesus, “What have you done?” Into what sort of trouble have you gotten yourself?

With solemn dignity the Lord Jesus disdains to even honor Pilate’s question with a reply (vs. 36). On the contrary, Jesus affirms that He, indeed, does possess a kingdom: three times He speaks about “my kingdom.” He declares that this kingdom is not an earthly kingdom; that is to say, it does not have its origins in this world. Note carefully that Jesus does not say that His kingdom has no relationship to this world, or that it has no bearing upon this present world. Jesus is merely saying that His kingdom does not originate from this world: it is the divine kingdom of God that comes into this world and that shall finally supplant the kingdoms of this world. Note Revelation 11:15, a passage that records the testimony of the angels concerning the day of Christ’s return in glory at the end of the age: “the seventh angel sounded [his trumpet]; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Pilate responds to Jesus’ words with a bemused exclamation, “So then, you are a king!” (vs. 37) This practical Roman, conversant with power politics and military might, is bemused with Jesus and merely views Him as a harmless idealist. But Jesus refuses to disgrace His divine majesty by directly answering Pilate’s contemptuous remarks (vs. 37b). He merely testifies that the reason He has come into the world is to bear witness to the truth. He asserts that everyone who has an affinity with the truth, everyone who is “tuned in to” the truth, will recognize the ring of truth in His words and in His life. Expressing the cynicism and relativism of his day, Pilate scornfully replies, “What is truth?” (vs. 38) At this point Pilate has dismissed Jesus as a harmless, irrelevant idealist.

Do not make the same mistake: do not miscalculate Christ by viewing Him as merely a harmless idealist, as do so many people. Consider the testimony of a newspaper reporter, Lee Strobel, who describes his view of Christ before his conversion: “I was convinced that if I looked at the historical evidence concerning Christ, I would probably be able to find out He was a nice guy and a wonderful, charismatic person, but certainly not God.”¹ In contrast to that common misconception of Christ, consider, and receive, the testimony of the Apostle John:

Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Jn. 20:30-31

Do Not Miscalculate Christ, By Viewing Him as an Object of Contempt or Pity←⤒🔗

Having recognized that Jesus has violated no Roman law, and seeking to placate the Jewish leaders, Pilate determines to scourge Jesus and release Him (Jn. 19:1). According to the New Testament commentator, Leon Morris, scourging was “a brutal affair...It could make pulp of a man’s back.”²

Thus, Jesus was turned over to the Roman soldiers who treated Him with vicious cruelty and contempt (vs. 2). They wove a crown of thorns and brutally pressed it down on Jesus’ brow. This “crown” was possibly a caricature of the “radiate crown;” a crown in which spikes radiated outward, symbolizing the glory and divinity of the one who wore it; a crown reserved for the officials of imperial Rome.³ They stripped Jesus of His garments and mockingly dressed Him in a purple robe, (another symbol of royalty). They kept coming up to Him, bowing down before Him, and in a ridiculing manner, exclaiming, “Hail! King of the Jews!” (mimicking the way they would have approached Caesar). All the while they continued to strike Him in the face; demonstrating their utter contempt for this One who had meekly subjected Himself to their abuse.

Pilate now presents Jesus to the Jews in this miserable state of mocking and degradation, exclaiming, “Here is the man!” (vs. 5) Pilate held Jesus up as an object of contempt: How could this helpless victim of violence and derision be viewed as a king? He presented Jesus as an object of pity. No doubt, he sought to solicit compassion from the Jewish mob as they looked upon this helpless, battered individual who was one of them, a fellow countryman, a fellow Jew.

But far from evoking pity, the sight of Jesus in this pathetic state of humiliation evokes from the crowd the cry of “Crucify him!” (vs. 6) Thus Pilate, the soldiers, and the Jewish nation treat Jesus as an object of contempt.

Do not make the same mistake: Do not miscalculate Christ by viewing Him as an object of pity or contempt. Do not treat Christ as an object of contempt by taking His name in vain, merely invoking His name as an expression of exasperation or anger, while you totally disregard and dismiss His divine identify. Do not treat Christ as an object of pity by entertaining the thought that it’s a shame such a good man met with such an awful death, or entertaining the thought that it’s a shame more people do not live like this remarkable teacher! Remember the testimony of the Apostle John:

Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Jn. 20:30-31

Do Not Miscalculate Christ, By Viewing Him as a Mysterious Person to be Avoided←⤒🔗

When Pilate seeks to release Jesus, the Jews protest: “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God” (vs. 7).

When Pilate heard this: “He claimed to be the Son of God,” “he became even more afraid” (vs. 8). Pilate was obviously troubled by the fact that the Jews were insisting on his executing an innocent man. Pilate had become increasingly perplexed by Jesus’ silence, when a negative reply to Pilate’s question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” would have insured His release. Pilate would become all the more disturbed by the report sent to him by his wife: “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message, ‘Do not have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him’” (Matt. 27:19). Now, added to all this, Pilate learns that Jesus indeed claims to be the Son of God.

So it is that Pilate rushed back into the palace and demanded of Jesus, “Where do you come from?” (vs. 9) Earlier, he had ascertained that Jesus was a Galilean, and, therefore, he had sent Jesus to King Herod,

But they insisted, 'He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.' ⁶Hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.Lk. 23:5-7

So it is evident that, when he now inquires of Jesus, “Where do you come from?” Pilate is not inquiring about Jesus’ earthly origins. No doubt the words Jesus had spoken earlier were now ringing in Pilate’s ears and speaking to his heart:

Then Pilate said to him, So then, you are a king. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying that I am a king. For this reason have I been born, and for this reason have I come into the world, [namely], so that I may testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth recognizes my voice.' Jn. 18:37

Jesus now responds to Pilate with an awesome silence (vs. 9b). Pilate finds it incredible that Jesus refuses to speak to him: “Pilate asked him, Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not realize that I have the authority to release you, and the authority to crucify you?” (vs. 10) How is it possible that this battered prisoner can hold the imperial governor in contempt? Does He not realize the authority the governor possesses?

Jesus only breaks His silence to correct the governor’s misunderstanding: “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin” (vs. 11). Jesus reminds Pilate that his authority is a delegated authority: it does not originate from Pilate, or from Rome, or from the people. It comes “from above," from God. Pilate is convicted by the truth of Jesus’ words, and not wanting to be held accountable for the death of this innocent, mysterious, frightening individual, he earnestly seeks to release Jesus (vs. 12).

Pilate never actually passes legal sentence against Jesus; rather, he delivers Jesus over to the Jews. He symbolically washes his hands and proclaims himself innocent of this whole matter, thereby seeking to distance himself from this innocent and mysterious Person:

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. 'I am innocent of this man’s blood,' he said. 'It is your responsibility' Matt. 27:24

Do not make the same mistake: do not miscalculate Christ by viewing Him as a mysterious Person to be avoided. Do not be like the people of the Garasenes in their response to Jesus following His act of driving the demons out of the possessed men and consigning those demons to a herd of pigs that were driven down the hillside and drowned in the sea:

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been delivered. ³⁷Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. Lk. 8:34-37

Let us hear and take to heart the testimony of the Apostle John:

Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Jn. 20:30-31

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. How do the Jews respond when Pilate asks them to specify the charge they bring against Jesus? See Jn. 18:29-30. Compare their shifty reply with the shifty question the devil posed to Eve (cf. Gen. 3:1b/Gen. 2:16-17a). How does Jesus describe the devil and his spiritual children? See Jn. 8:44. What does the Apostle John warn us? See 1 Jn. 4:1. By what standard are we to evaluate any teaching? See Jn. 17:17a; cp. Acts 17:11b,

So Pilate went out to them and asked, What charge are you bringing against this man? ³⁰They replied, If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you. Jn. 18:29­-30

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Indeed, has God said, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? Gen. 3:1

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, From every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Gen. 2:16-17

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of it. Jn. 8:44

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.1 Jn. 4:1

The “spirit” is made known by the teaching; the Apostle John is focusing on the spirit that animates the teaching that may be presented to us.

Addressing His Father in prayer, the Lord Jesus declares,

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. Jn. 17:17

[The Bereans] were more noble than those [Jews] in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Acts 17:11

2. When Pilate summons Jesus, what question does he ask Him (cf. Jn. 18:33)? How does Jesus reply (cf. Jn. 18:34)? What is significant about the fact that Jesus now questions the Roman governor? Who is the ultimate Judge before whom all men will stand? See Jn. 5:22-23a,

Pilate went back into the palace, summoned Jesus, and asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? ³⁴Jesus asked, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others speak to you about me? Jn. 18:33-34

Neither does the Father judge anyone; rather, he has entrusted all judgment to the Son; ²³so that everyone may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent him. Jn. 5:22-23

3. Compare the question Pilate now asks Jesus (cf. Jn. 18:35) with the question he previously asked the Jews (cf. Jn. 18:29). In a fair and honest trial, should the defendant be expected, or even coerced, into bearing testimony against himself? What is the prophet Habakkuk’s commentary on the way justice is often times administered in human society? See Hab. 1:4. As Christians, to whom must we look for justice, and when shall it be fully and faithfully administered? See 2 Thess. 1:6-7,

Pilate replied, Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done? Jn. 18:35

So Pilate went out to them and asked, What charge are you bringing against this man? Jn. 18:29

Therefore, the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, judgment proceeds in a perverted manner.Hab. 1:4

...it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 2 Thess. 1:6-7

4. How does Jesus reply to Pilate’s initial question (vs. 33)? See Jn. 18:36a,c. How does Jesus’ statement refute the doctrine of the Social Gospel, which maintains that mankind can produce the kingdom of God on earth by living in accord with the Sermon on the Mount? Could sinful mankind ever produce the righteousness of the kingdom of God? Note Rom. 14:17. Given this fact, how could the communists ever create a godless utopia on earth? To whom must we look for the coming of the transcendent kingdom of God? See Matt. 6:9-10,

Pilate went back into the palace, summoned Jesus, and asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? Jn. 18:33

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight in order to prevent me from being handed over to the Jews. But, the fact is, my kingdom is not from here. Jn. 18:36

The kingdom of God...is righteousness and peace and joy, the Holy Spirit.Rom. 14:17

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name.¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:9-10

5. Having interrogated Jesus, what is Pilate’s verdict? See Jn. 18:38b. But despite his verdict, what offer does Pilate make to the Jews? See Jn. 18:39. Why does he do so? Note Lk. 23:22b-23. Who ultimately dictated the verdict in Jesus’ trial? See Lk. 23:23. How does Scripture describe a righteous man who yields to the wishes of the wicked? See Prov. 25:26. What does the Apostle Paul exhort us as Christians to do in the face of intimidation? See Phil. 1:27-28 How are we enabled to do so? See 2 Tim. 1:7,

After he had spoken [with Jesus], he again went out to the Jews and said to them, I do not find him guilty of any crime. ³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Would you have me release to you the King of the Jews? Jn. 18:38-39

I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him. ²³But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified... Lk. 23:22-23

But [the Jews] were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. ²³And their voices prevailed. Lk. 23:22-23

A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well. Prov. 25:26

²⁷Live your life only in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that if I come and see you, or if I remain absent, what I will hear about you is that you are standing firm in one spirit, and with one soul are contending for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and that you are in no way being intimidated by those who oppose you. [Your firm stand] is a clear indication of [their] condemnation, but of your salvation. Indeed, this is from God... Phil. 1:27-28

...God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control. 2 Tim. 1:7