28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Read John 18:28-40 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Of all the gospel writers to share about Jesus’ trial before Pilate, the gospel of John includes the version that may be my favorite. Matthew and Mark both share similar, very abridged versions, while Luke goes into details about how Pilate sends Jesus to see Herod, who then sends Jesus back.
However, the gospel of John is the only gospel that includes an actual conversation between Pilate and Jesus. All the other gospel writers simply include one question and one response Jesus gave. In John’s gospel, we learn that there was a brief discussion, but what is amazing in this discussion is not the discussion itself, but a subtle shift ended up happening that turned Pilates focus.
The passage opens with Pilate asking the Jewish leaders, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” (v. 29)
The Jewish leaders sidestep the question by saying, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” (v. 30)
The Jewish leaders give no charge or accusation, but instead simply press Jesus’ guilt. This simple detail is one that by itself makes this case unique. But a subtle shift happens during Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, because when we read Pilate’s verdict at the end of their conversation, we see something that is easy to miss.
Following their conversation, Pilate comes out and addresses the crowd of Jewish leaders by saying at the end of verse 38, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” But Pilate doesn’t stop there. He continues by saying, “But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” (v. 39)
Now, Jesus would have been a free person had these leaders not arrested Him, so it makes no rational sense for Pilate to offer to release Jesus as though He was a prisoner. If Jesus was unjustly arrested, then He should be released as a separate action aside from the custom of releasing a prisoner. It is in these two verses that we see the shift from Pilate believing Jesus is innocent to assuming His guilt.
In this way, we come to the big realization I had when reading this passage: While Pilate eventually bends to the crowds demands for crucifixion a few verses later, in these two verses, Pilate becomes just as responsible for Jesus’ death as the Jewish leaders themselves. The Jewish leaders may have been the ones to arrest Jesus, but Pilate, in assuming His guilt from His status as a prisoner when he directly says that he finds no fault in Jesus, also is just as responsible because he chose to not set Jesus free.
In this passage Jesus’ death is not only because of the Jewish leaders present, but the gentile leaders as well. In this way, both groups of humanity (Jews and Gentiles) are responsible for Jesus’ death on the cross.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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