God cares about justice and He wants the courts to be just. For example, God said to the Israelites through the prophet Moses, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:20 NIV)
In spite of this clear instruction in the Law of Moses, the religious rulers perverted the court system in order to condemn Jesus. Since they did not have the authority to put anyone to death, they dragged Jesus before the Roman governor. Mark tells us what happened in chapter 15, verses 1 through 15 of the Gospel which bears his name. “Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, bound Jesus, carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.” The chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled. Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him. There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them. Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead. Pilate again asked them, “What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, “Crucify him!” Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.”
When the authorities brought Jesus before Pilate, they apparently thought he would merely confirm the death sentence they had already pronounced. Pilate, to his credit, refused to do so and forced the authorities to present their charges against Jesus.
This presented the authorities with a real problem. The case against Jesus was based on blasphemy. This was nothing which would stand up in a Roman court. The Romans did not care about religious disputes. Luke tells us what charges the authorities made: “…We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” (Luke 23:2 NIV)
The first accusation was an outright lie. Jesus had never told anyone not to pay their taxes. On the contrary, He had said to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17).
Pilate apparently knew enough about Jesus’ teaching to see through the accusation about taxes, but he had to investigate the accusation about Jesus claiming to be a king. In other words, was Jesus guilty of sedition – inciting revolution against Rome? He asked Jesus to state whether He was a king. Jesus affirmed that He was, but from the way He said it, it was apparent that His kingdom was not a physical or political one. The truth is that on the occasion when He fed 5,000 people Jesus had already turned down the people’s attempt to make Him king. Whether Pilate knew this or not, he was astute enough to realize that Jesus was no threat to Rome.
The religious authorities accused Jesus of many other things. To Pilate’s surprise, Jesus did not dignify any of the accusations with a reply. By His silence Jesus condemned His accusers.
At this point another factor entered the picture. Pilate had the prerogative of releasing a prisoner during the Passover feast. The crowd asked him to do so. Instead of allowing the crowd to say which prisoner they wanted released, he gave them a choice – Jesus or Barabbas, who was a notorious criminal. No doubt Pilate did this in the attempt to highlight how absurd the accusations against Jesus were. He knew Jesus was innocent and that Jesus’ accusers were motivated by envy. It must have been a profound shock to him when the crowd chose the guilty Barabbas over the innocent Jesus. It’s also highly ironic that they did so. One of the reasons the authorities wanted to kill Jesus was that He had called Himself God’ Son (John 5:18). Barabbas’ name means “the son of the father.” So, the crowd chose the false son over the true Son.
In his confusion over this development Pilate asked what should be done with the King of the Jews. How pathetic that the judge tried to avoid making a decision and asked the crowd for a verdict. The crowd’s verdict was immediate and brutal – “Crucify him!” Once more Pilate tried to reason with them by asking what crime Jesus had committed. The crowd was not interested in reason or justice. They wanted blood.
Up till now, Pilate had acted honorably. Weak perhaps, but at least he had maintained his own integrity. But now he crossed over the line of moral compromise. He perpetrated an injustice in the hopes that it would prevent a greater injustice – he had Jesus flogged. Floggings themselves were sometimes enough to kill a man. In this case instead of arousing pity, it only stoked the crowd’s lust for blood. Pilate finally gave in and condemned Jesus to crucifixion.
Before facing the horror of being nailed to a cross Jesus had to endure yet another humiliation. In verses 16 through 20 John writes, “The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort. They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him. When they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.”
Like the soldiers many people, even today, despise and mock the true King. They bow before Him in ridicule and false devotion. Conversely, many offer true worship and service to false Christs. Little do they realize that one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10-11) We should bow before Jesus in humility and devotion now, before the time comes when we are forced to bow before Him against our will.