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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. 1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. ~ John 18:39-19:3
We return to the trial of the Lord Jesus. Between John 18:38 and John 18:39, Pilate sends the Lord Jesus to Herod Antipas who sees Jesus and thinks that His trial is a joke. Herod, and those with him, mock the Lord Jesus and then send Him back to Pilate.
According to v.39 the Lord Jesus is, once again, before Pontus Pilate who is trying to hold onto some kind of a clear conscience. Even though he tirelessly tries to, Pilate fails to get the Lord Jesus off the hook with the religious leaders of Israel.
I'm glad that one of the most powerful men on the earth, at that time, was subject to God's will. The Sovereignty of God will always win the day, and aren't you glad? Today, nothing will come into our lives until after it has come through the purview of God's will for us. I would hate to think of how life would be if I didn't have the safety net of God's undeterred will in my life. I like what James Stewart once said, “Behind Calvary's cross is the throne of heaven.”
In v.39 Pilate says, “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?" Pilate thought he had a solution that might work, he really wanted to help the Lord Jesus.
According to v.40, the people, motivated by the Sanhedrin, cried out, "Give us Barabbas!" Of course, Barabbas was a notorious trouble maker. The name Barabbas appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and no information about his previous or subsequent life is given. His name means “son of the father.” Think of it, the real Son of the Father came to earth to take Barabbas' place so that all of mankind could become sons and daughters of the Father.
In v.1, we read, "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged." Pilate had already established the Lord Jesus to not be guilty of anything. This flogging is a desperate effort to do something short of execution to satisfy the bloodlust of this crowd led by the Sanhedrin.
The Roman flog consisted of a short wooden handle like about half of a baseball bat, to which several leather thongs were attached, and the ends of the thongs were fitted with sharpened pieces of lead, sharpened pieces of brass, sharpened pieces of bone. And the body was then stretched on a flat table or tied by the wrists to a post, or suspended from a ceiling so that the body was taut and the feet didn’t touch the ground. Whatever the posture chosen, the person was then lashed until his body was ripped and shredded.
Pilate wanted the Lord Jesus off his hands. He did not want to kill Him for his own conscience’s sake and his own sense of justice, and because he hated to do what the Jews wanted him to . But he is trapped. If they riot, he’s finished as the Roman leader of this area.
To make it worse, the soldiers, the servants to the King, in v.2-3, twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, crushed it down on His skull. Put a purple robe on Him, some kind of a faded red Roman robe that was now purple because it had faded in the sun. Then just before they humiliated the Lord Jesus by slapping Him in the face, and they say, “Hail, king of the Jews!"
Irony of all ironies is these Roman soldiers were doing this to the King of Kings. These soldiers and this thug known as Barabbas represent every sinner ever to walk on the face of planet earth. When I look at the story, I conclude, I am these soldiers and I am Barabbas. The Lord Jesus took my place so that I can become the son of the Father and the servant of the King.
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According to v.39 the Lord Jesus is, once again, before Pontus Pilate who is trying to hold onto some kind of a clear conscience. Even though he tirelessly tries to, Pilate fails to get the Lord Jesus off the hook with the religious leaders of Israel.
I'm glad that one of the most powerful men on the earth, at that time, was subject to God's will. The Sovereignty of God will always win the day, and aren't you glad? Today, nothing will come into our lives until after it has come through the purview of God's will for us. I would hate to think of how life would be if I didn't have the safety net of God's undeterred will in my life. I like what James Stewart once said, “Behind Calvary's cross is the throne of heaven.”
In v.39 Pilate says, “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?" Pilate thought he had a solution that might work, he really wanted to help the Lord Jesus.
According to v.40, the people, motivated by the Sanhedrin, cried out, "Give us Barabbas!" Of course, Barabbas was a notorious trouble maker. The name Barabbas appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and no information about his previous or subsequent life is given. His name means “son of the father.” Think of it, the real Son of the Father came to earth to take Barabbas' place so that all of mankind could become sons and daughters of the Father.
In v.1, we read, "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged." Pilate had already established the Lord Jesus to not be guilty of anything. This flogging is a desperate effort to do something short of execution to satisfy the bloodlust of this crowd led by the Sanhedrin.
The Roman flog consisted of a short wooden handle like about half of a baseball bat, to which several leather thongs were attached, and the ends of the thongs were fitted with sharpened pieces of lead, sharpened pieces of brass, sharpened pieces of bone. And the body was then stretched on a flat table or tied by the wrists to a post, or suspended from a ceiling so that the body was taut and the feet didn’t touch the ground. Whatever the posture chosen, the person was then lashed until his body was ripped and shredded.
Pilate wanted the Lord Jesus off his hands. He did not want to kill Him for his own conscience’s sake and his own sense of justice, and because he hated to do what the Jews wanted him to . But he is trapped. If they riot, he’s finished as the Roman leader of this area.
To make it worse, the soldiers, the servants to the King, in v.2-3, twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, crushed it down on His skull. Put a purple robe on Him, some kind of a faded red Roman robe that was now purple because it had faded in the sun. Then just before they humiliated the Lord Jesus by slapping Him in the face, and they say, “Hail, king of the Jews!"
Irony of all ironies is these Roman soldiers were doing this to the King of Kings. These soldiers and this thug known as Barabbas represent every sinner ever to walk on the face of planet earth. When I look at the story, I conclude, I am these soldiers and I am Barabbas. The Lord Jesus took my place so that I can become the son of the Father and the servant of the King.
To help BYM, click here
