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1 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 Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. ~ Luke 23:1-3
The trial of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals mankind's wicked heart and God's gracious heart. The Lord Jesus was not crucified because evil men decided to do Him in, His crucifixion was planned by God from before the world was created. God revealed this great plan before Adam, the first man, sinned. God told him that He would provide a Savior who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).
In v.1 of today's text we read, "Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate." The whole body means the entire Sanhedrin. In an attempt to display the righteousness of their cause, they all come, all 70 of them show up, bringing the Lord Jesus to Pilate. John says in John 18 that He was bound. He had now been ridiculed, spit on, beaten, and now He is still bound and taken by this entire body to Pilate.
The Lord Jesus was never the victim of human decisions, a corrupt disciple who betrayed Him, or a couple of corrupt high priests who arraigned Him. He wasn’t the victim of the Jewish Supreme Court who condemned Him, nor was He the victim of Pilate and Herod, who ultimately executed Him. He was God’s chosen Lamb, and God had predetermined that He would die.
In Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 we are given a description of the Son of God as being crucified in language that could only be fulfilled in a crucifixion. In John 18:32 we learn that the Lord Jesus said He would be lifted up, a picture of crucifixion.
In order for these events to happen, the Lord Jesus had to endure six different “trials,” three before the Jews and three before the Romans. In our text today, we read of the first trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea from AD 26 until AD 36. Although hated by the Jewish religious leaders, Pilate became a useful ally in the seeming halt of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. They could not fathom their efforts would aid Him in winning the hearts of many.
In v.2 we read, "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 Messiah, a king."
Pilate has gone down in history as the man who tried the Lord Jesus Christ, three times declared Him not guilty, and yet crucified Him just the same. When the Lord Jesus was brought to Pilate, there were three false charges delivered as well: He perverted the nation, He opposed paying the poll tax to Caesar, and He claimed to be a king.
Pilate privately interrogated the Lord Jesus about His kingship because, for him, that was the crucial issue, and he concluded that He was guilty of no crime. Three times during the trial, Pilate clearly affirmed the innocence of the Lord Jesus (Luke 23:4,14,22).
In v.3 we read, "So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied." The Lord Jesus is no King of any country in this world, He is the King over the hearts of men. The kingdom of God right now does not come by outward observation. It will one day, however, but not today.
"So Pilate asked him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?' This question of Pilate is recorded in all four gospels, and the "you" is emphatic. The Lord Jesus was brought before Pilate, and Pilate asked, "You, are you the King of the Jews?" Pilate was looking down at the Lord Jesus who was in peasant rags tattered with blood, somebody who did not look threatening or powerful or like he's going to take over. He asked, "You, are you the king of the Jews?" The implication is that the Lord Jesus is no threat at all to the Roman Empire.
We tend to make God in our own image. If we would react in a certain way, we assume God would think and act in a similar way. But here God reminds us that He exists and thinks on a much different level. Human reasoning can’t grasp the thought processes of God.
The Lord Jesus came this first time to reveal His kingdom of grace and mercy, the kind of kingdom mankind actually needs. If He had come overthrowing tyranny and oppression, who would be left? The Lord Jesus came as a gracious king who suffered the punishment mankind deserved. And, in order to accomplish this Herculean task, He had to conquer not only sin and death, He had to conquer the human heart.
Standing before Pilate was the only One who could die for mankind's sin, and Pilate didn't get it. But, aren't you happy, because we would still be in our sin had he not? Martin Luther once asked, "Is it not wonderful news to know that salvation lies outside ourselves?"
