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20 But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, 21 but they kept on crying out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” 22 And he said to them a third time, “Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found in His case no grounds for a sentence of death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” 23 But they were insistent, with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail. 24 And so Pilate decided to have their demand carried out. 25 And he released the man for whom they were asking, who had been thrown into prison for a revolt and murder; but he handed Jesus over to their will. ~ Luke 23:20-25
The trials of the Lord Jesus by the Jews and the Romans have been completed. At this point, Pilate has realized that his handling of the situation almost caused a Jewish uprising which would not go well with Rome. He was fearful that he would be relieved of his duties as governor of Israel. Even though he wanted to release the Lord Jesus, to do so would be political suicide.
In v.20-21 we read, "20 But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, 21 but they kept on crying out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!"
Just five days before the happenings of today's text, the people were crying out "Hosanna" as the Lord Jesus triumphantly rode by on a donkey. The people followed the Lord Jesus as long as He was feeding them and performing miracles for them. But, when the religious leaders continued to accuse the Lord Jesus wrongly and the Lord Jesus put forth the message of the cross, those who viewed the Lord Jesus favorably became more and more less in numbers.
For these, their faith lost traction amid the darkness of the accusers of the Lord Jesus. But, this is where faith was designed to get traction. The darkness serves to increase our faith if we follow its cry to depend upon God more. Our trials are designed to drive us to the Lord Himself. This is what happened to the disciples. On the heels of their denials and abandonment, they learned to follow the Lord more ardently.
It was at this point, according to Matthew 27:24-25, that Pilate called for water and washed his hands before the crowd, affirming his innocence and the innocence of the Lord Jesus.
In v.22-24 we read, "22 And he said to them a third time, “Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found in His case no grounds for a sentence of death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” 23 But they were insistent, with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail. 24 And so Pilate decided to have their demand carried out."
This is the third time that Pilate openly pronounced the Lord Jesus to be innocent. As in this case, there are times when there is nothing we can do when it is the will of God that things go a certain way. Otherwise, we will find ourselves most frustrated as we fight against God's will. The best we can do in these circumstances is to learn to embrace Him through the trials.
Many, at this point say, "It is unjust that God made the people do what they did." This is the wrong conclusion. This is not a matter of justice or injustice. This is a matter of sovereignty and omniscience. God knew what the people would do, He didn't make them do these things. And, knowing what they would do, He allowed them to be the means by which salvation would come even to them if they so chose to believe.
But, it is not that God was at the whim of man. No, the Lord Jesus layed down His life. No one took His life. In John 10:17 we read, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again."
Just like a sheep being led to the slaughter the Lord Jesus was silent before his shearers. The cross was the very reason why Jesus came. The cross was the center of God's will for Him. The cross wasn't an unexpected tragedy, but God's plan before the foundations of the earth. The Lord Jesus did not die for a cause, He died for you and me and anyone else who would believe.
Pilate tried to be lawful and legitimate, yet he permitted the Lord Jesus to be beaten and condemned to death. He carefully questioned the Lord Jesus and even trembled at His answers, but the truth of the Word did not impact his heart. This is the nature of truth, it capitalizes at bringing meaning to the yielded heart. But Pilate was more interested in keeping His job than he was to herald the truth.
In v.25 we read, "And he released the man for whom they were asking, who had been thrown into prison for a revolt and murder; but he handed Jesus over to their will."
That day the religious leaders thought they were done with the Lord Jesus, but they weren’t because He was not done with them. The grace of God still is reaching out to Israel and in the end, they will return to the Lord.
Sadly, Pilate committed suicide a few years after this very hard day. A man who at one time had such political power, in the end lost his mind. Pilate questioned the truth and rejected it. This was at the root of his problem: the rejection of the truth.
What Pilate and the people did not know was God wanted the Lord Jesus on the cross more than they. The motivations were obviously different, but the goal was the same. And, of course, the outcome tragically different. One brought forth death and the other brought forth life.
And, God had a timeline that had to be met. Throughout the Old Testament God foretold of this, the greatest event in the history of this world. The Lord Jesus had to be crucified before that Passover Friday was over. He had to die at the time the Passover lambs were being slain between 3:00pm and 6:00pm. Then He had to be taken to the grave and buried so that He would be in the ground a portion of three days, that He might rise as the Scripture says after being dead three days.
This is the gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without this gospel, we have no hope. It is because of His gospel that we can endure anything the enemy has and will thrown at us, and thrive. And, since all life never truly dies, the gospel guarantees that we will live for eternity in heaven with God and His people.
