From
Matthew 27:11-26
Meanwhile Jesus stood
before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king
of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus
replied.
When he was accused by
the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then
Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing
against you?” But
Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great
amazement of the governor.
Now it was the governor’s
custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At
that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was
Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had
gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to
you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For
he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over
to him.
While Pilate was sitting
on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have
anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great
deal today in a dream because of him.”
But the chief priests and
the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus
executed.
“Which of the two do you
want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
“What shall I do, then,
with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
“Why? What crime has he
committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify
him!”
When Pilate saw that he
was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he
took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am
innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
All the people answered,
“His blood is on us and on our children!”
Then he released Barabbas
to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be
crucified.
***
From
Mark 15:1-15
Very early in the morning, the chief priests,
with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole
Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and
handed him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus
replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So
again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many
things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom at the festival to release a
prisoner whom the people requested. A
man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had
committed murder in the uprising. The
crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the
Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was
out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to
him. But the chief priests stirred up
the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of
the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to
them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
***
From
Luke 22:66-71 & 23:1-25
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both
the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and
Jesus was led before them. “If you are the Messiah,” they
said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If
I tell you, you will not believe me, and
if I asked you, you would not answer. But
from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the
mighty God.”
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say
that I am.”
Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We
have heard it from his own lips.”
Then the whole assembly rose and led
him off to Pilate. 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.”
So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus
replied.
Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd,
“I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea
by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way
here.”
On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When
he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to
Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for
a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard
about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He
plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The
chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there,
vehemently accusing him. Then Herod
and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an
elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That
day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been
enemies.
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and
the people, and said to them, “You
brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion.
I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for
your charges against him. Neither has
Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done
nothing to deserve death. Therefore,
I will punish him and then release him.”
But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release
Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas had been
thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But
they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has
this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death
penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be
crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So
Pilate decided to grant their demand. He
released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection
and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their
will.
***
From
John 18:28-40 & 19:1-16
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. So
Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing
against this man?”
“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not
have handed him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your
own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This
took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he
was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus
and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or
did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief
priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
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.”
“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.”
“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. 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’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now
Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The
soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
They clothed him in a purple robe and
went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the
Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered
there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I
find no basis for a charge against him.” When
Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him,
they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify
him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according
to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and
he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked
Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do
you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have
power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You
would have no power over me if it were not given to you from
above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a
greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the
Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no
friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down
on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in
Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day
of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify
him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests
answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
*** Scripture | Homepage | Site Map Home page piece with reference to this event ***
I cannot neglect to add the following images collected over the years that very much relate to the incessant manifestation of this critical biblical scene in our lives and all around us. Maybe they will find their way into another feature in this webzine. Forgive me if I don't provide attribution, thank you to those who put them together for our edification.
This page was originally posted by David Beck at yourownjesus.net on November 27, 2021
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