Daily Bible Reading Monday 6th April 2020
by William Moody
John 19:10–16
10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic1 Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.2 He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus,
(ESV)
Pilate, when not getting his way with Jesus, seeks to force things by emphasising his authority (v10). This is ridiculous; he is trying to intimidate the Son of God. Those who belong to Jesus can with the Saviour face intimidation with a chuckle in our hearts as we know where true authority and power lies (v11).
In this verse 11 we see two important things at work. There are the actions of the religious leaders who handed Jesus over and who would be held to account for this, but there is also the Sovereign hand of God above, who was working at His perfect plan and purposes even in the midst of evil.
Pilate continues to seek to release Jesus (v12) but the Jews use every card they can to get their way. Pilate preferred protecting his political position rather than doing the right thing. For him the cost of doing what is right by Jesus was too high a price to pay.
We might be quick to condemn Pilate but do we do what is right by Christ day by day? Do you bravely take a stand for Jesus?
For the Jews, Caesar as King was an anathema (v15), but they preferred to cry that out rather than embrace Jesus, such was their hatred of the perfect Son of God. Jesus is now condemned to die (v16).
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.