Text Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Before Pilate, the First Time”
Matthew 27:1-2 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 27:1 )
Matthew 27:11-14 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 27:11)
Mark 15:1-5 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 15:1 )
Luke 23:1-12 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 23:1 )
John 18:28-38 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 18:28)
Need to catch up? To read the Splice “Jesus Before the High Priest and Peter’s Denial”, click here.
Psalm 17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.
THE SPLICE
Early in the morning, all the chief priests, scribes, the whole Council, and the elders of the people immediately held a consultation and 1 conferred together against Jesus to put Him to 2 death. Then the whole body of them got up, they bound Him, and led Him away from Caiaphas, into the 3 Praetorium and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. 4 They themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be 5 defiled, but might eat the Passover, so Pilate came out of the Praetorium to this crowd of priests, scribes, elders and the whole Council. Pilate said to them, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” 6 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So, they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this Man misleading our nation and 7 forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, 8 signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, 9 “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Now Jesus stood before the governor, and 10 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. It is as you say. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. 11 Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, 12 “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he a went out again to the Jews, to the chief priests and the crowds and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him, this Man.” The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, 13 “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You? Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” And 14 He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed at Jesus’s refusal to defend Himself. But the crowd of Jews kept insisting, saying, 15 “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.” When Pilate heard that Jesus started in Galilee, he asked whether Jesus was a Galilean. And when he learned that Jesus belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, 16 he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because 17 he had been hearing about Him and was 18 hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but Jesus answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a 19 gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.
Want to keep going? To read the Splice “Jesus Before Pilate, the Second Time”, click here.
NOTES
1 conferred together against Jesus: They had been planning this day for a long time, with the help of the Herodians. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. See Matthew 12:14, 26:3-5, Mark 3:6 for examples. (Back)
2 death: In order to condemn Jesus to death, the Council tried to find some false witnesses to say Jesus called Himself God, but the witnesses couldn’t shore up their stories. Finally the high priest just asked Jesus Himself, “Are You the Son of God?” and Jesus answered “Yes, I am.” After tearing his robe, the high priest and the rest of the Council settled on death for Jesus. See Matthew 26:59-66; Mark 14:55-64; Luke 22:66-71. (Back)
3 Praetorium: the Roman governor’s official residence, when in Jerusalem. (Back)
4 They themselves did not enter: Jesus already celebrated the Passover and ate the Passover meal; John tells us this is the case, as do the other gospel writers (Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7-8, 13-15; John 13:1,2). John also tells us that after the Passover meal night, the next day, the priests were afraid to enter Pilate’s Praetorium, because they didn’t want to be defiled so they could eat the Passover (John 18:28), with no distinction that this is the Passover meal with the lamb. The Passover meal with the lamb was eaten on the 14th, and could not be eaten twice, (“leftovers” in current jargon) as the lambs had to be eaten that same night and nothing could be left over (Exodus 12:8-10). There are some simple explanations. The first explanation, and most logical to me, is that the entire seven days of the Passover is called “The Passover” (Ezekiel 45:21), and John is making this generalization. This particular day, the 15th, is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6) and John is possibly referring to this observance, which is a part of Passover. Another explanation that some people see as plausible, was that there was more than one Passover observation going on, due to the different Jewish sects. See this article for more information on that possibility. (Back)
5 defiled: It is not clear what defilement the priests are trying to avoid. It is possible that they have in mind Numbers 9:1-14, where “due to a dead body” some men had to wait a month to celebrate the Passover. It’s a bit of a stretch, but since the priests were intent on killing Jesus, it’s possible they had it in their collective minds that entering the Praetorium would “defile” them. Whatever it is, they are ignoring God’s law by seeking to kill an innocent Man (Exodus 23:7), plus all the false witness stuff they tried to pull earlier (Matthew 26:59; Exodus 20:16). To read about defilement and the priesthood: Leviticus 21:1-22:16. (Back)
6 They answered: It seems the chief priests were trying to pressure Pilate into just condemning Jesus to death without any accusation or explanation at all. Three possible reasons would be as follows:
A: They had an unsteady relationship with Pilate, and so anything could and did spark resistance and an argument, and the statement (which I think was made by a spokesman but agreed upon by the entire Council—people simply don’t speak in unison like that) was a hot-headed reply in annoyance at being questioned for a reason as to why they brought Jesus to Pilate.
B: Very unlikely, but they knew that they were lying and making stories up and it tugged just a little bit on some of the priests’ hearts, and they were hoping not to have to bring up the accusations. It seems that if this was the reason, the guilt wore off pretty quickly.
C: A third reason would be a combo of the first and second reasons. Click here to read about Pontius Pilate from a historical view. (Back)
7 forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar: This is an outright lie. See Matthew 17:24-27 and Matthew 22:15-22 on what Jesus said about paying taxes, for the temple and to Caesar. (Back)
8 signifying by what kind of death: There was only one type of punishment/death for insurrectionists or those trying to displace Caesar: crucifixion. (Back)
9 Are You the King of the Jews: Pilate’s starting question seems to be a testing of the waters, to see if Jesus is an insurrectionist. If Jesus had been a regular person and then said, “Yeah, and soon Rome will be under Israel’s feet!”, then that would be some proof of insurrection-type intentions. (Back)
10 Jesus answered: Jesus’s answer gives Pilate enough information so that he can be sure that Jesus wasn’t trying to incite riots to take over Caesar’s position. Jesus is stating that since His kingdom isn’t here on earth, He isn’t vying for a kingship and therefore, He is not trying to overthrow Rome. (Back)
11 Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice: This is because God’s Word, His laws, His ways, are all foolishness to anyone but those who have been given the God-gifted faith that it takes to believe Him. That faith is continuous, through the Holy Spirit, Who is the promise and pledge that is our proof to believe; He is that reassurance that you have all the time, knowing your Savior has you close to Him and won’t let go. Those who were chosen by God for this incredible grace and blessing, were chosen in eternity past, before the foundations of the world. See 1 Corinthians 1:18-24; Ephesians 1:4, 5, 13, 14; 2:8, 2 Timothy 1:9. (Back)
12 What is truth: Pilate is done questioning Jesus on the insurrection charges. Despite Pilate’s cynical and sarcastic answer and despite the weird politics of today, there is truth. Human beings are (in)famous for twisting facts, “softening” words, leaving out information, giving “alternate facts”, and changing the details to fit an agenda, regardless of the truth. God is the truth. The Bible is the truth. Beyond that, if human beings are involved, you can never be sure. (Back)
13 Do You not hear: Pilate is amazed at Jesus’s silence to all of these harsh accusations. Pilate probably saw most of the accused that were brought before him panicking, doing everything possible to combat accusations and defend themselves. People would probably try to plead Pilate in every way possible. Jesus’s dignity truly stands out here. He’s not on His knees begging, He’s not crying, He’s not panicked, He’s not grasping at straws to stay alive. Silence was certainly not the way most people faced a trial with the result of crucifixion as the most-assured sentence. (Back)
14 He did not answer him: This was to fulfill Isaiah 53:7. (Back)
15 He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place: “as far as this place” means Jerusalem. And, these “accusations” are actually true! Jesus began His ministry in Galilee (Matthew 4:12-17), had been teaching all over Judea and as far as Jerusalem (Matthew 4:25), and He certainly “stirred up” the people (Matthew 4:24-5:1; 8:1; 8:34; 9:31;14:35, 36; 15:30-31, and 21:10 for examples), but not for the purposes of overthrowing the Roman government, which is what the priests were implying. (Back)
16 he sent Him to Herod: Only Luke tells us about the visit to Herod and what happened there. See Luke 23:6-12. It is interesting that there is no mention of Herodians being present at Pilate’s since the Herodians were helping to orchestrate the plot to kill Jesus (see Mark 3:6) and had an interest in the outcome, as Herod seemed to want Jesus dead, too (see Luke 13:31), possibly due to his fear that Jesus was John the Baptist back from the dead (Matthew 14:1-2). The Herodians weren’t mentioned by name at Jesus’s arrest in Gethsemane or at the trial in front of the high priest, either. It is possible that they were present at those two places, but just not specified. Herodians would have had no business with Pilate and would have had zero influence with him, because Pilate and Herod were enemies until later that day (Luke 23:12). (Back)
17 he had been hearing about Him: Possibly through Chuza, his steward. Chuza’s wife, Joanna, was following Jesus in His ministry and contributing monetary support (Luke 8:3). Many women (and probably men, too) were giving money for the ministry. All this money was being turned over to Judas to hold onto, which he pilfers (John 12:4-6). (Back)
18 hoping to see some sign: This is what most people seem to want from Jesus. They also want Him to fix their lives. True Christianity is not about getting something from God. It is about the created beings (humans) worshiping the Creator. It is about God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). God does give His elected believers eternal life to be with Him eternally (John 3:16). But a true believer would still worship Him, even if they got nothing from Him, because He is God. If you can go through horrible events in your life (see Paul’s examples! 2 Corinthians 11:23-27) and at each event say “I’m not separated from God, so this is nothing”, that’s one point (among many) to help you figure out if your faith is real or not. This kind of faith is a gift from God and not conjured by humans themselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). (Back)
19 gorgeous robe: See Luke 23:11. The Greek text says “apparel splendid”. The Greek word used for apparel is esthés and means “clothing or robe”. The Greek word used for splendid is lampros and means “radiant, splendid, bright”. (Back)