Now we’re ready for the fourth trial. This is when the Romans get involved. We’ll look at John’s account here found in John 18:28-19:7 (also Matthew 27:1, Mark 15:1 and Luke 23:1). This is John 18:28a, “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the judgment hall early in the morning.” The judgment hall is the Praetorium or the palace of the praetor or ruler of the province. This is where Pontius Pilate lived and held court, settling disputes and governing the affairs of the Jews.
Now, lest we get confused here, the Jews refused to enter the hall (Verse 28b). That would have rendered them unclean and unable to eat the Passover. Remember, Passover had begun at 6 PM the night before. Jesus had already eaten the Passover with His disciples after that time, but evidently these Jews had not yet observed it themselves. There’s no contradiction here, they had until 6 PM to do it. So, Pilate went out to them to see what they wanted (verse 29) and asked them what accusation they were bringing against Jesus.
In verse 30 the Jews gave Pilate an unsatisfactory answer, “if He were not a criminal, we would not have brought Him to you.” In the next verse (31) Pilate tells them to deal with it themselves. The reason for this is that Pilate was not willing to execute a man he had not judged and found guilty himself. The Jews then lied and said it was not legal for them to execute Jesus. They knew they had the authority to stone anyone who broke their law (see John 8:1-5, 59; 10:31) as the Romans had long since agreed to allow them the free exercise of their religious laws. Pilate was not interested in appeasing them. Of course, we know where this is going. Again, God is in control. Jesus is not going to be stoned (verse 32), He will be crucified as He predicted (John 3:14, 8:28, 12:32).
As you read verses 33-37, Pilate goes back into the hall to question Jesus. Verse 33 reveals the Jew’s accusation against Jesus. Pilate asks Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And, again we have to notice Jesus’ direct answer to Pilate in verse 37. “Pilate said to Him, You are a King then? Jesus answered, You are correct. I am a King. This is why I was born and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. And everyone who is a friend of the Truth listens to Me.”
Now, as you examine the past confrontations Jesus had with the Jews, you know there were more reasons why they wanted Him dead. Here are some examples: for telling the truth (John 8:40); for healing on the Sabbath (John 5:16, 9:16); fear of losing their power (John 11:47-48); Jesus claiming to be the Son of God (John 5:18, 10:24-39); and claiming to be God (John 8:53-59).
Pilate is getting impatient now. Jesus’ answers to his questions were inconclusive. Look at verse 38. “Pilate said to Him, What is the Truth? And when he said this, he went out to the Jews and told them, I find no fault in Him.” Here we have to go to Luke 23. When you read verses 1-4, they mirror John 18:28-38 that we just looked at with this exception. Luke notes that the accusation against Jesus included promoting rebellion against Caesar by refusing to pay tribute to him. Just the opposite was true (Luke 20:25).
But when Pilate tells the Jews in Luke 23:4 “I find no fault in this Man”, The Jews respond and Pilate sees a way out. Luke 23:5-7 says, “But they were even more emphatic, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea – from Galilee, where He started, to this place. And when he heard this, Pilate asked whether the Man was a Galilean. And when he found out that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him up to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.” This will be the fifth trial.
Herod Antipas was the governor of Galilee and the one who had John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). Pilate reasoned that Herod would probably release Jesus and the problem would be solved. He was wrong. Herod is a great example of insincerity and hypocrisy. In Luke 13:31-33 Jesus calls Herod a fox, an expression of contempt, no doubt referring to Herod’s destructive, cunning and selfish traits.
The trial or examination is found only in Luke 23:8-12. Verse 8 tells us Herod was excited to see Jesus because he had heard many things about Him and wanted to see Him perform miracles. This is the insincerity. Herod had been hearing these things about Jesus for over 3 years and never bothered to actually investigate them to find the truth. The hypocrisy is the fact that Herod acknowledged Jesus had miraculous powers, but was willing to mock and mistreat Him. When Jesus refused to respond to Herod’s requests or answer his questions, Herod simply showed his contempt and sent Him back to Herod. The “gorgeous” robe (brilliant or bright, depending on the version) is from lampros, and probably describes a brilliant, white robe of the type worn in Rome by candidates running for public office. It was intended by Herod to ridicule Jesus’ claim that He was a King.
So, Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate (verse 11). Then verse 12 tells us at that point Herod and Pilate became friends, as they were at enmity before that. This is a reference to Luke 13:1 and a report that Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galileans he had murdered with sacrifices in the temple. This had angered Herod. Josephus mentions this affair in his Antiquities, Book XVIII, and chapter 111.
We are now ready for the sixth and final trial and will go back to John 18:38. The account goes to John 19:16, where Pilate finally turns Jesus over to be crucified. Now Pilate finds that his plan to put the problem off on Herod has not gone the way he would have liked. But Pilate had another plan. The custom was to release one condemned criminal at Passover. Surely the Jews would want him to release Jesus, if given the choice of that or of releasing the bandit and murderer Barabbas (verses 39-40). He was wrong again. They wanted Barabbas released!
The ever-resourceful Pilate then comes up with yet another plan. I know I’m jumping around from one account to another, but this is necessary to get the full picture. This is Luke 23:16, “I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him.” The word “chastise” here is from paideuo, and means, to correct or instruct. Literally, Pilate thought he could make an example of Jesus, teach Him a lesson and return Him (a reformed man) to the Jews. Next, we’ll go back to John 19 for the last trial.