To Kill A King {PART III}

When the morning came, the Jews then took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. It was as if the Jews were desperately searching for any means of getting rid of Jesus. This is why they brought him to Pilate, a Roman ruler objective to the situation and outside of Israel’s circle, as their last resort.

The Jews brought him to the palace, but refused to go inside themselves, for fear of contaminating themselves before the Passover feast. So, Jesus went inside, but the Jews stayed outside, and Pilate went back and forth between the two. Pilate was confused about why they were so angry with Jesus, so ready to curse and murder him.

“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
Pilate wanted nothing to do with the situation: “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” objected the Jews, in contempt.

With that, Pilate left and went back inside the palace, where Jesus was. He came right out and asked him bluntly, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus replied with sarcasm, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?”

“It was your own people, the Jews, who handed you over to me. You must have done something to set them off. You see, I am just acting on their behalf; I am not one of them,” Pilate responded.

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight for me, preventing my arrest and my death. My kingdom is from another place now.”

Pilate thought he caught Jesus changing his story: “You just said it! You are a king!”

But Jesus cleared things up, saying, “You are right: I am a king. It was for this reason I came into the world: to lead my people, as a king would, in the way of truth. Everyone who listens to the truth listens to me.”

In true Roman fashion, Pilate confused things again. He responded, “What is truth, anyway?”

At that, he left Jesus and went back outside, telling the Jews that he believed Jesus to be innocent. However, it was tradition at the time of the Passover to release a prisoner from custody. Pilate asked the crowd, “Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They shouted back loudly, insisting that another prisoner be released instead- a man named Barabbas, who had taken part in a rebellion.

So Pilate gave in to the pressure from the crowd, took Jesus, and planned to have him flogged.