The Trial of Jesus, Phase 2
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death; and they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate....The governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly. Matt. 27:1-14, RSV.
The religious leaders had no time to waste. Roman legal proceedings began early so that by midmorning the ruling class could embark on pursuits of leisure. The Jews had decided for the death penalty, but a charge of blasphemy would hardly be sufficient to bring such a penalty from a Roman governor. He would see the whole problem as an internal Jewish squabble and throw the case out of court.
But the good news for the Jews is that blasphemy had a political interpretation. After all, wasn't the Messiah to be a warrior-king like David?
Matthew and Mark don't tell us the fancy footwork of the religious leaders in framing their official charge But Luke does: "Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him saying, 'We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king' " (Luke 23:1, 2, RSV).
The last thing Pilate (governor of Palestine from A.D. 26-36) needed was another run-in with the Jewish leaders, especially during the inflammatory Passover season when the minds of the people were already thinking of Exodus, liberation, and the overthrow of oppressors.
Pilate immediately sized up both the religious leaders and Jesus, easily concluding that He was no political threat. But he had to interrogate Him anyway. Jesus' reply to Pilate's question of kingship was guarded for good reason: "You have said so." Jesus didn't deny or admit it, partly because the charge was both true and false. It was true in that He was a King and had demonstrated that fact a few days before by riding into Jerusalem in princely fashion to the Hosannas of the crowd. But He wasn't a king in the political sense.
Jesus mounts no defense that could have won His freedom. Having surrendered to the Father's will in Gethsemane, He is now living out that decision.
Pilate, meanwhile, is left wondering what is taking place. Fortunately, he sees a way out of the predicament.
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death; and they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate....The governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly. Matt. 27:1-14, RSV.
The religious leaders had no time to waste. Roman legal proceedings began early so that by midmorning the ruling class could embark on pursuits of leisure. The Jews had decided for the death penalty, but a charge of blasphemy would hardly be sufficient to bring such a penalty from a Roman governor. He would see the whole problem as an internal Jewish squabble and throw the case out of court.
But the good news for the Jews is that blasphemy had a political interpretation. After all, wasn't the Messiah to be a warrior-king like David?
Matthew and Mark don't tell us the fancy footwork of the religious leaders in framing their official charge But Luke does: "Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him saying, 'We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king' " (Luke 23:1, 2, RSV).
The last thing Pilate (governor of Palestine from A.D. 26-36) needed was another run-in with the Jewish leaders, especially during the inflammatory Passover season when the minds of the people were already thinking of Exodus, liberation, and the overthrow of oppressors.
Pilate immediately sized up both the religious leaders and Jesus, easily concluding that He was no political threat. But he had to interrogate Him anyway. Jesus' reply to Pilate's question of kingship was guarded for good reason: "You have said so." Jesus didn't deny or admit it, partly because the charge was both true and false. It was true in that He was a King and had demonstrated that fact a few days before by riding into Jerusalem in princely fashion to the Hosannas of the crowd. But He wasn't a king in the political sense.
Jesus mounts no defense that could have won His freedom. Having surrendered to the Father's will in Gethsemane, He is now living out that decision.
Pilate, meanwhile, is left wondering what is taking place. Fortunately, he sees a way out of the predicament.
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