From the time Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane to his crucifixion the same day, he was tried five times! He was tried first by a small sanhedrin, 23-member court, during the night (Matthew 26:57-68), which was an illegal trial in that no capital crime was to be conducted at night. His second trial was held in the morning before the whole, 70-member Sanhedrin: three 23 member courts, plus the high priest, who presided over the high council (Luke 22:66-71). This was also an illegal trial, because no trial of a capital crime could be conducted before a Sabbath or annual holy day, because the sentence of the court for execution could not be carried out on the same day. The execution of the guilty had to be carried out on the following day, and a Sabbath or holy day made this impossible.
Then there were three civil trials by non-Jews, the first by Pilate (John 18:33-40), the second by Herod (Luke 23:6-17) and the third was, again, conducted by Pilate (John 19:1-15). The Gospel of John skips both Jewish trials in favor of elaborating on what occurred in the presence of Annas before he was sent to Caiaphas to be tried. Only Jesus’ first and second trials before Pilate are mentioned in his Gospel narrative.
John tells us that Pilate had Jesus scourged (John 19:1), but this scourging had to do with discipline (John 19:12). It wasn’t meant to do a great deal of harm. The Greek word is mastigoo (G3146) and has to do with whipping or flogging. It was used by Jesus to tell his disciples they would be flogged in the synagogues (Matthew 10:17), and it is what the chief captain of the Antonia intended to do to Paul to derive information from him (Acts 22:24-25). Luke uses a different term, paideuo (G3811), but also meant to chastise (Luke 23:16, 22; cp. Hebrews 12:6-7, 10). Matthew and Mark, on the other hand, use a third word (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15, phragelloo (G5417). Either all the words have similar meanings or there were two floggings, one to gain sympathy from the people for Jesus, and the other was a much more cruel method, which was used as part of the crucifixion process, but it is difficult to indisputably claim Jesus had to endure the latter, because, although phragelloo (G5417) is found only in Matthew 27:26 and Mark 15:15, and would be the only possible word that could mean the more cruel scourging, Jesus, himself used the noun form of the Greek (phragellion, G5416) in John 2:15 to use on the animals in the Temple to chase them out of the Temple compound.
The soldiers weaved a crown out of a thorn vine nearby, and placed it upon his head. The Greek word for crown is stephanos (G4735), and has to do with a victor’s crown, not a royal diadem. The intent of the soldiers was to mock Jesus, beaten, humiliated, being prepared to undergo an ignominious death, he is crowned victor. The robe they placed upon him was of a purple color. While Mark agrees with John (Mark 15:17), Matthew says it was scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28), but why? While it is possible that Jesus was given a faded military robe, scarlet, when it was new, but purplish, as it faded, I believe the reason is that the ancients weren’t as distinctly clear on colors as we are today, and they described them differently even among themselves [1] The point is not whether it is red or purple, but that it was used by the soldiers to mock Jesus, and that is what they did (John 19:2-3).
It seems that the soldiers’ ill-treatment of Jesus had a purpose for Pilate. He wished to inspire pity from the people, whom the chief priests had swayed to support their stiff-necked demands that the governor execute Jesus (Matthew 27:20; Mark 15:11). So, after the soldiers had entertained themselves, Pilate brought Jesus’ forth dressed in the purple cloak and wearing a victor’s crown of thorns, and addressing the people in an effort to express his innocence, he said: “Behold the man!” (John 19:4-5). Nevertheless, there is no pity in rebellion, no righteousness in stiff-necked disobedience. The only cry that could be heard was: “Crucify him!” (John 19:6).
_______________________________________________________________
Smoodock's Blog 
3 responses to “Behold the Man!”
I would suggest that He was tried 6 times.
The first trial was the true trial which insured all the other trials stood no chance. This was the trial in the garden of Gethsemane. Comparatively, the others paled.
Greetings unveiled, and thank you for reading and for your comment. Lord bless you.
I am uncertain what point you are making here. My point in the five trials is that Jesus was innocent, he was tired illegally by the Jewish authorities, and that he was crucified for admitting to his identity–the literal Son of God, blasphemy, according to the Jewish court, but said to be true by Rome.
Most folks, including Christians, ignorantly believe Jesus prayed to the Father to have the crucifixion removed, but this is not only wrong, but it contradicts Jesus’ nature of being One with the Father. The key to understanding what occurred in Gethsemane is, if you have a red letter Bible, consider all the red you see prior to Gethsemane and the sparse amount of red afterward. In other words, Jesus had a great deal to say prior to Gethsemane and very little to say afterward. I have concluded in several studies in Mark and Luke that suggest communication with the Father had been interrupted by our sins being laid upon Jesus sometime after leaving the Upper Room but before arriving at Gethsemane. It was this that brought Jesus the sorrow that caused him to believe he could die without going to the cross. This is what Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane was all about, not escaping the cross, as many maintain. Such a thought is very contradictory.
But, thank you again for reading, Lord bless you.
My point was past the literal and just trying to convey that the true trials we often face are in the dark night of our own soul where we face off with whatever the challenge may be. This is where we talk to and hear from our Father which empowers us to face the trials that follow.