After Pilate thought to use pity as a tool to gain popular support for his effort to release Jesus and put down the chief priests’ demand for his execution, which was rapidly formulating into an insurrection, the Jewish authorities expressed no appearance of conceding, but cried out all the more: “Crucify him!” and apparently the people echoed their demands, but why? How could the very same folks who praised Jesus and eagerly embraced him as their Messiah only a few days prior to this, suddenly remove their support in favor of Jesus’ enemies?
As I mentioned in an earlier study, it had to do with false doctrine. The people, believing the Messiah cannot die (John 12:34), would have undeniable proof that Jesus was the Messiah, if the governor couldn’t execute him. Although this seems logically correct, the theology is wrong, and the Jews slew their Messiah. Rather than proving truth, such theology actually tempts God (Matthew 4:5-7; cp. Luke 4:28-29). The logic comes out of paganism, which tries to control the gods by men acting in a manner that forces the gods to comply.[1] The Jews had their version of that by seeking to kill a man to prove he wasn’t the Messiah. If he died, no harm done (at least for the nation), but if he lived, then he is the Messiah, because why would God permit the Messiah to die who was sent to save the nation? The problem is, no one can speak for God, unless he is sent by God. Therefore, rather than believing the word of God and trusting the miraculous signs done by God’s true Messenger, works that could be done only by God, they embraced superstition. Seemingly frustrated with them, Pilate then told them to take him themselves and crucify him, because he wouldn’t be used by them to carry out their will (John 19:6).
Immediately, therefore, the chief priests called out once more that Jesus needed to die, because he had claimed to be the Son of God, and according to their law he must die for that claim (John 19:7). Thus, in the end, although the chief priests couldn’t sway Pilate to execute Jesus for their accusations of insurrection, concerning which he was innocent, they, finally, admitted to what Jesus really said about himself, but accused him of lying. Therefore, for the charge of blasphemy, for claiming he was the Son of God, Jesus was eventually crucified. He wasn’t crucified for rebellion against Caesar, nor was he crucified for subversive activity in Galilee, because he was found innocent of those charges by both Pilate and Herod. In the end Jesus was crucified for admitting the truth, for admitting he was God’s own Son.
What did Pilate do then, and how did Jesus respond (John 19:8-9)? When Pilate heard the chief priests’ response that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the text says he feared the more (John 19:8). The Greek word is phobeo (G5399) and has the sense of dread, reluctance, reverence (and more), but which sense describes Pilate’s actual emotion. If Pilate was facing a possible insurrection in the making, why would he be afraid? By simply giving in to the Jewish authorities’ demands would solve his problem. Perhaps, the sense is that Pilate only became increasingly reluctant to give in to their demands upon hearing this latest accusation. While this is certainly possible, and perhaps even expresses part of the truth, I don’t think it really unveils what was going on in Pilate’s mind. Pagan thought is very superstitious, and by announcing that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, probably increased Pilate’s understanding of Jesus’ demeanor. It seemed to fit, and unveil a fresh look at Jesus, so Pilate, the bigot, suddenly had a deeper respect for Jesus, not that he believed he was God, but simply had a clearer understanding of and greater respect for his behavior. Therefore, he returned to the judgment hall with Jesus and asked him about where he was from, but Jesus remained silent and offered him no reply (John 19:9; cp. Isaiah 53:7).
No doubt he was frustrated with the Jews’ illogical demands, and of Jesus’ seemingly reluctance to defend himself, so Pilate reminded Jesus that he, the governor, had the authority to crucify him or release him. Don’t you understand? Why do you remain silent? So, Jesus informed Pilate that he, the governor, would have no such authority, if it weren’t given him from above. In other words, he possessed such authority over Jesus only because God had permitted it, and the greater fault lay at the feet of those who delivered him over to the governor (John 19:10-11). In other words, it was the goats, always the goats (Ezekiel 34:17-24), the authorities who foul the spirits and the spiritual food of the masses, the people and cause them to go astray. The responsibility of the death of the Messiah lay at their feet (John 19:11).
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[1] For a clearer explanation of this, see my earlier study: Monotheism v/s Polytheism.
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