(1-5) Jesus Before Pilate
What kind of man was Pilate? The Bible doesn’t give any specifics, so it’s impossible for us to know for certain, but the Jewish philosopher Philo writes of “his venality, his violence, his thefts, his assaults, his abusive behavior, his frequent executions of untried prisoners, and his endless savage ferocity.” If Philo is telling the truth, then Pilate was by all means a cruel and emotionless person. In all his meanness, however, even he could not find fault with Jesus the Christ.
I have always imagined Pilate, not as a heartless monster, but as a seeker. It seems to me that he wanted to know more about the Man brought before him. Despite all the accusations laid against Him, Pilate sensed that there was something different about Jesus. If Pilate didn’t have so much power and if he hadn’t been under so much pressure, I think he would have sat down with Jesus and discovered the answer to his question, “What is truth?”
(6-16) Jesus Before Herod
There are a lot of people today who are like Herod. They demand a miracle from Jesus before they believe in Him. And if a miracle does not happen, then they make a mockery of Him. True belief in Christ does not require a sign, only faith.
(18-25) Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
The last verse of this passage reads that Pilate “delivered Jesus over to their will.” From a human perspective, that is exactly what he did. But from a heavenly perspective, Jesus was actually delivered over to the will of His Father. God used the angry, jealous, insistent actions of the religious leaders and the crowd to accomplish His eternal purpose of having salvation being made available for all mankind.
Favorite verse: (4) Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”