Mensa Otabil - Pilate's Verdict
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Luke chapter 23 verse 3 and 4. Then Pilate asked him saying, «Are you the king of the Jews»? He answered him and said, «It is as you say». So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, «I find no fault in this man». Because the Jewish leaders were determined for Christ to be crucified, they took their case to Pilate, the governor of Judea, because only the Roman authority could authorize and also carry out a crucifixion. The Jews couldn’t do that by themselves. And so they took him to Pilate. But remember this is the purposes of God being worked out.
So although we see human cruelty and human scheming we also see God’s purposes throughout all of this. And so the hand of God is in what is happening. So in earlier verses the Jewish leaders presented three accusations against Jesus. The first is that Jesus was subverting the nation. that means that he was doing something to bring trouble to the nation. Secondly, they said that Jesus Christ was against paying of taxes to Caesar. And thirdly, they said that Jesus had made himself the Christ or the king, the king of the Jews. These are the three issues.
Now, if you were the average Roman, what should bother you if you were Pilate would be the second allegation or second accusation that he was against paying of taxes. But when you look at the conversation between Pilate and Jesus, it doesn’t seem as if the tax issue bothered him at all. He he doesn’t even question Jesus about taxes. probably he did but it’s not recorded but we work with the records and so there is no accusation about taxes. What bothers Pilate is are you the king of the Jews? Are you the Messiah of the Jews? Are you the ones the Jews think is coming to redeem them? And Jesus says, «You’ve said it». And Pilate says, «I find no fault in this man».
You know, so how he got to the conclusion is interesting. Probably he had heard that Jesus had taught earlier on give to Caesar what is Caesar’s when it came to taxation. So he knew that the tax question was irrelevant. Probably he had heard Jesus’s answer. And then he knew that Jesus lived in Galilee and was not subverting the nation.
So probably what he thought had a substance was the question of the messiahship and Jesus owned it and said you have affirmed it sir you’ve confirmed it and then Pilate says something which I think is very prophetic he said I find no fault with this man and why do I find it prophetic because under the old testament law before the sacrifice of a of the bull was to be made. The high priest had to certify that the sacrifice was without blemish.
Well, here the high priests were the ones who were against Jesus. But Pilate also standing as a leader of of state of a civil leader says to Jesus, he’s without blemish. In in a prophetic sense, Pilate is saying he is acceptable. And I believe that was God’s way of telling us that Jesus was an acceptable sacrifice and that he was a blameless sacrifice dying for the blamed. A sinless sacrifice dying for the sinful.
And so the one who had no fault died for those who had fault. And when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, he also looks at us and tells us, I find no fault in you. Because the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us washes us completely and absolutely so that in the sight of God, we have no fault. That is what Jesus did for us. So we can also be a people without blame. Not because we haven’t done anything wrong, but because Jesus died for us and took our place on the cross of Calvary.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you sent your holy son to die for a sinful world. I receive the gift of righteousness in Jesus name. Amen». And amen.