Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Saturday, April 5, 2014 Read John 18:28-40 John turns now to the only trial of Jesus in his gospel – the trial of Jesus before Pilate. The trial scene runs from John 18:28 through John 19:16 and is one continuous story. The trial before Pilate is a very skillfully and carefully written story. There are seven scenes that portray Pilate moving from inside his palace to the courtyard outside and back again. The whole scene proclaims the greatness of Jesus and the “smallness” of Pilate. Pilate is not in control. Jesus is. John begins by telling us that morning is dawning when Caiaphas delivers Jesus to the headquarters of Pilate. The Jewish leaders have a huge problem. This morning is the morning of the day that they will celebrate Passover in the coming evening. Once again we are confronted with the stark reality that Jesus could not have celebrated the Passover with his disciples at the supper the previous evening in John’s storyline. Jesus will not celebrate Passover. He will be killed first. But, the Jewish religious leaders will celebrate Passover – but only if they can maintain religious purity. To enter Pilate’s headquarters would have meant becoming ritually defiled so they wait outside. That someone of the stature of Pilate would have obliged their desire is highly unusual. We will need to ponder the whole scene regarding Pilate once we have heard the whole story of the event. So the first of seven scenes takes place just outside of Pilate’s headquarters. We need to take a minute to think about just where Pilate’s headquarters was located. There are two possibilities. One would have been at the Antonio Fortress which was just to the north of the Temple. Roman soldiers were stationed there to maintain order. Or, more likely, Pilate was at a palace Herod the Great had built for himself on the lush western side of Jerusalem. Once the Romans had put a governor in charge of Judea and Jerusalem instead of a Jewish ruler like Herod Antipas who ruled in Galilee, that Roman governor had taken over Herod’s palace as his headquarters in Jerusalem. Most of the time the Roman Governor lived at Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea, but when he was in Jerusalem he stayed at Herod’s Palace. So it’s likely that the scene takes place there. Pilate asks the Jewish religious leaders what the charge against Jesus is. They give no direct answer but simply say that if the man were not a criminal they would not have brought him to Pilate. They expect Pilate to simply take their word for it. Pilate doesn’t bite. He tells them to take the man and judge him according to their law. But the religious leaders persist. They make a claim that they are not permitted to put anyone to death. This claim is highly suspect. They could have had Jesus stoned. Not long into the future Stephen will be stoned and there seems to be no problem with needing Roman permission. It is the type of death that is at question. The Jewish religious leaders do not have the right to crucify. Only the Romans had that power. So, we might wonder why they are intent on having Jesus crucified. Was it really because Jesus had said that was the method by which he would die – he would be “lifted up” which is one of those words with two meanings. John seems to imply that it really was Jesus who was controlling the outcome even here – “this was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die!” The way in which John tells this story indicates that there is more going on than the eye might see. Jesus is in control. He will die in the way in which he desires. The second scene moves inside Pilate’s headquarters. Pilate decides to interrogate Jesus himself. His first question cuts to the heart of the issue – “is Jesus the King of Jews?” We would do well to imagine Pilate asking this question with a smirk on his mouth. Jesus looks like that last thing but a king. It is likely that Pilate decides at this point to enjoy making fun of the Jewish leaders. It is very doubtful that his interrogation is genuine. Before we proceed further we need to note that Mark, Matthew, and Luke also tell of a trial of Jesus before Pilate. As we have noted the four gospel writers have merged in the telling of the story. But the response of Jesus before Pilate is very different in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. When asked by Pilate if he is the king of the Jews, Jesus responds in a very ambiguous way – “You say so.” And then Mark, Matthew and Luke make a point of telling their readers that Jesus refuses to say another word to Pilate. Their whole point is that Jesus is silent before Pilate – and Pilate is left wondering what this means. Mark, Matthew, and Luke are likely thinking of Isaiah’s words of one who like a sheep before the shearer is dumb (Isaiah 53:7). So Jesus says not a word. In John’s story Jesus does plenty of talking. The encounter between Jesus and Pilate is a classic expression of many of the themes in John’s gospel. Jesus is not of this world. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world either. Yet, he was born for this very moment. Pilate latches on the notion that Jesus has a kingdom and thus must be a king but he completely misunderstands what Jesus is saying. Sometimes the encounter between Jesus and Pilate is viewed as a genuine search for truth. I think viewing this encounter in this way does not bear the weight of all the other information we know about Pilate. He was a brutal, evil man. He was so brutal that eventually the Romans chose to remove him from power. His sinister nature caused too much trouble. So here too I think we should not imagine that Pilate was genuinely searching for truth. If anything he was mocking such a thing as “Truth.” So his response to Jesus, “What is truth?” ought to be heard as a put-down and not a real question. And throughout all of this Pilate ought to be viewed as someone who is only playing with both Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. The third scene reinforces this notion. Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent. But he does not care about Jesus and he does not care about justice. He thinks up a plot that will incriminate the Jewish accusers. Pilate knows of a real mobster named Barabbas who he has locked away in his jail. Before Pilate is helpless Jesus (his opinion of him) and Barabbas (a real man in Pilate’s opinion). Pilate knows the Jewish leaders will choose to betray Jesus – so he maneuvers them into participating in Barabbas’ crime by choosing Barabbas over Jesus. The actions of Pilate are pure manipulation. And he is having a wonderful time doing it!