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We can turn with me in your Bibles 
to John's Gospel, John chapter 19. John 19, we've seen the trial 
before Pontius Pilate. Just by way of a reminder, there's 
first a preliminary hearing where Jesus appears before Annas, according 
to John 18. And then Annas sends him to Caiaphas, 
the high priest of the Sanhedrin. and they find Jesus guilty of 
blasphemy because he made himself the son of God. They then send 
him to Pontius Pilate. Pilate learns of Jesus' Galilean 
heritage, and so he sends him over to Herod in an attempt to 
pass the buck. And then Herod, of course, sends 
him back to Pontius Pilate. And that's where we pick up the 
narrative. So in chapter 19, we considered last week, verses 
one to four, where Pilate had Jesus scourged or whipped. in 
an attempt to appease the bloodthirsty mob. No doubt he had likely hoped 
that they would release Jesus after that, but that's not how 
this ordeal is going. So then the soldiers of Pilate 
mock our Lord Jesus Christ by putting a crown of thorns on 
him, by putting a purple robe upon him, and a reed in his hand, 
and also spitting upon him. So then that brings us to Pilate's 
decision, and we see that in chapter 19, verses 5 to 16. I'll read the section and then 
we'll pray. So John 19 at verse 5, then Jesus 
came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And 
Pilate said to them, behold the man. Therefore, when the chief 
priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify 
him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, 
You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The 
Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to our law he ought 
to die, because he made himself the Son of God. Therefore, when 
Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid. and went 
again into the praetorium and said to Jesus, where are you 
from? But Jesus gave him no answer. 
Then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? Do you 
not know that I have power to crucify you and to release you? Jesus answered, you could have 
no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered 
me to you has the greater sin. From then on Pilate sought to 
release him. But the Jews cried out saying, 
if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever 
makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore 
heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the 
judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in 
Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the preparation day 
of the Passover and about the sixth hour. And he said to the 
Jews, behold your king. But they cried out, away with 
him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I 
crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we 
have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered him to them 
to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led 
him away. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for this account. We thank you 
for what our Lord went through on our behalf. As our creed says, 
that He came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation. We see how that's worked out 
in the pages of Holy Scripture. We thank you that the Word became 
flesh. that the word obeyed the law 
of God perfectly, that he died as a sacrifice and a substitute 
in our stead, and that he was raised again that third day. 
And we look forward to his return again in glory to judge the living 
and the dead. We pray that all of us would 
be clothed in his righteousness, cleansed in his blood, ready 
to meet him on that great day. Bless the proclamation of your 
truth throughout the earth. May that word run swiftly and 
may it be glorified. May you save from every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation. And may you encourage and build 
up and strengthen your saints and cause us to be faithful in 
this present evil age and give us grace even now to receive 
with grateful hearts your word and forgive us for all of our 
sin and guide us by your Holy Spirit. And we pray this through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, we've 
come now to the decision of Pontius Pilate, and there's three sections, 
I think, in this particular account. I want to look first at the tension 
with Pilate in verses 5 to 8. Pilate obviously has seen the 
innocence of Jesus. He confesses it over and over 
and over again. He knows there's no reason why, 
no reason whatsoever that he should sentence a just man to 
die. So the tension with Pilate in 
verses 5 to 8, and then secondly the authority of Pilate in verses 
9 to 11. You see an interesting movement. 
There is this movement from fear, verse 8, to confusion in verse 
9, and then into arrogance in verse 10. So the authority of 
Pilate in verses 9 to 11, and then finally the verdict of Pilate 
in verses 12 to 16. So first, with reference to the 
tension, I want to slow down a bit here because I think there's 
a lot going on that's instructive for us in terms of what the Savior 
did. So I want to look first at the 
announcement in verse 5, the demand in verse 6, the accusation 
in verse 7, and then finally the response in verse 8. But 
note first in terms of the announcement, verse 5a tells us, then Jesus 
came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. That 
connects us back to what we saw in terms of the soldiers' mistreatment 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. They weave that crown of thorns, 
they place it on his head to mock him but to hurt him. As 
well, they put a reed in his hand, a symbol of royal authority. They put this purple robe upon 
him, and it's a mock enthronement scene. They say, hail, king of 
the Jews. They're putting him down. They 
spit upon him. He's bloody, he's sweaty, he's 
been spat upon. And so that's the presentation 
of our Lord that verse 5a sets forth. Jesus came out wearing 
the crown of thorns and the purple robe. It's not describing a picture 
of majesty. It's not describing a picture 
of dignity. It's not describing a picture 
of royal authority, but just the opposite. He has been mocked. 
He has been spat upon. He has been abused. He has been 
broken by men. And then Pilate makes this announcement 
at the end of verse 5. He says, And Pilate said to them, 
Behold the man. And I think it's a curious statement 
for two reasons. First, I think that Pilate is 
probably taunting the Jews. I think that he's doing that 
throughout this particular narrative. Part of the tension that's obviously 
involved is not only Pilate and Jesus and the fact that Jesus 
is just, but it's the Jews who continue to demand that Pontius 
Pilate sentence to crucifixion this just man. And so here he 
says, behold the man. Perhaps the taunt goes something 
like this. This is the man that you are 
afraid of. This is the man that you think 
poses a threat to the empire and to Caesar. This is the man 
that you think is going to turn everything upside down. The very 
predicate for your charges is that he asserted himself as a 
king. And they're going to play that 
card later in the narrative with Pilate. But he's taunting them. 
Behold the man. Then as well, there's a theological 
connection here, and I gotta say, I just was alerted to it 
by Edward Klink, and did a little bit of further study. He links 
this statement, behold the man, with God's words concerning Adam 
in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 22. Behold the man, he has become 
like one of us, knowing good and evil. And if you think about 
it, if you go back to John 18 at verse 1, we made a connection 
there between John 18 and Genesis chapters 1 to 3. So notice in 
John 18, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with 
his disciples over the Brook Kedron, where? there was a garden 
which he and his disciples entered. So the first Adam forfeits life 
in the garden based on his transgression and his rebellion and his disobedience. And we in him die as a result. Well here, similarly, we have 
this, behold the man. Now it's not necessary for Pilate 
to understand the theology that I'm about to present. I don't 
think Pilate self-consciously reflected upon Genesis 3.22 and 
made this theological connection. I'm not suggesting that at all. 
In fact, go back to John 11. Sometimes persons speak better 
than they know. If you look at John chapter 11 
at verse 49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being 
high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, 
nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man 
should die for the people and not that the whole nation should 
perish. Now this he did not say on his 
own authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied 
that Jesus would die for the nation and not for that nation 
only, but also that he would gather together in one the children 
of God who were scattered abroad. So Caiaphas, He's not making 
an absolute declaration prophetically in terms of his own will. He's 
just simply saying, we need to get rid of this Jesus. We need 
to kill him. We need to extirpate him. We 
need to liquidate him. We need him away from us. We 
need to disenfranchise him permanently. But what he's saying is the gospel, 
right? Jesus dies. for his people. This reflects John the Baptist's 
announcement in John 1.29, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world. So it's not necessary that Caiaphas 
or Pontius Pilate here make those theological conclusions. They're 
not professors of biblical theology at the local seminary. But what 
he's saying here makes sense in the larger context. We have 
Adam in the garden, striving after godhood. We have Adam in 
the garden, wanting to be as God. And so God, in Genesis 3.22, 
says, Behold the man, he has become like one of us. Here we 
have the last Adam, who became flesh and dwelt among us. We 
have the last Adam bring eternal life in this garden situation, 
in this connection with the first Adam. We have Christ bringing 
justification to all those whom the Father had given Him. In 
Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made alive. So again, Pontius 
Pilate speaks better than he knows when he highlights this 
reality. Behold the man, the guilty verdict 
pronounced on all men because of the one man in the garden, 
and now justification of the elect of God based on this one 
man standing before Pontius Pilate, who's going to go to the cross 
to die to save his people from their sins. That brings us then 
to the demand in verse 6. Note the religious leaders in 
verse 6a. Now, I've said this as we move 
through this section. On many an occasion, the Sanhedrin 
was the highest religious and political and ethical authority 
over Israel. Its tap roots go back to the 
book of Exodus, when Jethro says to Moses, you need to delegate. 
All this judging is going to put you into an early grave. 
You need to select 70 men. And so the history or heritage 
of the Sanhedrin goes all the way back. So the Sanhedrin is, 
again, recognized within Israel. They're subject in the Roman 
Empire. They're subject to Roman authority. They don't have absolute 
sovereignty as a subject nation to the Roman Empire. But nevertheless, 
within their own boundaries, the Sanhedrin is the highest 
authority. Notice who's leading the charge. 
It's not the rabble. It's not the hoi polloi. It's 
not the multitudes. They're going to stir up the 
multitudes, as we see in Matthew's gospel in Matthew 27. They stir 
up the multitudes, but it's them leading the charge against Jesus. 
It's them in the confrontation with Jesus in John's gospel. Jesus calls them sons of the 
devil according to John 8 44. Jesus says you are of your father 
the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. He 
was a murderer and a liar from the beginning and you want to 
do that. Prior in that section there in 
John chapter 8 he says you're not Abraham's sons. If you were 
Abraham's sons you wouldn't want to murder me. It's a pretty simple 
proposition. If you're Abraham's son, you're 
not going to try to destroy Abraham's seed, the one of promise. And 
so the chief priests are leading the battle cry in this particular 
situation. When the chief priests and officers 
saw him, they cried out saying, crucify him, crucify him. They're 
not simply asking for a stoning death according to Old Testament 
law. They want the worst form. They 
want a form of barbarism, a form of bloodshedding, a form of absolute 
excruciating pain inflicted upon the one who is holy, harmless, 
and undefiled. I told you before that in the 
Roman Empire, if you were a citizen in the Roman Empire, you were 
exempt from death by crucifixion because it was so horrendous. 
The idea being, we're not going to inflict this on somebody who 
has citizenship privilege or citizenship right. We're not 
going to ever hang them on a cross. Now, there was probably the odd 
case here or there where someone could be hung upon the cross 
if the emperor gave sanction. But for the garden variety, even 
capital offenders, they didn't get executed via cross. And yet 
that's where these chief priests and officers go. Away with him, 
away with him, crucify him. Now those of us who have been 
students of Scripture know that this jives exactly with what 
we find in Scripture. Psalm 22 prophesies what? The 
Lord Jesus' death by crucifixion. It affirms what we read in the 
prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 53, that last servant song of Yahweh, 
that this would be a man of sorrows, he would be acquainted with grief. 
By his stripes, we would be healed. It jives with the teaching of 
our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 20, when he 
announces he must go to Jerusalem, he must be tried at the hands 
of men, and he must be crucified. It jives with what Jesus has 
said in John 3, 14, just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must 
the Son of Man also be lifted up. It jives with John chapter 
8 when he says, when you lift up the Son of Man. So the fact 
that they say, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him, it's 
not surprising to us as readers of this narrative, but it should 
still be shocking. It should still affect us in 
such a way that this group of people who are confronted with 
an innocent man, confessed thrice by Pilate to be just, nevertheless 
want the worst form of execution imposed upon him. Brethren, we 
ought never to get to that place where sin doesn't shock us. We ought never to get to that 
place where we don't hang our heads in shame, that our fellows, 
and we included if given opportunity, would do some pretty horrific 
things. It is an indictment upon the 
race of men that in Adam all die and that from that vantage 
point of original sin proceed all actual transgressions. And 
they're foul, they're gross, they're fiendish, they're disgusting. And so for these men to go to 
this place underscores that grim reality. And this has been their 
intention throughout Jesus' ministry. Early on, they make the decision 
that they've got to kill him. They just can't share a world 
with this man. They just can't, you know, let 
go and let God at this point. They can't respect theological 
differences. And make no mistake, that's what 
it was. That's what they're going to 
allege, or that's what they're going to charge formally with 
reference to Pilate in the verses following. He claims to be the 
Son of God, and we cannot have that. This man is a traitor. This man is an imposter. This 
man is a false, a fraud, and he is false. It is just not thinkable 
in their heads that Jesus be continue to live. So notice then 
under this, we've got the governor's response with reference to the 
demand. Verse 6. Therefore, when the chief priests 
and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify 
him. Notice Pilate's response. Pilate 
said to them, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault 
in him. We've already seen Pilate's attempt 
to grant amnesty to Jesus, right? This time of the feast, see that 
back in chapter 18, at this time during the feast, we have a custom, 
or you have a custom, where I can release somebody that's jailed. 
thinking probably they're gonna say, in light of Barabbas, yeah, 
give us Jesus. We don't like his theology. We 
don't like his messianic interpretation of the Old Testament and application 
to himself. We don't like that. But, you 
know, Barabbas is a genuine threat to the society. Remember, we 
argued that he's not just a robber, not that robbers are somehow 
okay, but he was an insurrectionist. He was a terrorist. He and his 
two fellows that were executed on the sides of Jesus, they were 
murderers. But no, they don't go for that. 
What do they do? They want the release of Barabbas. So Pilate has attempted to grant 
amnesty to Jesus with this custom at the time of Passover. But 
as well, Pilate's tried to absolve himself. We saw that in Matthew 
27, when he stands up there and demonstrates his innocence with 
reference to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. My hands are 
clean. He couldn't do that because ultimately 
it's him that gives the verdict to sentence Jesus to die by crucifixion. So here, verse 6b, Pilate said 
to them, you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him. 
What's he doing now? He tried amnesty, it didn't work. 
He tried self-absolution, it didn't work. What's he gonna 
do now? He's gonna pass the buck. He wants no part of this scam. He wants no part of this sham. He wants no part of a man's death 
who he recognizes and confesses, even here, that he's guiltless. 
I find no fault in him. In other words, I don't have 
the prerogative to just go around and kill people. In fact, when 
we get there, and we may not get there this morning, brethren, 
just to calm everybody's minds, notice at verse 10. Are you not 
speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power 
to crucify you and power to release you?" Who gave Pilate power to execute 
innocent people? His assertion is arrogant. Don't 
you know I have control over you, Jesus? But it's also false. I'm sure that if we went to Caesar 
Tiberius and said, hey, do you know that Pontius Pilate, who's 
the governor over there in Judea, do you know he's just killing 
innocent men? You think Tiberius would say, yeah, that's the way 
we roll here in Rome. No, not even a little bit. He doesn't have any authority 
whatsoever to execute innocent men. He just doesn't. Nobody 
has authority to execute innocent men, ever. God alone is Lord 
of life. God alone kills and makes alive. So when we come to Pilate here, 
he wants to distance himself because he knows that this is 
wrong. He knows that this is a sham. He confirms several times, 
1838, 1904, 1906, 1912, that Jesus is not guilty. He's done nothing wrong. You 
take him yourself and you crucify him. That brings us then to their 
accusation in verse seven. Notice, the Jews answered him, 
we have a law and according to our law, he ought to die because 
he made himself the son of God. There's their issue. There's 
their problem. So we can conclude at this point, 
or at least infer or imply that their previous charges were just 
a sham. Remember in Luke chapter 23, 
verses 1 to 5, they know they can't get Pilate ultimately to 
sign off on a blasphemy charge as a capital offense that warrants 
crucifixion. That's probably not gonna fly. 
So what do they say? He perverts the nation, he calls 
himself a king, and he, get this, he forbids people from paying 
taxes. You want to get a Roman statist 
on your side? Tell him that. But up to this 
point, it didn't prevail with Pilate. It didn't work. Pilate does not say, oh yeah, 
he claims to be a rival king, oh yeah, he's perverting the 
nation, oh yeah, he stirs up all the people, and oh yeah, 
he is forbidding the payment of taxes, so let's crucify him. So when we get to this statement 
in verse 6b, you take him and crucify him for I find no fault 
in him. The Jews answered him, we have 
a law and according to our law he ought to die because he made 
himself the son of God. It indicates that their original 
charge within the Sanhedrin, within their own community, is 
what they now proffer. He spoke in blasphemy. Pilate, 
you've got to prevail. Pilate, maybe he's not perverting 
the nation. Maybe he's not a king in the 
same sense as Caesar and doesn't mount any sort of revolutionary 
thought towards Caesar. And okay, yeah, he's not really 
forbidding the payment of taxes. In fact, when I hear my lord, 
he tells people to pay taxes. It's kind of a specious argument 
when he tells Peter to go find a fish, open the fish's mouth, 
find the exact money that you need to go pay taxes, and go 
pay taxes. Hard to make that one stick. So here's the rub. Here's their issue. Here's their 
problem. So, of course, the law concerning 
blasphemy, Leviticus 24, 16, and other places, I think, in 
the Old Testament, Their prior attempt to justify 
killing Jesus with the background of their own law, John 5, they're 
incensed because he, being a man, made himself equal with God. 
After the long discourse in John 8, when Jesus says, before Abraham 
was, I am, what do they do? They pick up stones to throw 
at him. Same thing happens in John 10 at verses 33 to 36. This 
is their beef. This is their issue. This is 
their problem. Notice the heresy concerning 
his person. They don't understand theology. 
Verse 7, we have a law, and according to our law, he ought to die because 
he made himself the Son of God. Listen to John Gill here, because 
he made himself the Son of God, the natural and essential Son 
of God, not by adoption or on account of his incarnation in 
mediatorial office, but as being one with the Father. of the same 
nature with him, and equal to him in all his perfections and 
glory. This he had often asserted in his ministry, or what was 
equivalent to it, and which they so understood, and indeed had 
said that very morning before the high priest in his palace 
what amounted thereunto, and which he so interpreted, upon 
which he rent his garments and charged him with blasphemy. Thomas 
makes a similar observation, but they regarded him as a liar 
and a blasphemer, each of which deserved death because they did 
not understand his eternal generation. You say, well, you know, you're 
reading Isaiah back into the Bible. You're reading into their 
heads what they couldn't have possibly known. Well, that brings 
us to their neglect. Suppose that I went to the gas 
station tomorrow, And I pumped gas, and I came out, and I met 
a fellow standing there, and he claimed to be the son of God. 
And I got back into my car, and I went home, and I told Rebecca, 
hey, I met a guy who claimed to be the son of God. What would 
you think? You'd probably think he's a nut. 
You'd probably think that he's on drugs. And you'd probably 
be right. So get the seed. Jews before 
Pilate, they want Jesus to be crucified. Tax evasion hasn't 
worked. Rival king hasn't worked. Perverting 
the nation hasn't worked. Stirring up the peoples hasn't 
worked. They see it's not working. Pilate has thrice, or three times 
we'll say, I find no guilt in him. Verse 12 tells us he continues 
to try to release Jesus. So now they say he claims to 
be the son of God. Now, on its surface, Pilate's 
response would probably be your wife's response when you went 
to the gas station and met the fellow who said that he was the 
son of God. You'd probably think, he's nuts, or he's a drug taker, 
or he's got delusions of grandeur. Look at their neglect. Look at 
what they don't mention. See, what if I came home and 
I said, this man claims to be the son of God. And for the last 
three years, he's been doing son of God type stuff. That changes it a little bit, 
doesn't it? So they're just, he claims to 
be the son of God. Well, you guys have heard and 
seen and witnessed things that might go a long way to try to 
actually pursue justice in this case. Consider what they neglect 
first. The old covenant messianic prophecies. They had Genesis. They had Isaiah. They had Micah, they had the 
Old Covenant messianic prophecies, which concerned a man born of 
a woman, which concerned a son given unto us, born in Bethlehem 
Ephrathah, whose goings forth are from of old, even from everlasting. They don't mention that. Secondly, 
they have the self-identification of Jesus. It's not just once 
outside of an Esso where Jesus says, I think I'm the son of 
God. It is over and over and over and over and over again 
to his disciples, to the religious leaders. In the face of great 
opposition, as Gil mentions, that morning, early that morning, 
he meets before the Sanhedrin and they put him under oath. 
Tell us, are you the son of God? It is as you said, and hereafter 
you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power. They 
don't tell Pilate that. They've got him as the Esso guy 
who has these odd views of his own character or personage. Thirdly, 
the claim by Jesus of his execution of God-befitting tasks. What 
does that mean? Jesus gives life, according to 
John 5. Jesus is the judge of all men, 
according to John chapter 5. See, that kind of puts it in 
a bit of a different light, don't you think? Connie, I met this 
fellow, he claims to be the Son of God. For the last three years, 
he's done Son of God stuff in accordance with what was written 
in the Old Testament about one who would do Son of God stuff. 
And lo and behold, he's doing son of God stuff. And that brings 
us then to his signs, his miracles. Again, this wasn't done in a 
vacuum. It wasn't done just for the benefit 
of the disciples. It was done in the presence of 
these religious leaders as well. Isn't this what predicates the 
battle and the confrontation in John 5? Jesus heals the man 
in the pool of Bethsaida. And what do the religious leaders 
respond with? Ah, he's breaking the Sabbath. 
But then they up the ante. They want to put him to death. 
In fact, look there, John chapter 5. We should get that. Should 
understand what's happening. They exclude lots and lots of 
information that would have been probably helpful for Pilate to 
ultimately make his decision. Notice in John 5, verse 16, for 
this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him 
because he had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered 
them, my father has been working until now, and I have been working. 
Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill him because 
he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his 
father, making himself equal with God. And then what continues 
is Jesus' response to that allegation and charge. Notice that Jesus 
doesn't say, no, you're wrong. I don't make myself to be the 
son of God. No, you're wrong. No, he does just the opposite. 
He says, you're absolutely right. In accordance with Genesis 3.15, 
in accordance with Isaiah 9, in accordance with Micah 5, in 
accordance with the fullness of the time God sent forth His 
Son, born of a woman, born under the law, He asserts equality 
with the Father in His response to this charge that he makes 
himself equal with God. Notice that he says that his 
signs are supposed to produce in persons a belief in him. Look at 536, but I have a greater 
witness than John's for the works which the father has given me 
to finish the very works that I do bear witness of me that 
the father has sent me. They're speaking to the one that 
just healed the man in the pool of Bethesda. Not to some charlatan, 
not to some faker, not to some fraud. Turn over to John 8. John 
chapter 8, similar situation. I already mentioned it. I'm sorry, John chapter 9. John chapter 
9, Jesus heals the man that was born blind. Is that pretty amazing, 
right? I think that goes a bit to sort 
of affirm the claim to Son of God-ship. It's gonna tilt my 
hand favorably in that direction if the Esso guy said, you know 
what? I healed a man that was born blind and I watched it and 
I saw it. It would go a long way to, you 
know, at least helping me to think, yeah, maybe it's not fentanyl. 
Maybe he's onto something. They've got, you know, later 
Jesus is going to say, the ones who delivered me up to you have 
the greater guilt or the greater sin. Why? Because Pilate is characterized 
by cowardice. The religious leaders are characterized 
by prejudice. They have excluded the thought 
that Jesus go free. They've excluded the thought 
that Jesus be treated in any way, shape or form justly. So 
Jesus heals this man that was born blind. But then notice as 
well in John 11, another tidbit might be helpful when you make 
an allegation, he claims to be the son of God. Old covenant 
prophecies demand that the Son of God assume our humanity. The 
fact that he identifies as the Son of God, the sent one by the 
Father who sent, the fact that he says of himself he does God-befitting 
tasks, things that are only done by God, giver of life, judge 
of all the earth, and the fact that he does these signs and 
wonders to the point of raising a dead man. Again, if I'm Pilate, 
I'd like that information. Well, they know that Pilate would 
like that information. They know that if they give that 
information, it could be the case that Pilate just calls off 
this sham and says, you know what? You guys are in contempt 
of my court. Get out, or I'll have you arrested. 
But that's not what happens. So then notice, fourthly, the 
response of Pilate in verse 8. the response of Pilate in verse 
8. So verse 7, we have a law. And 
according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself 
the Son of God. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he 
was the more afraid. So when Pilate heard that saying, 
Pilate's already confirmed by Jesus' own testimony that Jesus 
is not a threat to He is certainly not a threat to Caesar. In fact, 
look at 18, 36, and 37. The clear implication is they'd 
win. When the Son of God calls upon 
his servants to fight, they win. That's just the way it goes. 
Then he goes on to say, so that I should not be delivered to 
the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. Then Pilate 
said to him, are you a king then? When he says my kingdom is not 
from here, it doesn't mean it doesn't include here, but it 
doesn't originate from here. He's not voted in. This wasn't 
a democracy. This wasn't a succession of Davidic 
kings, which it was in one sense, but that's another theological 
theme. His origin is not, here in terms of his kingly authority. That's what he's saying. So he 
says, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly 
that I am a king. For this cause I was born and 
for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear 
witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth 
hears my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth? 
And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and 
said to them, I find no fault in him at all. So he's already 
made that determination. It's not a threat to the empire. 
It's not a threat to Caesar. He's not a threat to Pontius 
Pilate. Let him go. Be done with that. You guys messed 
up. You failed. We can call it a 
day and everybody go home. Put your head on your pillow. 
The governors confirmed that Jesus is not a rival to the civil 
state. So verse 8 is curiously intriguing. Therefore, when Pilate heard 
that saying, what saying? He claims to be the son of God. What's Pilot do? Oh, he must 
be on crack. Oh, he must be out of his mind. 
No, Pilot's afraid. Why was Pilot afraid? I would 
suggest, for a variety of reasons, one, that in the Roman Empire 
and the religious milieu there, the reality of gods coming down 
in the likeness of men was real for them, or the thought of gods 
coming down in the likeness of men was real for them. Remember 
when Paul and Silas are in Lystra? Remember that? And they worship 
them, or Paul and Barnabas, rather, and they worship them, and they 
say that gods have come down, and they said that Paul was Zeus. 
Or rather, Paul was Hermes and Barnabas was Zeus. Or vice versa, 
it's off my head. But they had a doctrine of that, 
or thought of that, or it was philosophically and theologically 
possible that the gods could come down in the likeness of 
man. So wait a minute, you're telling me that he's the son 
of God. So for Pirate, not only is he about to condemn an unjust 
man, but he might actually be guilty of deicide, the murder 
of a god. His response here is perfectly 
appropriate. His response here is perfectly 
legitimate. His response here ought to be 
imitated by a whole multitude of people. When Jesus claims 
to be the Son of God, Pilate is afraid. When Pilate heard 
that saying, he was the more afraid. The Romans had this view. The governor's fear is legit, 
not only based on Jesus' testimony, John 18, 36 to 37, not only based 
on the lack of any accusations, formal accusations, any laws 
of evidence or rules of evidence, any cross-examination proffered 
by the Jews. But remember his wife's dream? 
Remember that? The wife says to Pilate, don't 
have anything to do with this just man. Get away from him. You don't want to tangle with 
him. You don't want to mess with him. I've had a dream. I had a vision and a dream, and 
all I know I don't know the theology of Nicaea. I don't know Chalcedon. I don't know Second London. But 
this much I do know. Husband have nothing to do with 
him." Now, for most of us, we would take that, I'd like to 
think, pretty seriously. Especially again in a religious 
or theological milieu where dreams and revelations and men coming 
down or God's coming down in the likeness of man are all realities. 
So his wife warns him, have nothing to do with it. And that probably 
is the predicate, or part of the predicate, for why Pilate 
does what Pilate does when he washes his hands before the mob 
to try and distance himself from this Jesus. He's afraid, and 
well should he be afraid, because he is about to sentence not only 
the only innocent man that ever lived, but the Word became flesh 
who dwelt among us. And as we continue, God willing, 
next Sunday, we will see Pilate's arrogant assertion of his own 
authority, Jesus' refutation of that, and then the capitulation 
by Pilate to deliver him up to them so that Jesus would be crucified. And I just want to end there. 
We're going to jump ahead to verse 16a, finish there, and 
God willing, finish there again next week. But notice, then he 
delivered him to them to be crucified. Then he delivered him to them 
to be crucified. Now brethren, We know that these 
men are guilty. We know that Judas is guilty. 
We know the Sanhedrin is guilty. We know the multitudes are guilty. 
We know that Pontius Pilate is guilty. But according to our 
section, the decision or the verdict rather of the decision 
of Pilate, Jesus says you'd have no authority unless it was given 
to you from above. The theological explanation for 
this farce The theological explanation for this sham, the theological 
explanation for this all, and it never mitigates the second 
causes, is the sovereignty of God Most High. God puts enmity 
between the woman and between the serpent. God purposes to 
send the son of his love into this world. God sends that word 
who becomes flesh and dwells among us. It is all of God. He's delivered up, yes, because 
of Pontius Pilate, delivered up, yes, because of the Sanhedrin, 
because of the multitudes, because of Judas, that wretch. but he's 
delivered up ultimately by God. And when we ask the question, 
why? Why? Because this is his purpose. This is his plan. This is his 
gospel. Gospel's not good advice, be 
a better you. Gospel's not try a bit harder. Gospel is God is in Christ reconciling 
the world to himself. God sent his only begotten son 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting 
life. It must be this way. It is written 
in the Old Testament. It was spoken by our Lord Jesus. 
It was decreed by God Most High from before the foundation of 
the world. So all of this tragedy, all of 
this sham, all of this wretchedness is serving the purposes of God 
Most High to save you and I from our sins. Imagine if that was 
you. Imagine if you were in a court 
that was run like this. Oh, where's my lawyer? Where's 
my defense? I haven't done anything wrong. 
But even to the very end, Isaiah 53 7, he's like a lamb that's 
led to the slaughter. He's silent before his shearer. 
He doesn't argue. He doesn't complain. He doesn't 
wind, doesn't raise his hand and say, wait a minute, go back 
to those old covenant prophecies, especially Isaiah 9, Micah 5. 
He doesn't do that. Why? Because again, it's the 
sovereign purposes of his father. Remember one of those phrases 
that we've seen throughout John's gospel. It arises first in John 
two, and then we see it littered throughout John's gospel. The 
hour, the hour, the hour, the hour, the hour, the hour. The hour is upon the son of God. He's not gonna argue with Pilate. 
He's not gonna call his attorney. He's not gonna make one final 
appeal to get off. He's here to serve the Father's 
interests. God chose us in Him before the 
foundation of the world. In love, He predestinated us 
unto adoption as sons. And then in Christ, we are accepted. We are accepted in the Beloved. We have redemption through His 
blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His 
grace. this Jesus went through, what this Jesus went through 
for the glory of God and for wretches like you and I, who 
by grace have looked to Him in faith and have everlasting life. If you are a wretch here this 
morning that has not looked to Him in faith, Do so, believe 
on him and you shall be saved. That's the sure promise of God 
most high to everyone who comes to his son. You receive forgiveness, 
you receive a righteousness by which now you're accepted into 
heaven itself, all because of what the son of God has accomplished 
for us men and for our salvation. Well, let us pray. Our father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your gospel. 
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ as it's so vividly and 
beautifully portrayed, even in a short section like this. We 
thank you for that great love wherewith you loved us. And as 
Paul says, you demonstrate that love and that while we were still 
sinners, Christ died for us. What a blessed truth, what a 
blessed reality. And may we be encouraged and 
may we respond with worship and with gratitude and praise to 
the Most High God. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll sing.