John 18:39-40, 19:1-3

³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" ⁴⁰They shouted back, "No, not Him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.... ¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe ³and went up to Him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck Him in the face.

As we prepare to enter chapter 19, Jesus is now finally condemned. The Jewish leaders, who hate Him because He is from God, condemn Him; and a weak and timid Roman ruler, who fears a riot among the people, condemns Him with his actions after verbally acquitting Him. Initially, Pilate tries in various ways to avoid this unjust condemnation of a righteous Man: first, he attempts to release Him according to the yearly custom, but the people demand instead that a murderous insurrectionist be released; and so we see, once again, that God uses the wicked actions of all the people involved to display His true intent – for in this act, the chief of sinners (Barabbas, which means “son of the father”) is freed from condemnation because Jesus, the Son of the Father, has taken his place. What a beautiful picture of how Christ was delivered up to death so that we, who deserve His punishment, might be released!

If we could have asked Barabbas the next day, or the next month, in the streets in Jerusalem, “Why, Barabbas, are you alive?” the only answer he could have given was that Jesus had died in his place. That’s the only answer. “Jesus died in my place.” It’s like an acted out parable. John gives us the gospel in this interlude. Do you see it? Furthermore, this custom of the Jews to have a prisoner released is a clear crime (Proverbs 17:15). Calvin says, “Nothing is more ridiculous, than to attempt to serve God by our inventions; for, as soon as men begin to follow their own imaginations, there will be no end till, by falling into some of the most absurd fooleries, they openly insult God. The rule for the worship of God, therefore, ought to be taken from nothing else than from His own appointment.”

Pilate tries to satisfy the hatred of the people with a vicious, bloody scourging. This flogging, as a “light” punishment, will ultimately be ineffective to accomplish Pilate’s intention; but it will be effective in the divine design to fulfill God’s will and prophecy: “By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). It is also at this time that the wicked actions of the cruel, pagan Roman soldiers – under Pilate’s authority – serve to display God’s sovereign will and design: for they put upon Him a crown of thorns and a robe of purple, in bitter mockery, and bow down to Him – but in reality, the bitter pain and bloody work of Jesus Christ will turn to the greatest victory and most exalted kingship in all of history; and the mockery of the crowds will turn to true worship and praise, when Jesus is exalted above the heavens.