John 19:4-12

⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him." ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the Man!" ⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him." ⁷The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God." ⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace. "Where do You come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰"Do You refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free You or to crucify You?" ¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." ¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this Man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

Pilate issues a “light” punishment, hoping to appease the Jews, and then brings Jesus before them, again declaring that he finds no fault in Jesus. Pilate says, “Here is the Man.” I wonder if Jesus appeared differently, having been beaten and flogged and dressed as a king. Do you think that no one would have recognized Him if Pilate had not told the crowd that this was Him? V6 is especially harsh, for we notice the cruelty of the Jews, who continue demand crucifixion, even after seeing the beating and mocking of their Savior. Yet for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured all this and more to come – the cross.

Pilate declares, once again, his own innocence in this matter by offering to give Jesus back into the hands of the Jewish leaders. As none of Pilate’s schemes to deliver Christ from crucifixion have worked, the bloodthirsty mob remaining relentless as ever, he turns to Jesus again for questioning – but this time in even greater fear than before, for the people have told Him that He claims to be the Son of God, and Pilate has seen no hint of dishonesty in this Man. Maybe, Pilate must wonder, He is actually telling the truth. They’ve got Pilate between a rock and a hard place, for he is the only one with authority to crucify, and their law demands execution. If he doesn’t crucify Jesus, there will certainly be a riot, which would end his career and perhaps his life (fear). If he does crucify Jesus, he may be executing an innocent Man – and maybe worse (more fear; hell to pay?).

Out of this fear of crucifying the Son of God, Pilate asks Jesus where He comes from, hoping to learn whether He is from God or not. Pilate may even trust Jesus for the truth at this point. But Jesus is silent, leaving a great burden upon Pilate’s shoulders, leaving him in his fear, according to the will of God. Had Jesus affirmed His divinity, Pilate may have refused to crucify him and exalted Him alongside other Roman gods, as Tiberias Caesar wished to rank Jesus among the Roman gods. But of course, Jesus silence not only fulfilled Scripture, but also led to His ordained crucifixion, which was appropriately at hand. We might learn this: If reverence for God had so much influence on an irreligious man, must not they be worse than reprobate, who now judge of divine things in sport and jest, carelessly, and without any fear? Pilate is a proof that men have naturally a sentiment of religion, which does not suffer them to rush fearlessly in any direction they choose, when the question relates to divine things.

Pilate is aggravated with Jesus’ silence, and any fear that he had upon hearing that Jesus proclaimed to be the Son of God is now gone. Fear is a good thing, but only when it drives us to faith and repentance. This, of course, was not the case for Pilate, as his fear of man is greater than his fear of God; how many have been in the same position, willing rather to deny the One who holds their destiny in His hands than to run the risk of offending those around them! Let us be sure not to fear them who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather to fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell forever (Matthew 10:28)! Pilate declares that he has power over Jesus to put Him to death, and Jesus replies that his power is granted to him from above.

At this point, once again, we have an indication that, behind all the unjust actions of men, God’s sovereign will is holding sway – for it is only God who gave Pilate the authority to crucify Jesus, and therefore, the event has occurred by God’s sovereign decree. Some suggest that since Pilate’s weak and cowardly actions are not in active pursuit of Christ’s unjust death, his guilt is less than that of the Jews who are actively seeking Jesus’ crucifixion – but we should certainly not understand Jesus’ statement in v11 to mean that Pilate has no guilt at all. Jesus directly attacks the Jews and indirectly censures Pilate, who complies with their wicked desire – all according to the will of God to crush His own Son for us.

Notice Pilate’s response recorded in v12. His modesty is commendable; when he is severely reproved by Jesus, he does not fly into a passion, but, on the contrary, is still more disposed to release him. He is a judge, and yet he meekly permits the accused person to be his reprover. He tried to set Jesus free, but the people showed their control over by threatening rebellion against him for the sake of Caesar. This, of course, was nonsense, but the Jews, as we have already seen, were willing to use whatever tactic at their disposal, however lawless it may have been, to gain victory over Jesus. They didn’t realize that their evil was His victory over sin.