Last Tuesday, we went right through to the
end of verse 32, and we're starting at
33 this evening, and we're going right through
into the first 16 verses of chapter 90.
I have to take all this in one
go this evening, because we're at the Roman
trial tonight, and I want to try to
touch on all the details of this trial,
as our blessed Master stood before the Roman
governor in the judgment hall.
You remember last week, as we finished the
message, and we were dealing with the Hebrew
trial last week, I put great emphasis on
verse 28.
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas onto the
hall of judgment.
Now, that is the Roman judgment hall.
And it was early, it was early in
the morning, and they themselves, that is the
priests and all who brought him, went not
into the judgment hall, lest they should be
defiled.
You see, they brought the Lord Jesus down
the road from Caiaphas, and from the Hebrew
trial, and they brought him to this great
judgment hall, and they put him in through
the door.
But they themselves went not in lest they
should be defiled.
And I said very emphatically, the hypocrites, because
this is a commentary on the state of
the human heart that is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked who cannot.
Can't see people talking about lest they would
be defiled when they're crying out for the
blood of God's Son at that very moment.
How crooked the human heart can be.
But what I want to do now, I
want to go inside the judgment hall, and
truly the hymn writer has got the theme,
Jesus is standing in Pilate Hall.
And it is true, friendless, forsaken, became
by all.
And he's in the judgment hall just now,
and he's facing the Roman government.
And in Matthew 27, there's a great phrase,
Jesus stood before the government.
And just for a moment, let's see these
two great personalities look into each other's eyes.
I wish I could picture the calm dignity
of the Lord Jesus.
And I wish I could show you how
humble, and meek, and lonely this stranger of
Galilee was, just at that moment.
And I wish I could draw for you
the picture of the proud, pumptuous Roman government
as he looked into the eyes of Christ.
And the first thing that I want to
underline for you, I want to underline that
as he looked into the eyes of this
man for the very first time, I think
he realized something.
That's where we start tonight.
We want to get ourselves settled before we
go into the trial.
Pilate's realization.
Now, let's go back to where we were
last week for a moment, in Luke's Gospel,
chapter 3.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 3, and I want you
to notice that first verse again this evening.
It's a very important verse for many, many
reasons, but here is one of them.
It gives you the date of the period,
and then it says something that we should
take note of.
Verse 1, chapter 3, Now, in the fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius
Pilate, being governor of Judea.
I just want you to see the province.
There is the period in that verse, and
the province, and many other details, but I
only want you to see the province that
is governor of Judea.
You see, the Roman emperor believed that he
ruled the world at that moment, and he
had these different governors over these different provinces,
representing himself.
And, of course, many things have been happening
in Judea in those days.
Now, here's one of them, and I want
you to get it.
Look at Luke's Gospel, chapter 7 now.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 7.
Luke's Gospel, 7, verse 11, And it came
to pass the day after that Jesus went
into a city called Nain, and many of
his disciples went with him, and much people.
Now when he came nigh to the gate
of the city, behold, there was a dead
man carried out, the only son of his
mother, and she was a widow.
And much people of the city was with
her.
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier, or
coffin, and they that bared him stood still,
and he said, Young man, I say unto
thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up, and
began to speak, and he delivered him to
his mother.
And there came a fear on all, and
they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet
is risen up among us, that God hath
visited his people.
And this rumor of him went forth throughout
all Judea.
Because I needn't emphasize that too much, need
I?
If someone met a funeral procession in any
part of Ulster, and stopped it, and raised
the dead miraculously, well, it would be on
the black headlines, I believe, of the telegraph
that evening.
And I believe that one who would take
special note of this happening in the land
would be the governor, if this rumor of
him went throughout Judea.
And Pilate must have talked it over quite
a number of times.
He must have said to some of the
high officials, Who is this fellow?
Seems that he's got mighty power, and he's
doing wonderful things, and continually we hear of
his name.
He must really be a wonderful personality.
And now I watch.
He's face to face with him.
And there's a realization, a way deep down
inside the judge, that the prisoner is a
unique personality, and that he has mighty power.
That was the realization.
I think that's where we must start the
case this evening.
Just realizing how much that the judge knew.
He was perfectly sure that this man had
mighty power.
He had brought back the widow's son from
the dead, and many other wonderful things had
been told about him.
Now, realizing what Pilate realized, let's get back
to the scene now, to the judgment.
And notice this.
Here is the first thing that Pilate did.
Verse 28 is where we were reading, Then
led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall
of judgment, and it was early.
And they themselves went not into the judgment
hall, lest they should be defiled, but that
they might eat the parcel.
They stood outside the door.
After Pilate had taken one look at the
prisoner, Pilate then went out unto them and
said, What accusation bring ye against this man?
Now, from the answer that they give, you
would think that Pilate had taken them unaware,
because it seems that they came to the
judgment hall and put the prisoner in through
the door, and they seemed to have an
idea that Pilate would not do exactly as
they wanted, and that he wouldn't ask any
questions.
Because when he came out and said, What
accusation bring ye against this man?
Now, listen carefully to what they said.
Here is how they answered.
They answered, and said unto him, If he
were not a malefactor, that word just means
evil-doer or criminal.
Actually, that same Greek word is rendered in
1 Peter chapter 4 by the word evil
-doer.
If he were not an evil-doer, and
I think the emphasis is on the we,
we, we, we priests of the nation, we
religious men leading this nation, we would not
have delivered him unto thee.
Didn't make any charge, you know, didn't say
anything at all, and Pilate wasn't having it.
You can't just put a man in the
dock, you know, and say he's an evil
-doer.
The judge will want to know what it
is.
But they didn't want to put any charge,
and they didn't even think that Pilate would
ask for the accusation.
And they seem to stand up as if
they're amazed.
If he were not an evil-doer, we,
we would not have delivered him unto thee.
What more do you want?
Will you not take a word for it?
That's the idea that's behind it.
But Pilate wasn't taking that.
He wanted a charge.
Now, they actually made a charge, and John,
he leaves it out.
But Luke puts it in.
And I want to bring it in now.
Watch how Luke brings it in, in chapter
23.
And verse 1, And the whole multitude of
them arose and led him unto Pilate.
And they began to accuse him, saying, We
found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he
himself is Christ the King.
Now, those of you who were in here
last week, and I went through the Hebrew
trial, where these things mentioned at the trial?
You see what they're trying to place before
Pilate now, as if this man is guilty
of sedition or treason.
He's working against Caesar.
He's putting himself up as a king.
He forbids to give tribute to Caesar.
Last week in the Hebrew trial, their charge
was blasphemy.
You have blasphemed, we'll put you to death.
Now they're changing it, changing it to suit
the courts.
They're in a Roman court now.
Therefore, they think that it will be beneficial
to their cause to bring in this charge
of sedition or treason against the emperor of
Rome.
Now, those of us who know the history
of our Lord Jesus, we know this, that
he never forbade once to pay tribute to
Caesar.
Actually, he told Peter, render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesar's.
And you remember that when the people would
have taken him by force and made him
a king, that he escaped out of their
midst, so that you can see that those
who are placing these charges are liars.
They are false charges.
And Caiaphas the high priest, whom I believe
was the ringleader here, and who preferred the
charges, I believe him to be one of
the most wicked characters in the whole of
the gospel.
You can see how they changed the charge.
You could see them saying, you're a blasphemer.
And now they're changing the charge to say
that he's a man who's committing sedition and
he's guilty of treason.
And so Pilate took up the charge.
Now, let's get back again.
John just didn't go on and touch that,
but Luke put it in all right.
Now, we're at 18 again.
And notice this.
Are you getting it?
We're only setting the stage, you know.
Verse 29, Pilate then went out unto them
and said, what accusation bring ye against this
man?
And John put this bit in.
They answered and said unto him, if he
were not a man of action, we would
not have delivered him up unto thee.
And then I think that Caiaphas stepped forward
and he made this charge of sedition.
Then said Pilate unto them, take ye him
and judge him according to your law.
You see, when they made no charge, Pilate
just looked at them and said, now you
take them out of here.
If you're not preparing a charge, take them
out.
And I think it was at that moment
that Caiaphas made the charge of Luke 23.
And so Pilate had to stop now.
Watch the little bit that John put in.
It's hard to put them both in together.
Then said Pilate unto them, take ye him
and judge him according to your law.
The Jews therefore said unto him, it is
not lawful for us to put any man
to death.
You see, they were now admitting that the
scepter had departed and the lawgiver had departed
from Israel.
And that ought to have told them that
Shiloh had come.
But they didn't see the scripture.
They didn't seem to take heed to the
great prophecies of even Genesis.
And here they were standing with a mighty
prophecy being fulfilled.
But when they said, it is not lawful
for us to put any man to death,
remember they were not exactly telling the truth.
Because when it suited them, they could put
men to death, they didn't wait to ask
anybody any questions when they stoned Stephen to
death just a few years later.
And so he stood in the midst, in
the very court that our Lord Jesus had
left, in the town of Hebron, facing a
high priest.
And without a Bible, and without a note,
he expounded so wonderfully the whole horrible history
of the Jewish transgressors, that he annoyed the
court, and they rushed upon him, threw him
out of the city, and told him to
not anybody any questions.
But you see, they didn't want to stone
our Lord Jesus.
I'll tell you why they were afraid, first
of all, of the multitude.
Just let the priests in Israel lift stones
at this moment.
They were actually afraid.
And you know, it was for another purpose.
Because God had foreordained that he would be
spiked to the Roman gibbets, and it had
to be fulfilled.
And watch this, here's the wrath, and the
wickedness, and the fear of marriage, they're all
being worked together for the glory of the
Word of God.
And it always is, you know, nothing that
man can form, no weapon that man can
form, nothing that the wrath and the wickedness,
even the fear of man can do, can
upset the glory of the Word of God.
Do you see this wonderful statement here, it's
the mighty one, verse 31.
Then said Pilate unto them, kick ye him
and judge him according to your law.
The Jews therefore said unto him, it is
not lawful for us to put any man
to death, that the saying of Jesus might
be fulfilled with this kick, signifying what death
he should die.
If he was to die at the hands
of the Jews, they must stone him to
death.
If he's to die under Pilate, he must
be crucified on dark, rugged Calvary, and that's
what God had ordained.
So you can see this working.
I believe it was at this very moment
when Pilate says, take him and judge him,
that if you have no accusation, take him
out of this hall.
I believe that old Caiaphas very comingly said,
but we have an accusation.
He said he's a king, and that he
won't give tribute to Caesar, and he's perverting
the people thereby.
Now watch, Pilate goes straight in again, that's
where we're actually starting this evening, verse 33.
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again,
and called Jesus and said unto him, now
this is the first question that he put
to the prisoners, art thou the king of
the Jews?
That's the very first question.
That's a mighty one, isn't it?
I wish I could paint the scene.
I wish we could see Christ standing, dressed
in the humble garb of a Nazarene.
I wish you could see him standing quietly
there, his hands bound behind him, and Pilate
looking into his face and saying, art thou
the king of the Jews?
That was his first question.
Now listen to the wonderful answer, how our
Lord could answer.
Here is the answer, verse 34.
Jesus answered him, saith thou this thing of
thyself, or did others tell it thee of
me?
Now mark what that means before we get
away from it.
He's looking back into the eyes of Pilate,
and he's saying, art thou charging me about
this position thyself?
Do you believe I'm a rebel?
Do you think I'm guilty of treason?
Are you charging me yourself about this thing
about the king?
Or did others tell it thee of me?
Tell me what I'm to answer.
Are you charging me, Pilate?
Do you think I'm a rebel?
Is this what's in your mind?
Or are you just listening to what they've
been saying?
That was a wonderful answer, because you know
he's responsible to answer to the Roman governor
if he's really charging.
And here's Pilate's answer.
Pilate, verse 35.
Pilate answered, am I a Jew?
Thine own nation and the chief priests have
delivered thee unto me.
What hast thou done?
Now that was very well put.
You know he was saying this, you know
I'm not concerned in this thing at all.
I'm not a Jew.
He's saying, listen, thine own nation and the
chief priests have delivered thee unto me.
The whole nation of Israel have put you
in the dark.
I tell you, that was very wonderfully answered
of Pilate.
And now he comes down to facts, because
I'm not accusing you.
Your own nation and the chief priests are
accusing you.
Tell me this, what hast thou done?
Why, Jesus could have given a whole history
behind that question, couldn't he?
What had he done?
My, he had raised the dead, he had
cleansed the lepers, he had healed the sick
from early morning on till the evening time.
He had worked and straightened for the good
of humanity.
And everywhere he went, he had wiped the
tears away.
He had blessed the widow, he had crowned
many's throats, he had brought blessing to the
people continually.
He went about doing good.
He could have answered the question, all right.
What hast thou done?
But here's how he did it.
A very lovely one, verse thirty-six.
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this
world.
I want all the dispensational scholars who have
ideas about general resurrection and all, just to
take your time.
Remember, he didn't say, My kingdom is not
in this world.
He didn't say that, but I know what's
like some passouts and suffragettes sometimes.
People say, well, there it is, he said,
My kingdom is not of this world.
I just think you're dying.
Remember, the church is in the world, but
it's not of the world.
And remember, his kingdom will be in the
world, but not of the world.
He's talking about the character of the kingdom
now.
My kingdom, it's not of this world.
Then he went on to explain the character
further.
He said, If my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight?
He said, I'm not establishing the kingdom by
force, or by an army, or by the
sword.
When Peter drew the sword, I said, Put
your sword in.
Yes, you remember it all right, don't you?
Now, he's letting Pilate see the character of
the kingdom.
He said, If my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight?
That I should not be delivered on to
the Jews.
But seeing the Jews, and the chief priests,
and the nation have rejected me, now, that's
where the word now comes in, now is
my kingdom not from hence?
They've turned me out.
They've rejected me.
My kingdom must be from hence.
And, you know, he absolutely satisfied Pilate.
Pilate, therefore, said unto him, this is the
next question, Art thou a king then?
You see, Pilate's getting this thing.
The Lord Jesus is explaining, I'm not setting
up the kingdom with an army to fight
against Caesar, not at all.
I'm not doing it.
That's not the character of my kingdom at
all.
And Pilate's beginning to see light.
And he says, Art thou a king then?
And watch the answer again, it's a wonderful
one.
Verse thirty-seven, Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then?
Jesus answered, thou sayest that I am a
king, to this end was I born.
I think that's a lovely bit.
My, we're going to think in a day
or two about his birth.
And let's get the hold of this, that
he was born a king.
Born a king.
Yet, if you take the lineage and the
genealogy, you will find that it goes straight
right away back as straight as it can
go to David.
And he had the right to the throne
of David.
And he was born a king.
He was born a sovereign.
And when he was born, they gave him
this name, Jesus, because he's not only sovereign,
he's saviour.
And when he was born, the prophet said,
Unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given.
You see, I want you to get this
quick, at the birth, you have a son
given.
Oh, the son couldn't be born.
He was the son who was sent, and
came, and took upon him the form of
a servant.
Yes, the child was born, but the son
was given.
He was ever the eternal child, and God
so loved the work, he gave his son.
The son was given.
But he became the sovereign and the saviour.
Oh, when he was born, the Son of
God came into the world.
The sovereign of the Jews came into the
world.
The saviour of men came into the world.
To this end was I born.
But much more.
Watch it.
He said, To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the
world, that I should bear witness unto the
truth.
You know, that's a tremendous thing, because if
you put all that I've said together, he
was not only the son, he was not
only the saviour, he was not only the
sovereign, he was the servant.
And he came to tell the people the
truth, and the truth was this, that God
so loved the world that he gave his
son to be the sacrifice.
Say, how much we have packed in around
Bethlehem.
The son, the sovereign, yea, the saviour, yea,
the servant, yea, the sacrifice.
He came to bear witness of that very
truth, and every one that is of the
truth hears my voice.
My all those who have bowed to evangelical
truth know the voice, sure, but the voice
is the voice of the shepherd now.
Say, there's so much in the verse that
one could hardly touch the depths of it.
He was born a sovereign, and when he
was born a sovereign he became the saviour,
and when he became the saviour he became
the servant, and when he became the servant
he became the sacrifice, and when the sacrifice
absolutely satisfied God he rose from the dead
as the great shepherd of the sheep, and
every one that knows this truth has heard
his voice.
You know, he was saying far too much
for Pilate, he couldn't get it all, and
Pilate just looked at him and said, what
is truth?
There's been a great lot of debate about
that little phrase, mind you.
Some people say that, that Pilate sneezed.
He just laughed at him and walked out
half-watted.
I don't think that's so.
It's very hard to get the tone that
a man speaks, and you know 1900 years
later, you can almost put any tone upon
it and it would mean nearly sex.
But I honestly believe it wasn't that one.
I don't think that Pilate was asking the
question because he was searching after truth.
What is truth?
I don't think there was any sincerity about
it, because hard to be, he would have
waited for an answer.
I believe that it's just that Pilate's puzzled.
There's been so many coming, and so many
proclaiming, and so many testifying about truth, that
I'm puzzled.
It's not a scorn, and it's not a
sincere looking after truth, it's just that I'm
puzzled.
What is truth?
I honestly believe that it is a debatable
one.
But here's the point, that this questioning of
the prisoner, and this sincere, humble, straightforward answers
of the prisoner, must have satisfied him to
a great degree, because verse 38 says, Pilate
saith unto them, unto him, what is truth?
And when he had said this, he went
out again unto the Jews, and saith unto
them, what's it?
I find in him no fault at all.
Well, the court ought to have finished that.
The judge has given his verdict now.
He has questioned the prisoner, and he has
looked into this charge of sedition, and he
knows the man in the dock is no
rebel, and he's coming out now to the
crowd, and he's saying this openly, I find
in him no fault at all.
If the crowd wasn't running home with us,
they were determined to put the Savior to
death.
Listen to the cry of the crowd.
Then cried they all again, saying, not this
man, we don't want him, but Barabbas.
Now, Barabbas was a robber.
You see, at the end of the chapter,
their cry, I'm leaving the other verse out
for a moment.
I'm just letting you see Pilate coming onto
the steps and saying, I find in him
no fault at all.
Would you allow me to release him?
And they cried, not this man, don't you
let him go.
My, we want Barabbas.
You can see the heart of the people.
My, the priests had so worked on the
crowd around them that they have the whole
crowd before the steps on their side just
at that moment.
And Pilate did something.
He went inside and watched chapter 19, verse
1.
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him.
Now, I don't want to go on with
that for a moment just yet.
I only want to try to keep the
thing level.
You can see the Roman governor looking into
the eyes of the prisoner and he realizes
this man's got mighty power.
And then he comes out and he asks
for the charge, what accusation bring you against
this man?
And they actually had no charge.
And then he said, well, then you just
take him away.
And then Caiaphas comes and he puts up
this charge that he's a seditious person and
that he's against Jesus.
And Pilate goes in to question the prisoner,
art thou the king of the Jews?
Art thou a king then?
He's puzzled about this teaching of truth and
he comes out and says, but I find
in him no fault at all.
Can I release him?
And they cried, not this man.
Now he walks straight in again and he
scourged Jesus.
Now up to that point he'd been acting
redemptive.
And I shall deal with that very carefully.
I believe he had a plan in his
mind when he went in and scourged Jesus.
And after he had scourged him, just let's
leave that for a moment, I'll come back
to it.
It says in verse six, when the chief
priest therefore and officers saw him, that is
the Lord Jesus, they cried out saying, crucify
him, crucify him.
Pilate saith unto them, take ye him and
crucify him, for I find no fault in
him.
They're standing by his decision.
Then the Jews answered him, we have a
law.
And by our law he ought to die
because he made himself the son of God.
Now that's changing the charge again.
The other one didn't work.
They're changing the charge.
And you can't do that in the middle
of...
Then this really upset Pilate.
Verse eight, when Pilate therefore heard that say,
he was the more afraid.
That's the first time you get a touch
of emotion in this thing at all.
He's been the proud, conscious Roman governor up
to now.
He can ask questions.
He's not worried about anybody.
But the moment that they said he's the
son of God, he's remembering the power now.
Now I want you to see the other
question that he puts.
Verse nine, whence again enter the judgment hall
and saith unto Jesus, Whence after?
He didn't say after I was the king.
He didn't say after I was the king
of the Jews.
He said whence after.
You know, there is just a little glimmer
of light that he seemed to think somewhere
in his heart that this is a supernatural
person that's before me.
Whence after?
He's a judge now?
My, the interrogation was a powerful thing.
And you know, when he questioned him here,
I want you to notice this.
Verse nine, watch it for free, and whence
again enter the judgment hall and saith unto
Jesus, Whence after?
No, watch it.
But Jesus gave him no answer.
You see, friend, while Pilate played the gentleman,
and while he did his work, while he
questioned the prisoners, while he put the questions
properly, Christ gave him the answer.
But the moment he took the innocent man
and put him on the scourging raft, and
ploughed his back into furrows with a Roman
raft, he scourged them, you know, ploughed the
furrows deep in his back, and battered them,
and put the thorns on them.
Comes back to us, friend, there may be
somebody here tonight to take care about that.
And you may be the very Pilate of
1916.
And you've watched Christ, and you've listened to
all that was said about him.
And you've learned some of the wonders of
the things.
And you know that he has power to
save.
You know.
And you're very sure he has mighty power.
And if you search through the story, and
look at all the facts and truths, my,
you have nothing against him so much, plenty
against this one.
But we're not talking like that now.
You're looking at Christ.
You're standing in Pilate's shoes.
Let me tell you this.
It's possible for you to have this glorious
opportunity of coming face to face with him,
and knowing all about him, and learning all
the great things, and knowing his character, and
wonder, and glory, and grandeur, and great.
And then do something to him that he'll
be silent to you forever.
He is damned.
Pilate had gone too far, and Christ wasn't
answering now.
He's silent now.
A silent Savior is the most horrible thing
in this book.
God pity any one of you.
But the Savior of us.
But Pilate went round about it another way.
Watch this.
Verse 10.
Then says Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not
unto me?
Knowest thou not that I have power to
crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
Jesus is answering now.
Now why?
Thou couldest have no power at all against
me, except it were given me from above.
He's only answering to vindicate his Father's power.
That's all.
But answering the question.
He's answering to vindicate his Father's power, and
he's answering to show his authority.
Watch this.
Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath
the greater sin.
Who is able to weigh sin?
Christ.
You see the man outside the sack?
That's Christ.
That's the one that delivers us.
He said, you know, you're two wrong ones.
But the one that delivered me to you
hath the greater sin.
He was actually touching Pilate's mind.
The son of that handed me over has
got greater sin.
Who can weigh sin?
Only the Savior.
And on the Savior could tell every one
of us what category of sin we were
in.
And some of us were double-dive sinners,
you know.
But he was able to talk to Pilate.
He was only vindicating his Father's power, and
letting Pilate know his own authority.
This is a wonderful case, of course.
Now watch this.
Verse 12.
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him.
This is the fellow that talks a moment
or two ago about having power to crucify,
and power to release.
He had none.
The clouds outside were swaying him.
And he's talking about having power.
My dear friends, he was gripped by the
clouds.
And many of our man has been gripped
by the clouds.
Watch again.
There's just one more question that we need
to get down to before I go back
to the verses I missed.
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him.
But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou
let this man go, thou art not Caesar's
friend.
Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought
Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment
seat, in a place that is called the
but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
I want you to get that, because that's
very important.
You see, as I see it, I've been
through the plan of Jerusalem.
And the temple was built, of course, on
the very mound where Abraham offered Isaac on
Mount Moriah.
And behind the temple was the palace where
the high priests lived and had their courts.
That's where our Lord Jesus was last week
in the palace.
There was a sect of ground between the
palace and the room in judgment hall.
And that's where they put our Lord Jesus
in.
And that's where this cloud and these questions.
But outside, a pavement raised up with a
chair upon it.
And it was there the Roman governor stepped
out of the room in judgment hall, and
sat in the open on the chair when
he was about to give his judgment.
And that's what's happened now.
He's come out onto the pavement, and he's
sitting down on the chair.
And just as he sat down, something happened.
And, of course, John left it out, and
Matthew put it in.
Now, watch this.
Matthew 27.
Matthew 27, verse 19.
Now, just watch how powerful this is.
When Pilate was sat down on the judgment
seat, just at the psychological moment when he
sat down, his wife sent unto him, saying,
Have thou nothing to do with that just
man?
For I have suffered many things this day
in a dream because of him.
You know, that was a wonderful moment.
It must have been an electrifying moment for
Pilate.
You know, he's in the thick.
He knows the prisoner's innocent.
He's already said that.
He knows the cloud's determined.
And they've just said something in through the
door.
They've just said, If thou let this man
go, thou art not Caesar's friend.
You see, that's count amount to saying, If
you let him go, we'll accuse you to
Caesar that you saved somebody who said he
was the king.
And the man's in a terrible fix.
And he comes out and sits down, and
he's just sat down when this noose is
handed up.
He reaches his former wife.
Have thou nothing to do with that just
man?
For I have suffered many things this day
in a dream because of him.
Then he's in the thick.
You know, God worked on this man's wife
while she was on her bed.
And God was going the second mile to
put Pilate on Christ's side.
My dear friends, I know, I know that
from all eternity, God knew.
God knew that Pilate would send him to
the cross.
But there are two words you must always
wave.
It is not the words he couldn't do
anything else.
It's the words he wouldn't do anything else.
Full knowledge of God, knowing that he wouldn't.
It isn't the power of God making it
that he couldn't.
It's the other way around.
God is working.
Wasn't it God that moved this woman?
Isn't it God at the psychological moment that's
giving him this wonderful touch?
My, there will be no sinners go down
to the pit of hell, but God will
be the marker.
If any of you in this place get
lost for all eternity, in the pit of
hell and for all eternity, you'll remember days
when God actually somehow or other, I feel
there are some of you on Pilate's shoes
tonight, you're desperately in them.
Now comes the last question.
Now watch it.
Verse 13, When Pilate therefore heard that saying,
he brought Jesus forth and sat down in
the judgment seat, in a place that is
called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
And it was the preparation of the Passover
and about the sixth hour.
And he said unto the Jews, now watch
this, Behold your King!
What a cry that must have been.
He must have shook the whole council room.
Imagine the Roman governor saying, Behold your King!
He's getting excited.
He's trying to, he's trying to sell him
to the nation.
He's trying to arouse the sacrament.
They cried out away with him.
Crucify him.
Pilate says unto them, and this is the
last question, Shall I crucify your King?
Now those are difficult ones.
That's Pilate's interrogation.
Pilate's interrogation.
As he stepped into the hall, you could
see Pilate's realization.
He knew this man at mighty part.
And we've gone through all these questions and
saw the interrogation of Pilate.
And here's Pilate's conclusion.
We'll go back to it now.
I find in him no fault at all.
That's a wonderful conclusion.
You know, when Isaiah wrote the fifty-third
chapter, he put this question, Who shall declare
Christ's generation?
For he was cut off out of the
land of the living.
And do you know how remarkable it is
that there stepped out four, four of the
enemies of Christ to give this declaration?
Pilate's the first one.
He said, I find in him no fault
at all.
You know, Judas, who told them, afterwards trembled
so much about what he had done, that
he went tremblingly and threw down the thirty
pieces of silver and said, I have betrayed
the innocent blood.
He was faultless.
And as far as Judas was concerned, he
was faultless.
He was innocent.
And you know, the thief, Pilate, the very
first, had cast things in his teeth as
the Bible says.
Why, he said to the other fellow, you
know, we suffer justly for this man.
Yes, he's faultless.
And the centurion standing at the foot of
the cross, one of the Roman soldiers, one
of the Roman officers, looking up, said, this
was a righteous man.
I, four of them, four of them come
to the same conclusion.
But all we are concerned about tonight is
Pilate's conclusion, realization, and his interrogation.
You've looked at his conclusion.
I believe this.
As Pilate stood and looked into the eyes
of the Lord Jesus, he knew that this
man had power to say, he recognized his
power.
And I think that when they said he
made himself the son of God, at that
moment he recognized this person, and he certainly
recognized his purity.
You know, I'm talking to you sinners all
night tonight, because I believe they're meant for
somebody in this place.
And in 1961, you're Pilate, and Christ's before
you, and you've looked into his whole story,
and you know people that he saved, he
brought back from the dead, and you know
the passion.
He's the son of God, you've no doubt
about it.
And you know his power, and you know
his purity.
The conclusion that Pilate came to, and Pilate's
truth.
I hope you don't go to Pilate's head.
You see, Pilate did something wrong.
You see, Pilate was deluded.
Now, here's a verse that I pass by,
verse 38.
So, Pilate saith unto him, 38 of chapter
18, Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
And when he had said this, he went
out again unto the Jews, and said unto
them, I find in him no fault at
all.
But ye have a custom, that I should
release unto you one of the apostles.
Will ye therefore that I release unto you
the king of the Jews?
You know, Pilate was a very shrewd man,
you can see that.
You see, what he wanted was this.
He wanted the people to ask for Christ.
And then he could stand in with the
crowd, you know, and he would please the
people, and he would deliver the cases at
the same time.
But he was deluded.
You know, friend, I'm going to say something,
and I want you to weigh it very
carefully.
I believe that it's easier to get saved
when a crowd is being saved.
And I'll tell you this, you go through
your New Testament carefully, and you'll find that
not very often a crowd gets saved.
Oh, I know a crowd got saved on
the day of Pentecost, I know that.
But you take all the other cases of
the New Testament.
Take Saul on the way to Damascus.
Saul is saved alone.
Take the Philippine Jew in the middle of
the night, he's saved alone.
Take the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert, he's
saved alone.
Take Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, she's
saved alone.
Go on through your New Testament, do you
see?
Often God deals with individuals.
And I believe this, that every individual that
was ever saved would have laughed if the
whole crowd had gone.
Ah, but God is not doing it like
that.
Pilate ought to have taken his son along
when he wanted to come with him.
If the crowd didn't go, he's damned.
Friend, don't be deluded.
If you believe that Jesus Christ is God's
Son, and came from heaven, and went to
Calvary, and died for you, and rose again,
and that there's no other Savior, and that
there's no other way back to God, then
step out of the crowd tonight and take
your stand beside the Savior.
And be careful if you don't, that you
don't finish this meeting in Pilate's shoes.
He was deluded.
He thought that this trick would work, but
it didn't work.
Because the fortieth verse said, they cried, saying,
not this man, but for others.
They tried another trick.
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him.
I told you he had the plan in
his mind when he did that.
And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns
and put it on his head, and they
put on him a purple robe and said,
Hail, King of the Jews!
And they smote him with their hands.
Pilate therefore went forth again and said unto
them, Behold, I bring him forth to you.
And what a spectacle he must have been
when he brought him forth, that ye may
know that I find no fault in him.
Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said
unto them, Behold the man.
I think he has a plan in his
mind here.
I think, if you follow me, you'll get
it.
You see, he made a move to release
Christ if the crowd would stand in, so
that he could please the crowd and do
what he ought to do, if he could
only get their will on this thing, what
he said.
Now, he immediately takes Christ and scourges him,
rips his back and occurs with a Roman
lash, stands by while they crush the thorns
in his brow, and while they smack him
on the face and they smote him.
And I believe the blunt and the black
marks and the furrowed backs made him a
sore spectacle at that moment.
I'm told by those who know best that
many, many, many criminals died under the scourging.
Remember, it was a tremendous thing.
He was bent over the scourging pool with
his hands tied, and the robe lift from
his back was a long leather thong with
balls of lead, and by a man who
could use it, his back was ripped into
puddles, every stretch of flesh lifted off, yet
he never gave one groan to bring them
out.
He'd never seen anybody like this before.
Everybody had chuffed and groaned and moaned and
squealed, behold, the man, not
this man, the man, the man, the very
tripping of the crown.
But he still sought a particulament, an applement
of keepers, and bring them off, and he
slammed up the waves to him.
He moved across.
You know, he made one more move, didn't
he?
When he sat down on the pavement, and
a little bit of paper was handed up,
and his wife said, "'Cause I'm nothing to
do with that just man.' Well, it seems
that he sprang to his feet and said,
"'Behold, your king!' He tries to give him
over.
He tries to give him over as one
of the great men to fail.
He tries to give him over as the
very king.
Behold, your king!' He shouldn't have said that,
but he said, "'Friend, I'll tell you
this.
You must treat your son like a man,
alone, besides Christ, that you'll go into the
glory.
Never angle for the crowd, son.
The crowd will put you down beside the
Savior, and never yet turn you off as
you delight in Pilate's delusion.
Pilate's condemnation is this, that he scourged and
smote all the judge upon the bench.
My, our land would rise in horror if
it knew that the judge upon the bench
knew that the man was innocent, and had
even moistened, and then punished him.
And I believe he's condemned for all eternity,
because it's at that psychological moment in the
trial.
Friend, this was a tremendous day for Pilate.
Maybe this is a tremendous night for Pilate.
Friend, I want you to get this.
When Pilate made this decision, we're at verse
16 now, we have good truth, "'Then delivered
he him therefore unto them to be crucified.'
I'll tell you this, and I say it
with almost tears in my eyes.
He's murdering Christ.
Don't you make any mess about it.
He's sending him down the road to the
gallows.
He's determined to let his life go.
And the Jews and the Romans stood in
the gallows before God's innocent, lovely, blessed Son.
What have you done, my friend?
Thank God for that happy day in my
life, when I faced my companion and my
sin, and I took one step forward by
faith, and I said, Lord Jesus, from this
day forth, I'll be Thine, and I'll stand
with Thee, and I'll follow Thee.
What are you going to do tonight?
Jesus, friendless, forsaken, betrayed
by your heart?
What meaneth that sudden call?
Listen to it.
What shall I do with Jesus?
Go on, scream it out, man.
Say, my Jesus, I love Thee, and my
Sovereign, and my Shepherd.
Or will you spit in His face on
the mouth of your race?
No wonder there's a solemnity in the meeting.
Somebody could be singing, have
I told you about Him?
Have I uplifted Him?
Are you saying the way you should?
Oh, man, I'll boil the sheets.
Don't turn your back too quickly on Christ.
He could raise the queue tonight, He could
go to hell for all eternity, because He
didn't take the stand.
Be still
now, just for a moment.
Sing no more tonight.
O Lord, we feel that Thou art drawing
desperately near in this meeting.
We feel that the challenge tonight has been
to be on faith.
Lord, we pray that every unsaved soul in
this building will stand tonight and have a
good look at Thee.
Lord, we believe that they know now that
Thou art the Son of God.
We believe that they know, Lord, that Thou
art pure, no spot in me.
And we believe they know that Thou hast
power to deliver them.
O Lord, the crowd cries, the crowd cries.
And maybe just because of the crowds, they're
trembling and they're afraid to stand alone beside
Thee.
O Lord, teach them the story of Pilate
tonight.
Hold back in your dread hour of testing.
Lord, it wasn't so much Thou who was
being judged, it was...
Lord, this may be the hour of their
testing.
Will Thou draw them on to the Saviour's
side tonight?
And even through the failure and damnation of
Pilate, will you bring some souls into the
glory?
Take our thanks for Thy holy word.
Toss us in Thy fear, and with Thy
touch, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.