“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’ When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.’ When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.’ From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.’ So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ 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.’”

The world has a goal for you. It’s not that you live out your dreams, or that you make a bunch of money – it’s not even that you live a productive life, benefiting your society and nation with your subservience. The only thing the world wants for you is that you die. I don’t mean this in a conspiratorial, “the puppet masters want to kill off the population,” kind of way, I mean that the spirit of the world, the guiding influence, wants you to experience true death. Not just a death of your earthly flesh, but the second death, the eternal death of separation, spoken of in Revelation 20:14–15,

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Throughout the New Testament we see Satan called, “the god of this world.” He is the spirit, the driving force that is, “at work in the sons of disobedience,” those who are of the very essence of rebellion and destruction. Jesus says in Luke 22:31–32,

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

This points to Peter’s coming denials, as well as his restoration that we see at the end of John’s gospel, but it also gives us this image of Satan’s desire to sift the disciples like wheat. The expression of “separating the wheat from the chaff” is one that is still used today, expressing the idea of dividing that of value from what is worthless. But given that most of us probably aren’t particularly active in the agricultural field, the imagery can get a little lost on us. Sifting happens after the wheat is beaten down, ground up, and then separated through the process of sifting. Old Testament examples show us that threshing floors were often set up on hills, so that the worthless debris of the chaff would be blown away. To go through the process of sifting wheat is to utterly destroy it, and then separate out the part of value. It’s not a gentle or subtle process. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us,

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Again, this is the wickedness of Satan open, obvious – certainly not ineffective, but lacking subtlety. This is the spirit of open rebellion. This is the one who lavishes in their sin, who glorifies the worldly power they find in opposing Truth and righteousness. It’s not that obvious evil isn’t active, or part of the mainstream – it most certainly is, but it’s also not so difficult to spot. But this isn’t the only way that evil operates. Jesus says to the ruling Jews in John 8:44,

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan isn’t found only in the outright, egregious evil, but in the middle ground as well. We can see this in the way Satan tempts and allures in Genesis 3:1–5,

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

We see the same tactic used (unsuccessfully) in Matthew 4:5–7, as Satan temps Jesus,

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”

Rather than a loudly roaring lion, rather than an obvious sifter of the pummeled and destroyed wheat, this is wormy, deceptive, and subversive. It takes what God has said, twists it, and tries to make it seem as though it’s not open rebellion that’s being encouraged, but a sort of compromising middle ground. The problem with that is that righteousness has no middle ground. 1 Peter 1:14–16 says,

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

The Holy Spirit calls and convicts us. We are called to knowledge, to obedience, to righteousness in Christ. There’s open destruction in rebellion, there’s foolishness in the middle ground, but there is wisdom found in the firm foundation of God. I didn’t plan this, but as we look at today’s passage, we find ourselves studying this sort of gradient for the third week now. When Jesus was first brought before Annas, and alongside this we saw Peter’s denials, we explored the idea of being hot, cold, or lukewarm, and the lack of safety and assurance in the middle. Last week, as Pilate was introduced, we looked at different relationships with Truth – opposing it, being estranged from it, and embodying it, and again, how the middle afforded no hope. Today we look at this same scale held up to wickedness, and we can see what it looks like to glory in it, to simply act as an enabling agent, and to stand against it, in the peace and certainty of righteousness.

The Righteous and the Wicked – No Middle Ground

1. At Odds with Righteousness

“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.”

In last week’s outline I discussed the person of Pontius Pilate. He’s a curious and interesting figure, who is obviously prominent in the midst of the crucifixion account. He can be seen as somewhere in the middle – not opposing Truth in the same way that the religious authorities are, not aligning himself with it and surrendering to it in the way that Jesus exemplifies. Pilate seems distant and aloof from Truth, as opposed to outright warring against it. While this looks vastly different in many ways, standing in the middle ultimately places you on the same side as the opposition. I made the case then that Pilate’s evil was not greater than that of the Jews who handed Jesus over to them, and I stand by that, as Jesus affirms it in today’s passage. I also made the case that just because he’s not as bad, it certainly doesn’t mean that he’s good. Pilate evokes pity from some – and while in a sense, everyone who does not know Truth is pitiable, it would be a mistake to think of him as virtuous. We closed last week with Pilate announcing that he found no guilt in Jesus, and offering to release Him, to which the Jews replied vehemently that they wanted Barabbas, the insurrectionist and murderer freed instead. Today’s passage opens with Pilate having Jesus flogged… Jesus, whom he just announced he found no guilt in. Why would you punish someone who you claim is innocent? We see this sort of disconnect in Pilate’s reasoning in the other gospels as well. Luke’s account, which includes Jesus being brought before Herod as well as Pilate, says in Luke 23:13–16,

“Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.’”

Given that Pilate ultimately has Jesus crucified to appease the crowd, it shouldn’t be surprising that he’s willing to have Him “punished,” which would have been done through some form of beating. Despite the fact that he’s acknowledging Jesus as innocent in the same breath, Pilate is perfectly comfortable with disciplining Jesus if it satisfies the angry Jews. My study Bible makes a case for Pilate, concerning the severity of the beating recorded in John’s account.

“Jesus was beaten both before being sentenced (John 19:1) and after being sentenced to death (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15. Some interpreters think this beating is the same as the severe “scourging” that Jesus received in Matthew 27:26 and Mark 15:15. However it seems unlikely that Pilate would have administered so violent and severe a punishment to someone who had not yet been condemned to death (see John 19:16), and whom Pilate was still trying to release (see vv. 4, 10, 12).”

It then goes on to say that this beating was likely what the Roman’s referred to as “fustigation,” which it calls, “the lightest form of flogging administered for crimes,” stating that the words used in Luke and John imply a lighter beating, while Matthew and Mark speak of the more severe beating that Jesus received with the studded whip. I love my study Bible – it’s been an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to delving into the Word. But this highlights something that I’ve been contemplating lately – whether it’s a Bible study, study Bible, or a book written by a prominent figure in the church, Scripture is authoritative, commentary is not. Commentary is incredibly valuable, but it’s not inerrant, and in this particular instance, I have to disagree with my study Bible. Firstly, let’s take into consideration that beating an innocent man, whether lightly or severely, isn’t a morally permissible thing to do. The Jews have already beaten Jesus after delivering their verdict, venting their rage on the Christ and striking Him with their hands. Next, this theory around the character of Pilate, that it’s “unlikely that Pilate would have administered so violent and severe a punishment to someone who had not yet been condemned to death,” seems like a stretch. He’s okay having an innocent Man beaten, he’s willing to ultimately give in to pressure, and condemn a Man he believes is innocent to death – why are we assuming moral limitations on what Pilate would or wouldn’t do here? Then there’s this matter of, “fustigation,” being “the lightest” beating. In the research I’ve done, Roman fustigation was the punishment of beating someone with sticks or cudgels, sometimes to death. To be fair, being beaten with sticks is probably preferable to being lashed with a studded and many tailed whip (more on that later), but to think of it as a light beating is the wrong impression. As to the different words used in each gospel, John uses the Greek word “mastigoo.” It means “to flog, whip, scourge, or chastise.” It’s the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 20:19 when describing what will happen to Him, saying that at the hands of the gentiles He will be, “… Mocked and flogged and crucified…” It is also the same word used in Hebrews 12:6 for “chastises,”

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

We can see that there is a lighter usage of this word, that it can mean to chastise, but that it can also mean the same severe beating that this commentary says it doesn’t. Luke’s gospel does use gentler language, but this is when Pilate is saying that Jesus should not be put to death, that he will “punish and release” Him, not in regard to the actual beating that Jesus was given. In regard to the timeline, the commentary asserts that Jesus was beaten twice, once before and once after being sentenced. We know that Jesus was beaten earlier by the Jews, but this cites John 19:1, the verse we’re currently on as the first beating, and making Matthew 27 and Mark 15 a second, later beating – but this doesn’t track with the Text at all. John 18:40 shows the crowd crying for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus, and John 19:1 shows Pilate having Jesus flogged. Matthew 27:26 says,

“Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

Mark 15:15 says,

“So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”

The timeline points to Matthew, Mark, and John all describing the same thing – the release of Barabbas, and the scourging of Jesus. As wicked as even a less severe beating would have been, this was the lashing of a multi-tailed whip. A whip with pieces of bone and metal at the end of each lash, designed, not to cut or slice, but to embed and tear away. Why does this distinction matter? Why spend so much time on the clarification of these particular words, of the timeline as to when Jesus was beaten in such a brutal, ruthless manner? Because Pilate is our picture of the middle – he doesn’t hate Jesus like the ruling Jews do. While not overly invested, he thinks Jesus is innocent. In their conversation, recounted across the gospels, we almost see a vague curiosity from Pilate. It’s not enough. It’s not enough to remain aloof from righteousness, when the calling is to embrace it. And so this shows us the wickedness that can be found in the middle, the sort of morality that exists in someone who creates their own moral standard, who doesn’t align themselves with Truth or Light, but finds virtue in themselves because they don’t outright oppose what is good.

“And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands.”

People often look to Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of extreme wickedness, so much so that their examples have crept into the popular culture so that they have meaning even apart from their Biblical context. People aren’t wrong to see these cities and the story of their destruction as examples of extreme wickedness and depravity. The problem can be that because of where these events occur in scripture (a little more than a third of the way into Genesis), we can start to feel a sense of separation from them. Sodom and Gomorrah are so far removed from us, so alien, that it becomes possible to look at their wickedness and think that while it makes for an interesting story, the morals of our culture can’t possibly line up with what takes place here. An event that helps bridge this gap occurs in Judges 19. This story shows an almost exact playback of the events that happened around Lot, just before Sodom is destroyed. Judges 19 shows a group of worthless men laying siege to a home where a traveler is staying, demanding that he be sent out so that they can rape him. But Judges 19 doesn’t take place in a foreign land, under a pagan people. Rather it unfolds in the city of Gibeah, inside the nation of Israel after God has brought them into the promised land. The “worthless fellows” who beset the house are men of the tribe of Benjamin – this was a crime committed by God’s people, against God’s people, and the ramifications led to civil war, nearly exterminating Benjamin from the twelve tribes. The refrain that is repeated periodically throughout the book of Judges is that in those days there was no king in Israel, that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. We’ll explore that more later, but what this allows us to track, from Sodom, to Gibeah, to the world in which we live today, is that human morality is not based around righteousness, it’s not aimed at what is pleasing to God. Rather human morality is set upon the foundation of the consensus of the mob. Whatever we collectively decide is “right” by our own standards becomes morally acceptable. This is how Roman soldiers can take a Man that their leader says is guiltless, who they themselves have no personal issue with – a Man who is innocent, and blameless, and has done nothing to deserve even the slightest ill treatment, and brutalize Him to such an extent. Even if you want to give them a pass on the scourging under the pretense that they were just following orders (which doesn’t absolve someone of accountability), there’s no justification for the crown of thorns that they drive into Jesus’ head. There’s no explanation for the robes, for the mocking, for the reed that Matthew and Mark say they beat Him with, for the spit and the abuse. Again, this is the middle. This is the company you place yourself in with ambiguous spirituality, and a half in, half out relationship with the Truth.

“Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’”

Pilate says, “I find no guilt in Him.”… Has Jesus been treated as a man whom there is no guilt found in? Pilate acknowledges that Jesus is blameless, that He should have been freed, and yet he presents Him savagely beaten, bearing the wounds of a criminal. There are a number of things that Pilate says that can be taken different ways, since we can’t hear his tone, and this, “behold the man!” is one of them. One commentary I read made this point that this could have been a sort of appeal for mercy. Jesus has been beaten, He’s been scourged, He’s had thorns driven into His head, and now, wrapped in a purple robe to mock Him for His royalty, He’s brought out before His accusers and Pilate says, “behold the man!” The idea presented is that Pilate shows Jesus in this beaten down, pitiable condition to emphasize the point that He’s not a threat. Forcing the question, “this is who you want me to crucify? This is who you’re saying is a threat to your power? To Rome?” The problem is that Pilate is just as easily creating the opposite effect. “I find no guilt in Him,” but Jesus has been savagely beaten like the worst criminals. Pilate presents Jesus in a parody of a crown and royal robes, which are mocking, but also serve as a reminder of the implied charge that the Jews brought against Him in the first place. “Behold the man!” Take a good look at Him, and see His condition – and the Jews erupt.

“When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’”

There is no pity in repose to Jesus’ condition – only darkness, and rage, and hatred.

“Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.’”

This again seems like a dig at the Jews, as they themselves confirmed in last week’s passage that they can’t lawfully put anyone to death. Even if they could, crucifixion is a Roman execution, one not found in the Law. Pilate’s assertion (again) that he finds no guilt in Jesus, while true, is once again at odds with the way he’s had Him treated. His mercy isn’t merciful, his neutrality isn’t neutral.

“The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.’”

This seems to lean heavily on Leviticus 24:16, which says,

“Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”

By all accounts, someone claiming to be the Son, of the same essence, One with God, who is lying, would fall under this commandment as a blasphemer. But this is a debate that Jesus has already addressed – not to the satisfaction of the ruling Jews, as they hate Him, and no matter what He says, will not be satisfied. Regardless, the matter has been addressed in John 10:29–39, at the end of the Good Shepherd passage,

“‘My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.”

This was their last discourse before Jesus raised Lazarus, throwing down the gauntlet, and finalizing the plans of the Sanhedrin against Him.

“When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.”

Beyond what he himself says, we know there was some disquiet in Pilate from a message from his wife, recorded in Matthew 27:19,

“Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.’”

As we discussed last week, John records the charges brought by the Jews against Jesus lacking specificity, but largely implying that He was an insurrectionist. This revelation now, the accusation that Jesus has made Himself the Son of God, is new information for Pilate. Admittedly, had he been listening, it could have been gleaned from Jesus telling him, “my kingdom is not of this world,” as well as, “everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” But Pilate wasn’t listening. He heard as one removed, distanced, and uncommitted. He took in what Jesus had to say from a detached place in the middle, and now, with this “Son of God” information given explicitly, he’s shaken.

2. One with Righteousness

“He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”

Daniel 3 records the story of the three Jewish exiles and companions of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When the three refuse to bow down and worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar they are sentenced to be thrown into the fiery furnace.  We see a piece of their dialog in Daniel 3:15–18,

“‘Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?’ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’”

Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t take this well, and has the furnace heated to seven times more than was usual. The overheated furnace is so hot that the men tasked with throwing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in are killed by the flames and the three men fall inside. Daniel 3:24–25 says,

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerge from the furnace without even the scent of fire on their clothes. Their lives are spared, and God is glorified. The world is not a threat to the plans of God. There is no word of man that can call fire from heaven, that can calm the wind and waves, that can guard against the flames of death – but God can. Earlier in the same book, Daniel 2:20–22 shows us Daniel’s prayer, glorifying God,

“… Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.”

Pilate rules the entire region of Judea as governor, under the authority of an empire that, even 2,000 years later, is still one of the greatest that the world has ever seen. Now afraid and confused, he attempts to lord that authority over Jesus, urging Him to speak, reminding Him that he holds His life in his hands. And Jesus, Truth made flesh, living, breathing righteousness essentially tells him, “you have nothing. Nothing that has not come from above, nothing that my Father has not allowed you to have, nothing that I have not allowed you to have.” Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10:28,

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Here Jesus displays this. He is not intimidated by the suffering, by a worldly threat, because He is the embodiment of righteousness, holy and perfect, and His will is the Father’s will, and His authority is greater, as high as the throne of God in heaven is above the earth, compared to that of this lost pagan leader. This is a picture of our hope when met with unimaginable suffering – we are held, we are kept, we are more than conquerors in the face of persecution and death, because of the righteousness we know in Christ.

“Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

“The greater sin.” The sin of the Jews, the betrayal of those teachers of the Law who should have seen Jesus for who He was and rejoiced was greater than that of Pilate – but this didn’t absolve the governor of any responsibility. He still had a choice to make, and untethered from righteousness, serving the interests of himself and of Rome, he bent to the crowd and chose wrongly.

3. Rebellion Against Righteousness

“From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.’ So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.”

Simple as this one comment is, this information that we’re around the sixth hour is a matter of debate for some people. This is because Mark 15:25 says,

“And it was the third hour when they crucified him.”

The simplest and most widely accepted explanation is that Mark is using the Jewish form of timekeeping, counting from sunrise, and making it around 9:00 am. Meanwhile, John is using Roman time, counting from midnight and making it around 6:00 am. Given that the timekeeping of the first century wasn’t precise, having an approximately three-hour gap between Pilate presenting Jesus before the Jews, and the time when He is actually crucified makes sense without having to do any mental gymnastics beyond what is given in the Text.

“He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ 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.’”

Pilate showed us what it looks like to stand in the middle, and helps us see that you don’t have to be an outspoken enemy of righteousness to sink to depths of great wickedness. Jesus again showed us the beacon of divine certainty, fixed and unshakable, held in the authority of the eternal glory of the Father. Those who are in direct opposition to the righteousness of God aren’t difficult to spot in the passage. They are the ones who screamed “crucify him,” when Jesus was brought before them. They are the ones who sought to persecute Jesus under the Law He has come to perfectly fulfill. When Pilate seeks to release Jesus, they are the ones who question the governor’s allegiance to Rome and his emperor, dropping the veiled threat that Pilate is no friend of Caesar if he releases a Man who has made Himself King. But if we want a condensed picture of the wickedness of these ruling Jews who clamor to see Jesus put to death, it’s in their closing statement to today’s passage. “We have no king but Caesar.” God used Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, he used Joshua to lead them into the promised land. After the death of Joshua the people have their land, they have the Law, and they’ve been given all they need to prosper righteously. But the book of Judges records a downward spiral of the nation of Israel. Despite all that they have been given, and that the Living God rules over them, they seek a human king. After God raises up Gideon to free Israel from the oppression of the Midianites, Judges 8:22–23 says,

“Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.’ Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.’”

 The people don’t need a human king to sit a throne and govern them, God is their Ruler, He is their King, and Lord, and Shepherd. As the people have suffered for turning away from God, He would raise up a judge to free them from the people who oppressed them. Their desire for a king shows a complete lack of faith in God, as it’s not just that they want a human figure of authority – they’ve had those as God has raised them up again and again. But a king means heirs, as they sought from Gideon through his son, and grandson. What they ask for is something that seeks to remove God from the process, going based on lineage instead of who God would elect and raise up when the time was right. Despite the fact that they know God as their Ruler, as the people stumble, we see the refrain, which is repeated in Judges 17:6,

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

“Right in his own eyes.” Given the Law, and prophets, and judges, and the provision of the promised land, the people did, not what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but right by their own judgement. The rulers of the Sanhedrin sit upon the seat of Moses, blessed to teach the Law and guide the people of Israel – but they have no love for God or His people. They are blind guides with hearts filled with darkness. They cry out that the Christ, their Messiah, be crucified. And in a final rejection of the Holy Lamb of God, they deny Him entirely and declare themselves solely to the pagan emperor who rules them. Their allegiance isn’t to God, or to His Law as they proclaim. They are not sons of Abraham, not sons of God. Truly, they are the sons of their father, the Devil, liars and murderers to their very core.

Pastor Chris’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoeUx2U6A5I