LESSON IX.—SUNDAY, MAY 28, 1899
28 “They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the palace; and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the palace, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. 29 Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this Man? They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evil-doer, we should not have delivered Him up unto thee. 31 Pilate therefore said unto them, Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death; that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spake, signifying by what manner of death He should die. 33 “Pilate therefore entered again into the palace, and called Jesus, and said unto Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning Me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests delivered Thee unto me; what hast Thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is My kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice. 38 Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no crime in Him. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover; will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 They cried out therefore again, saying, Not this Man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Golden Text: “I find no fault in Him.” (1) After the trial of Jesus before Caiaphas, where was He taken? Why did His accusers not go into the palace? Verse 28. Note 1. (2) What then did Pilate do? What question did he ask? V. 29. (3) How did the rulers answer him? V. 30. Note 2. (4) What did Pilate then say to them? What excuse did they make for not accepting the responsibility? V. 31. Note 3. (5) What word of Jesus was fulfilled? V. 32. (6) What then did Pilate do with Jesus? What question did Pilate ask? V. 33. Note 4. (7) With what query did Jesus reply? V. 34. (8) How did Pilate answer? V. 34, 35. (9) What did Jesus say of His kingdom? V. 36. Note 5. (10) What further question did Pilate ask? What direct reply did Jesus give? What deeper interest did Pilate then manifest? V. 37. Note 6. (11) What conclusion did the governor announce to the Jews? V. 38. (12) To what custom did he refer? What option did he give them? V. 39. (13) Whom did they choose? Who was Barabbas? V. 40. Note 7. 1. “It was early.”—For the same reason that Jesus was arrested, tried, and condemned in the night, He was hurried to the praetorium early in the morning, that their judgment might be affirmed by Pilate before their action became generally known to the public. In this was illustrated the words of Jesus: “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19. “Lest they should be defiled.”—The defilement which they feared was merely ceremonial, and even that was from their tradition, and not from any divine decree. Their scruples were only superstition, as shown by the fact that they were careful not to enter a Gentile house during the Passover, but did not shrink from putting an innocent man to death. Such is ever the effect of setting up man-made religious institutions in view of the commandments of God. 2. Assumed righteousness.—The Jews knew that the charge of blasphemy, under which they had condemned Jesus, would have no weight in a Roman court; so they assumed that of course they would not condemn any one without good cause. They wanted the governor to consider their righteousness a guarantee for the righteousness of any demand they might make. They would make their assumed righteousness a cloak for the wickedness of their deed. To add force to their demand they said, “We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.” John 19:7. 3. The determined purpose.—Pilate gave them permission to judge the prisoner according to their law. But that did not answer their purpose; for the permission evidently implied that they should go only so far as Roman law would allow the operation of their law, and that would not include the death penalty. It is worthy of note that while they said, “By our law He ought to die,” they protested that, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” 4. “The judgment hall again.”—Pilate had gone out into the court of the praetorium, because the Jews would not go into the palace (or “judgment hall,” A.V.). Jesus made no protest against going into the house on account of defilement. Had there been any sin in so doing, He would have resisted with all the power of heaven. 5. The charges.—When the governor insisted on having definite charges against Jesus, “the chief priests accused Him of many things.” Mark 15:3. Among other things they said, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that He Himself is Christ a King.” Luke 23:2. The last charge would naturally attract Pilate’s attention most, so upon this point he questioned Jesus. But Jesus disclaimed any temporal authority whatever. While admitting that He was born to be a King, He declared, “My kingdom is not of this world.” As all earthly governments are of necessity sustained by physical force, the fact that His servants did not fight, and no preparation was made for military defense or aggression, was sufficient evidence to satisfy Pilate’s mind that He was innocent of the charges against Him. 6. A direct answer.—When Pilate asked, “Art Thou the King of the Jews?” Jesus did not answer directly; He gave opportunity for Pilate to voluntarily acknowledge Him, to allow the Spirit to do its office work. But when asked again, He answered directly. “He can not deny Himself.” 2 Tim. 2:13. The expression, “Thou sayest that I am a King,” is equivalent to a direct affirmative. The Jews so understood it, as shown when He was before Caiaphas. There He was asked, “Art Thou the Son of God?” and He replied, “Ye say that I am.” Then they said, “What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of His own mouth.” Luke 22:70, 71. On this they accused Him of blasphemy. In His reply to Pilate we have the assurance as to who are deemed the subjects of Christ’s kingdom; “Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.” His kingdom is made up of those who voluntarily submit to His word. 7. Inconsistency.—The insincerity and inconsistency of the Jews was shown when Pilate, after declaring Jesus innocent, asked whether He should release Him or Barabbas. The chief priests incited the people to ask for the release of Barabbas, who had been convicted of the same crime of which they charged Jesus, and for which they had demanded His death. The inconsistency of Pilate was manifested in placing a man whom he had declared innocent on a par with one who had been convicted, and leaving the fate of the innocent to the choice of His avowed enemies.