The Sabbath School

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · May 13, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 19.

The Sabbath School

International Series.

LESSON IX.—SABBATH, MAY 29, 1897.

THE CONDEMNATION OF CHRIST.

Lesson Scripture, John 19:1-16, R. V.

2 "THEN Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment; and they come unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands. And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him. Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold, the man! When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him; for I find no crime in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid; and he entered into the palace again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee? Jesus answered him, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above; therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. Upon this Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Cæsar's friend; every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar. When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King! They therefore cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified."

QUESTIONS.

What did Pilate now do to Jesus?
What did the soldiers make? Where did they put it? With what did they clothe him?
How did they salute him? What did they do to him?
Where did Pilate then go? What did he say?
Who next came out? How was he arrayed? How was he introduced to the mob?
What effect did the sight of Jesus have upon the leaders of the people?
How did Pilate respond to their demand?
What did the Jews say the punishment of Jesus ought to be? Why?
What effect did this statement have upon Pilate? Where did he go? What did he ask? How did Jesus treat the question?
With what inquiries did Pilate press Jesus for an answer?
How did Jesus meet this assertion of power over him? Where did he place the larger measure of responsibility?
What effect did this have upon Pilate?
What pressure did the Jews then bring to bear upon him to secure the condemnation of Jesus?
How far did they succeed?
What day was it? What time of the day? How did Pilate again present Jesus to the Jews?
What response was made to him?
What question did Pilate then ask? How was it answered?
How did he then yield to their demands?
What did they do with Jesus?

NOTES.

1. WHEN Pilate asked Jesus the question, "Whence art thou?" Jesus gave him no answer. Verse 9. "Pilate was vexed at the silence of Jesus, and haughtily addressed him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above; therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." Jesus here laid the heaviest burden of guilt upon the Jewish judges, who had received unmistakable evidence of the divinity of him whom they had condemned to death, both from the prophecies and his own teachings and miracles. What a scene was this to hand down to the world through all time? The pitying Saviour, in the midst of his intense suffering and grief, excuses as far as possible the act of Pilate, who might have released him from the power of his enemies."

The Saviour's answer shows that no power can be exercised against the cause or people of God, except what the Lord permits, and the Lord will permit that only which will be for the good of those who love him. This should be a source of great comfort to the tempted, buffeted, persecuted child of God as he battles with Satan and the powers of darkness.

2. THE statement made in verse 14, that it was about the sixth hour when the trial closed and the decision was made to crucify Jesus, presents a chronological difficulty when compared with the statements made in the other Gospels. Various theories or ideas have been advanced for the purpose of removing the difficulty. The one most generally adopted is that there was an error in transcribing the numeral in verse 14. This would not be a strange mistake, because it has been proven that it was common at that time to use letters to indicate numbers, instead of writing them out in words, and that the letters which were used to represent the numbers three and six might easily be mistaken for each other. Therefore the conclusion is reached that the numeral letter in John 19:14 should have been transcribed third instead of sixth, and thus it would harmonize with the statements in the other Gospels.

3. THE great lengths to which people will go in wickedness and oppression when they reject light and close their minds and hearts against the evidences of truth, is illustrated in the cases of Pilate and the chief priests. "Pilate had taken step after step in the violation of his conscience, and in excusing himself from judging with equity and fairness, as his position demanded he should do, until now he found himself almost helpless in the hands of the Jews." "His wavering and indecision proved his irredeemable ruin. How many, like Pilate, sacrifice principle and integrity, in order to shun disagreeable consequences! Conscience and duty point one way, and self-interest points another; and the current, setting strongly in the wrong direction, sweeps away into the thick darkness of guilt him who compromises with evil."

But, as before shown, Jesus laid the heaviest burden of guilt upon the Jewish judges, because they had greater light, both from the prophecies and Christ's teachings and miracles.

Suggestions for Further Study.

What relation did the crown of thorns which Jesus wore bear to the curse mentioned in Gen. 3:17, 18?
Pilate said, "Behold the man;" John the Baptist cried, "Behold the Lamb of God;" what think ye of Christ?
Read John 11:47-50. They started out to save the nation by crucifying Christ. What were they finally willing to do to compass his death? (See John 19:15.)