World English Bible translation
15:1 Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. 15:2 Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
He answered, "So you say."
15:3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 15:4 Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!"
15:5 But Jesus made no further answer, so Pilate marveled.
Today's Lesson
Jesus had been taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemone and brought to the house of the High Priest. He was tried and condemned under the grounds of blaspheme. Peter had been in the courtyard and after Jesus had been condemned, Peter denied that he knew Jesus three times before the rooster crowed at dawn. Jesus had been up all night. He had been physically beaten and had been put under intense emotional pressure.
After condemning Him, the priest brought Jesus before Pilate. The Romans would not allow the Jews to exercise capital punishment. Before Jesus could be condemned to death, he would have to come before the Romans. The Romans were in the city in force for the Passover Feast. They always brought in extra troops to put down any possible civil unrest during this time. Normally the Roman governor stayed in Caesaria, but during the Jewish Feast Pilate came to the city along with the extra troops. So when the priests wanted to expedite the trial of Jesus, Pilate was available to see them in the city early that same morning.
They brought Jesus before Pilate and told him that Jesus had claimed to be the king of the Jews. This would have been an offense against Romans rule. The Romans had installed Herod as king over the Jews and had extended the rule to Herod's heirs. For anyone else to claim to be king was insurrection and rebellion against the Roman authority. This was not the main reason that the Jews had condemned Him, but it was the most expedient charge to bring before Pilate. When Pilate questioned Jesus about this, Jesus remained silent. There was nothing to be gained from arguing with Pilate. The fate of Jesus had already been decided. Jesus knew by this time that there was no avoiding what was to be.
When you are falsely accused, do you feel that you must defend yourself at all cost? If we believe that God is truly on our side, why do we worry about the judgment that other men have of us?
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