The Trial of Jesus Christ

As all Christians well know, the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour sometime between 30 and 33 AD is without doubt the most important event that has ever occurred on our planet. There is no other event, either singly or any collection of phenomena which can possibly eclipse or even compare to this one. The only other comparable event will be when our Lord comes for the second time in glory. Where does the story of Jesus’ sacrifice begin? Do we look to the time that he lived on this earth, or does it begin earlier, back in the mists of time, at the cradle of our species? Many say exactly that and the Bible chronicles the event. It happened in that unhappy time when Adam and Eve were in the process of being exiled from the Garden of Eden for disobeying the only rule God had given to them. An act of disobedience urged upon them by Lucifer, the one who had been the most beautiful angle of them all now turned rebel; arch terrorist of all time. And there and then in that resplendent garden we read in Genesis 3:15 God’s promise to the devil for this piece or work:

“I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel."

Those who watched Mel Gibson’s famous film of the Passion will doubtless recall how the director brought the passage from Genesis into the movie: in the velvet darkness of the garden of Gethsemane, Satan, in snake-form crawls menacingly, seemingly unnoticed towards the praying Jesus. Then, just as the devil’s head reaches Jesus’ foot, in a dramatic moment, our Lord raises his foot and slams his heel down onto the devil’s head. I will never forget that fleeting second of the movie: it was so sudden and unexpected that like everyone else, I too nearly jumped out of my seat. But the stage play is brilliant. Of course, the actual crushing of Satan’s head took place, not in the manner portrayed symbolically in this scene, but in the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross. Gibson again portrays Satan at this time, now in vaguely human form, the stark realisation that he has lost so patently evident in his howl of anguish.

So the clash between God and the Devil did not begin in the first century AD, but long, long before. What happened at that time was the culmination of thousands of years of history: an event foretold by so many of the prophets of old in astonishingly accurate detail. Or is the detail really astonishing? Only perhaps to those who do not believe for Christians know that God’s promises are immutable. And it was He who made these things known through His oracles.

Of Jesus’ life as a man on this earth, the gospels tell us of a number of stages: His birth as talked about by Mathew and Mark (Luke and John both skipped this and begun their chronicles at the commencement of Jesus’ ministry); then, that incredible ministry itself, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem; the final week He spent in that city; the last supper with his disciples in the upper room, the moments of terrible anguish in the garden, alone, unattended by those he loved who had all fallen asleep; the betrayal; the trial by Caiaphas and the members of the Sanhedrin, the handing over of Jesus to the Roman governor; his death on the cross; His resurrection from the dead and his last period spent with His disciples and finally, his ascension into heaven.

For Christians, it is probably difficult to discern which of these epochs bear the greater significance. But on this day, we remember, most poignantly, the crucifixion and the events which led to Golgotha.

The trial of Jesus was essentially the culmination of a collision course: for Jesus and the Jewish authorities were from the beginning of his ministry pitched against each other. Jesus, recognizing this avoided Jerusalem and many other places where he would be at risk for, as he explained to his disciples, his time had not yet come. But as we read, the Jewish leaders had their own agenda and, as the tale of Jesus miracles grew, so did their inclination to rid themselves of this troublesome man: This man who taught about the Kingdom of God; who spoke of forgiveness and love for one’s enemies and such other absurd things. Who had ever heard of such nonsense?

This collision course abounds with irony. He had to die and, in the final act of that death, was the salvation of mankind. Caiaphas, his chief detractor said as much:

But some of them returned to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the Pharisees and the chief priests met with the Council and said, "What shall we do? Look at all the miracles this man is performing! If we let him go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Roman authorities will take action and destroy our Temple and our nation!" One of them, named Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, "What fools you are! Don't you realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed?" Actually, he did not say this of his own accord; rather, as he was High Priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish people, and not only for them, but also to bring together into one body all the scattered people of God.

Jesus knew from the beginning how this collision would end. John 13:1

It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

And, at the time of his arrest we read further in John 18:4:

So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a group of Roman soldiers, and some Temple guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns and torches. Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, "Who is it you are looking for?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "I am he," he said. Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they moved back and fell to the ground. Again Jesus asked them, "Who is it you are looking for?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they said. "I have already told you that I am he," Jesus said. "If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go." (He said this so that what he had said might come true: "Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.") Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back in its place! Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?"

Jesus knew not only that he would die, but even the manner of his death, Matthew 16;24:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.”

The collision which led to Jesus’ trial was not, of course, just between the Jewish authorities and Jesus and between God and Satan. There were other forces at work: the impending crash between the Jewish nation and the might of imperial Rome.

It is a mind-blowing irony that the final straw for the Jews was the raising of Lazarus from the death. This display of power was unmatched in human history. If it happened in today's world of scientific knowledge, it is likely that most people would accept Jesus' assertion that He is the Son of God. Incredibly, the pharisees saw only a rival who would surely rob the Jewish leaders of their authority. But they faced a conundrum. The thing they most desired, Jesus death, they could not of their own accord achieve. The Romans, contrary to popular belief and sentiment, interfered as little as possible with the affairs of countries which they had colonized. They left in tact their legal systems and were at pains to respect –even if they did not believe or understand- their religious practices. But the one act that the local authorities could not do, at least not formally, was to execution their citizens.

There is little doubt that had the Jews invoked the ancient law of stoning for blasphemy, the Romans would have done nothing to interfere. But this would have amounted to a lynching and clearly, Jesus had numerous followers. It was too dangerous. No one could have escaped noticing the crowds who shouted “Hosanna to the King” and laid palm branches and cloaks in the street on Jesus' final triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So, having unsuccessfully brought trumped-up charges and false witnesses to establish evidence of a capital crime against Him, when at last Jesus admitted to being the Messiah, they determined to use the Roman governor to their despicable ends.

Pontius Pilate, the representative of the ultimate power on earth at that time, Emperor Tiberius of Rome, had come to Palestine in AD 26. His predecessor, Crassus, had ruled the country in a truly despotic way. Palestine was not the most popular posting for Romans. . . a backwater. And most Romans did not like the Jews whom they accused of proselytizing, that is, trying to convert everyone else to their own faith. Crassus therefore had used his time to plunder and gain as much as possible. This doubtlessly had not gone down well with the Jewish people.

Although there is little historical evidence to suggest that Pilate’s sojourn in Palestine paralleled that of Crassus, his first clash with the Jews occurred not long after his arrival. Like Roman officials everywhere, Pilate’s chief concern was to maintain the Emperor’s pleasure. For such displeasure could lead to recall, disgrace and even ignoble death. One individual according to the famous writer, Plinny the Elder, had been put to hideous death for an act of maestas, the most feared of all crimes. His crime, according to fearsome Emperor Tiberius was that he'd gone into a public toilet with a coin in his pocket depicting Tiberius’ head.

In Palestine, in a bid to please the emperor, Pilate had his troops sneak into Jerusalem in the dead of night with Roman standards. These they proceeded to hang on the walls of the Antonia Fortress. This was deeply offensive to the Jews who first appealed to Pilate’s reason and ultimately to a public protest. Ordered to disperse, the crowd refused, accepting the almost inevitable fate that would result. Even when Pilate had his troops draw their swords in threatening posture above the now prostrate demonstrators, they were unmoved. Then, just when mass bloodshed seemed inevitable, to the complete disbelief of all the soldiers were ordered to withdraw. Pilate, the man who wielded Rome's almost unlimited power of life and death, backed down. He even had the offending standards removed!

Perhaps this event was still fresh in the minds of the members of the Sanhedrin when they plotted against Jesus. John 18:28 records the conversation between its members and Pilate as follows:

Early in the morning Jesus was taken from Caiaphas' house to the governor's palace. The Jewish authorities did not go inside the palace, for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean, in order to be able to eat the Passover meal. So Pilate went outside to them and asked, "What do you accuse this man of?" Their answer was, "We would not have brought him to you if he had not committed a crime." Pilate said to them, "Then you yourselves take him and try him according to your own law." They replied, "We are not allowed to put anyone to death." (This happened in order to make come true what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he would die.)

But Pilate did not react as they had expected:

Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. "Are you the king of the Jews?" he asked him.
Jesus answered, "Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?"
Pilate replied, "Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?"
Jesus said, "My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!"
So Pilate asked him, "Are you a king, then?"
Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me."
"And what is truth?" Pilate asked. Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, "I cannot find any reason to condemn him. But according to the custom you have, I always set free a prisoner for you during the Passover. Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?"
They answered him with a shout, "No, not him! We want Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a bandit.)

So the crowd chose for release from death a common bandit, or lestae. This, the most intense of trials in human history is full of surprises and irony. Jesus' deeds could not have escaped Pilate's attention. It was, after all, the most important job of any governor to maintain peace. The Jews with their ardent religious fervour were probably the most difficult to govern of all subject peoples. Pilate would not have ben without informers.

Time and time again, Pilate sought to persuade the Jews to release Jesus. Perhaps his desire not to get involved was driven by a superstitious fear of the man, Jesus, who had demonstrated His authority to raise people from the dead: a power unprecedented in history. The Romans, after all, were a highly superstitious people. Or possibly, as in the earlier clash over the Roman standards adorning the Antonia Palace, Pilate was driven to save Jesus by more noble motives. Perhaps too, he was influenced by the message received from his wife, Procula, “have nothing to do with that innocent man because in a dream last night I suffered much on account of him”.

John 19:9 describes the events that followed:

He went back into the palace and asked Jesus, "Where do you come from?" But Jesus did not answer. Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Remember, I have the authority to set you free and also to have you crucified." Jesus answered, "You have authority over me only because it was given to you by God. So the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a worse sin." When Pilate heard this, he tried to find a way to set Jesus free. But the crowd shouted back, "If you set him free, that means that you are not the Emperor's friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is a rebel against the Emperor!" When Pilate heard these words, he took Jesus outside and sat down on the judge's seat in the place called "The Stone Pavement." (In Hebrew the name is "Gabbatha.") It was then almost noon of the day before the Passover. Pilate said to the people, "Here is your king!" They shouted back, "Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "The only king we have is the Emperor!" Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

It was a cheap trick, invoking the potential wrath of the emperor. But they knew it would work. And it did. What they didn’t know was that it would backfire and that just as Jesus had predicted, their rejection of him would lead to the destruction and mass annihilation of the entire Jewish nation; the Diaspora that would lead to the Jews being scattered to the four corners of the earth.

Mathew’s narrative of the trial ends in this way: Matthew 27:24-6

When Pilate saw that it was no use to go on, but that a riot might break out, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, "I am not responsible for the death of this man! This is your doing!" The whole crowd answered, "Let the responsibility for his death fall on us and on our children!" Then Pilate set Barabbas free for them; and after he had Jesus whipped, he handed him over to be crucified.

How many of us have never used that expression in our own lives “I wash my hands of the affair”? And if we have, do we ever stop to remember that this was a legacy established at the trial of Jesus Christ, our Lord and saviour? And Pilate, in that moment in time having succumbed to the thinly veiled threats of the Jews thinking he could find atonement in a basin of tepid water. No, my brothers and sisters in Christ, atonement cannot ever come from an entire lake of water but only the purifying blood of our saviour. And that he was poised at that moment to spill in full measure for us – to give all who accept him eternal life and a peace that passes all understanding.