The Cost to Follow Jesus
Jesus Speaks to Pilate
John is the only one of the gospel writers who gives the details of the private conversation between Jesus and Pilate. It is quite possible that John was present at both the inquiry of Annas and of Pilate. If so, then he had first hand information to write about the encounter.
Pilate was direct when he asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” So often Jesus answered with a question, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Jesus knew that if Pilate were truly curious, he would have asked if Jesus were an earthly king. If Pilate was only asking for the Jews, then he was really asking, “Are you the coming Messiah?”
Pilate was tired of all of these accusations and said that he was not a Jew. He asked Jesus what His own country had against Him. Jesus an-swered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Since Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, He and His followers were no threat to Rome. Jesus was challenging Pilate’s thinking. Pilate was a natural man and therefore would not have understood anything Jesus was saying.
Jesus confirmed that He was a King and revealed the reason that He came into the world: “So that I can bear witness to the Truth.” He stated that “everyone who is of the Truth hears His voice.” The way Jesus said this was very interesting, particularly today when people claim that God doesn’t speak. The word hear reveals that those who know and follow Jesus listen to His Voice. While the voice of Christ is not audible, the heart hears when the Spirit speaks through the Word. It is much greater than reading the Word, it is hearing the Word. Pilate did not understand Jesus because he did not know Jesus, so he concluded that there was no fault in Jesus.
Pilate speaks to those who prefer Barabbas to Jesus
John says very little about Barabbas, but the other gospel accounts reveal Barabbas’ character. Matthew 27:16 states that Barabbas was a notorious prisoner. Mark 15:7 states that he committed murder in the rebellion. John 18:40 states that he was a robber. Matthew and Mark claim that the chief priests and elders persuaded and stirred up the crowd to release Barabbas instead of Jesus (see Matthew 27:20, Mark 15:11). The crowd was willing to trade the guilty for the in-nocent, and Pilate wanted to gratify the crowd (see Mark 15:15). Corruption does not seek justice for the innocent. The chief priests and elders were full of envy toward Jesus which means their hearts were not much different than Barabbas’. If they released Jesus, they would have to admit that they were wrong too and they were way too prideful to do that. Innocence condemns the guilty’s conscience.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:11-12
Jesus faced the ultimate persecution. They spoke all kinds of evil against Him. He was about to face His death. Through it all, He did not lose His character. He did all of this to rescue those who would believe Him. If you believe in Jesus, then He did this for you. There is nothing more kind than being the ultimate Sacrifice! This is why we rejoice when we are reviled and persecuted for Christ’s sake. Because we are His!