Today is Easter, the day that we memorialize Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Scripture teaches that on the first day of the week, early in the morning, the women came to anoint His body. They arrived to find that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. An angel declared to them that Jesus was not there, but had risen!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant occurrence in all of human history. On that day, the Son of God forever defeated death and the grave. Those who have placed their faith in Him as Lord and Savior share in this blessed hope. The same power that raised Jesus will someday raise believers as well, so that all of God’s children may live together with Him eternally.
This morning we will conclude our study on the trials of Jesus. After His late-night arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas for a brief preliminary investigation. From there He was sent to Caiaphas the high priest, who indicted Him of blasphemy and held Him in custody for the remainder of the night. In the early morning, Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin, convicted, and sentenced to death. Fearful of executing Him themselves, the Jews then brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pilate. After questioning Him and finding no wrongdoing, Pilate sent Jesus on to Herod…
I. THE TRIAL BEFORE HEROD
(Luke 23:6-12)
As most people were still at home getting ready for the day, probably sometime around 7:00am, Jesus appeared before Herod. Herod Antipas, was the son of Herod the Great. He was recognized by Caesar as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC- 39 AD. Though Herod Antipas was Jewish by birth, he dutifully served the Romans as a provincial leader and trusted official.
Having heard about Jesus and His reputation throughout Galilee, Herod was excited to meet Him. Herod hoped that Jesus would perform a miracle for him. When they arrived the Jews passionately presented their charges against Jesus. However, when Herod questioned Him, Jesus just stood there silently. Disappointed that Jesus was not going to entertain him with signs and wonders, Herod and his soldiers mocked Him, dressed Him in a shiny robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.
Jesus’ brief appearance before Herod Antipas was His fifth trial. It was a failed attempt by Pilate to change the venue of the case. Pilate did not want to deal with it himself, so he sought to use jurisdiction as a means of passing Jesus off to Herod. Unfortunately, Herod was not interested in trying Jesus either, but rather was hoping to see a magic show. Herod threw the case back to Pilate, setting up Jesus’ sixth and final trial.
II. THE SECOND TRIAL BEFORE PILATE
(Matthew 27:15-23; Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)
After their brief interaction with Herod Antipas, the Jews returned to Pilate with Jesus. This would have been around 7:30am. As we’ve already learned, Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He had already questioned Jesus earlier that morning and found no reason to charge Him. Yet, the Sanhedrin was insistent that Jesus was a criminal deserving of death.
Pilate had a tradition of releasing one prisoner each year during the Passover celebration. He thought to himself that perhaps if he offered to release either Jesus or Barabbas to the Jews, given the alternative they’d most certainly choose to let Jesus go free. After all, Barabbas was a notorious and rebellious murderer. But the chief priests and elders stirred up the crowd and convinced them to choose Barabbas. Pilate’s plan to release Jesus had failed and the Jews continued shouting, “Crucify Him!”
As all of this was happening, Pilate received a message from his wife. She said that she’d had a troubling dream during the night about Jesus. She warned her husband not to condemn Him. Her words added to Pilate’s moral dilemma, as he’d already concluded that Jesus was an innocent man.
Pilate decided that if he had Jesus severely punished - but not executed - it might be enough to appease the Jews. Therefore, he ordered that Jesus be flogged (or scourged). Jesus was tied to a post and whipped repeatedly across the back. The whip used likely had sharp stones, barbed pieces of metal, or perhaps even hooks that would sink into and rip the flesh. Such a beating was brutal and grotesque. While Jewish law restricted a flogging to no more than 40 lashes, Jesus was flogged by the Romans. It is unknown how many lashes He received.
After the flogging was over, the Roman soldiers dressed Jesus in a purple robe and placed a crown of thorns on His head. They slapped Him in the face several times. Finally Pilate led Jesus out of the Praetorium and presented Him to the Jews once again. They were still not satisfied with the punishment, and continued to demand that Jesus be crucified. After another brief interaction with Him, Pilate concluded that the Jewish mob was not going to be content until Jesus was executed. Therefore, Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd and declared, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood.” Nevertheless, he turned Jesus over to be crucified.
Jesus’ sixth and final trial was the most consequential. Ultimately Pilate acquiesced to the unruly demands of the Jews priests and scribes. He feared that they might riot and cause even greater damage to the city and, more importantly, to his own standing before Caesar. Though he knew Jesus was not guilty of any crime and had the authority to release Him, Pilate lacked the personal strength and moral fortitude to do so. He did not stand up to the mob, but rather surrendered to them.
CONCLUSION
Like those that had taken place before, Jesus’ fifth and sixth trials were travesties of justice. His appearance before Herod didn't even resemble a legal proceeding. Imagine a judge merely wanting to be entertained by the person being accused! Then Pilate, who had already determined that Jesus was innocent, engaged in a series of pathetic attempts to placate His accusers. Is this how a criminal court is supposed to operate? In fact, Jesus was never formally convicted of any crime against Rome, yet He was still given over to be crucified.
The trials Jesus that endured were a complete joke - a total sham. Still, He submitted to their rulings despite the repeated illegalities, injustices, and bias. After His case had been decided, Jesus was led away to Golgotha where He was crucified between 2 thieves. His execution was the work of both the Romans and Jews. Jesus was nailed to the cross around 9:00am that morning and died 6 hours later at about 3:00pm in the afternoon. His body was taken down and laid in a tomb that night just before sunset. The Sabbath day passed by silently, but early the next morning…
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant occurrence in all of human history. On that day, the Son of God forever defeated death and the grave. Those who have placed their faith in Him as Lord and Savior share in this blessed hope. The same power that raised Jesus will someday raise believers as well, so that all of God’s children may live together with Him eternally.
This morning we will conclude our study on the trials of Jesus. After His late-night arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas for a brief preliminary investigation. From there He was sent to Caiaphas the high priest, who indicted Him of blasphemy and held Him in custody for the remainder of the night. In the early morning, Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin, convicted, and sentenced to death. Fearful of executing Him themselves, the Jews then brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pilate. After questioning Him and finding no wrongdoing, Pilate sent Jesus on to Herod…
I. THE TRIAL BEFORE HEROD
(Luke 23:6-12)
As most people were still at home getting ready for the day, probably sometime around 7:00am, Jesus appeared before Herod. Herod Antipas, was the son of Herod the Great. He was recognized by Caesar as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC- 39 AD. Though Herod Antipas was Jewish by birth, he dutifully served the Romans as a provincial leader and trusted official.
Having heard about Jesus and His reputation throughout Galilee, Herod was excited to meet Him. Herod hoped that Jesus would perform a miracle for him. When they arrived the Jews passionately presented their charges against Jesus. However, when Herod questioned Him, Jesus just stood there silently. Disappointed that Jesus was not going to entertain him with signs and wonders, Herod and his soldiers mocked Him, dressed Him in a shiny robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.
Jesus’ brief appearance before Herod Antipas was His fifth trial. It was a failed attempt by Pilate to change the venue of the case. Pilate did not want to deal with it himself, so he sought to use jurisdiction as a means of passing Jesus off to Herod. Unfortunately, Herod was not interested in trying Jesus either, but rather was hoping to see a magic show. Herod threw the case back to Pilate, setting up Jesus’ sixth and final trial.
II. THE SECOND TRIAL BEFORE PILATE
(Matthew 27:15-23; Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)
After their brief interaction with Herod Antipas, the Jews returned to Pilate with Jesus. This would have been around 7:30am. As we’ve already learned, Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He had already questioned Jesus earlier that morning and found no reason to charge Him. Yet, the Sanhedrin was insistent that Jesus was a criminal deserving of death.
Pilate had a tradition of releasing one prisoner each year during the Passover celebration. He thought to himself that perhaps if he offered to release either Jesus or Barabbas to the Jews, given the alternative they’d most certainly choose to let Jesus go free. After all, Barabbas was a notorious and rebellious murderer. But the chief priests and elders stirred up the crowd and convinced them to choose Barabbas. Pilate’s plan to release Jesus had failed and the Jews continued shouting, “Crucify Him!”
As all of this was happening, Pilate received a message from his wife. She said that she’d had a troubling dream during the night about Jesus. She warned her husband not to condemn Him. Her words added to Pilate’s moral dilemma, as he’d already concluded that Jesus was an innocent man.
Pilate decided that if he had Jesus severely punished - but not executed - it might be enough to appease the Jews. Therefore, he ordered that Jesus be flogged (or scourged). Jesus was tied to a post and whipped repeatedly across the back. The whip used likely had sharp stones, barbed pieces of metal, or perhaps even hooks that would sink into and rip the flesh. Such a beating was brutal and grotesque. While Jewish law restricted a flogging to no more than 40 lashes, Jesus was flogged by the Romans. It is unknown how many lashes He received.
After the flogging was over, the Roman soldiers dressed Jesus in a purple robe and placed a crown of thorns on His head. They slapped Him in the face several times. Finally Pilate led Jesus out of the Praetorium and presented Him to the Jews once again. They were still not satisfied with the punishment, and continued to demand that Jesus be crucified. After another brief interaction with Him, Pilate concluded that the Jewish mob was not going to be content until Jesus was executed. Therefore, Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd and declared, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood.” Nevertheless, he turned Jesus over to be crucified.
Jesus’ sixth and final trial was the most consequential. Ultimately Pilate acquiesced to the unruly demands of the Jews priests and scribes. He feared that they might riot and cause even greater damage to the city and, more importantly, to his own standing before Caesar. Though he knew Jesus was not guilty of any crime and had the authority to release Him, Pilate lacked the personal strength and moral fortitude to do so. He did not stand up to the mob, but rather surrendered to them.
CONCLUSION
Like those that had taken place before, Jesus’ fifth and sixth trials were travesties of justice. His appearance before Herod didn't even resemble a legal proceeding. Imagine a judge merely wanting to be entertained by the person being accused! Then Pilate, who had already determined that Jesus was innocent, engaged in a series of pathetic attempts to placate His accusers. Is this how a criminal court is supposed to operate? In fact, Jesus was never formally convicted of any crime against Rome, yet He was still given over to be crucified.
The trials Jesus that endured were a complete joke - a total sham. Still, He submitted to their rulings despite the repeated illegalities, injustices, and bias. After His case had been decided, Jesus was led away to Golgotha where He was crucified between 2 thieves. His execution was the work of both the Romans and Jews. Jesus was nailed to the cross around 9:00am that morning and died 6 hours later at about 3:00pm in the afternoon. His body was taken down and laid in a tomb that night just before sunset. The Sabbath day passed by silently, but early the next morning…