First, let’s take a look at the sequence of events before and after Jesus’ arrest. He arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane quite late. On the night after His arrest, He was brought to the high priest for the first time by the Jews for trial. They could only use Jesus’ words to condemn Him. Then there was the trial before the Sanhedrin the next morning. He did not change what He said in the second time, so it probably did not take much time to condemn Him. Because the Jewish Sanhedrin at that time could not impose the death penalty, they brought Jesus before Pilate, hoping to sentence Him to death. Then Pilate sent Him to Herod for trial, and found that He was not guilty of a crime worthy of death. Finally, he was tried before Pilate, and was not found guilty of a crime worthy of death. The original intention of Pilate was to release Jesus, but in the end he sentenced Jesus to be crucified “illegally.”
1. Jesus’ first trial after His arrest was before the high priest
Let’s look at the sequence of events before and after Jesus’ arrest. He arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane quite late because the disciples were going to sleep (see Matthew 26:36-45). On the night after His arrest, He was tried by the Jews for the first time. The Gospel of Mark records the situation very clearly, “They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. …Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.”(Mark 14:53-65)
Since the testimony is false, of course it will be inconsistent and useless. As for Jesus’ saying that he built the temple in three days, it is recorded as follows, “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”(John 2:19-21) This refers to His resurrection after three days of death. As the scripture says, “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” …”(Matthew 17:22-23)
We see that Jesus wanted people to ask Him first if He was the Son of God, and then told the truth. He knew that saying this would lead to condemnation, but He still said it. They indeed used Jesus’ words to condemn Him and locked Him up. That’s why the Gospel of Luke says, “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”(Luke 22:63-65) There is basically the same thing said in Mark 14:53-65.
2. The second time was before the Sanhedrin
“When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.””(Luke 22:66-71)
This should have been the second trial before the Jews before being sent to Pilate, because the Gospel of Mark says very clearly, “Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.”(Mark 15:1) Just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “…My Father, …Your will be done.”(Matthew 26:42) He did not change His words this time the same as those He had the first time. He was already condemned by His words the first time, so it shouldn’t take much time to condemn Him the second time. Because the Jewish Sanhedrin at that time could not impose the death penalty, they brought Jesus before Pilate, hoping to sentence Him to death.
3. Tried before Herod
He was the first to be led to Pilate in this way, as is recorded in detail in the Gospel of John. “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”(John 18:28-32)
We see that Pilate respected Jewish rules very much. The Jews did not want to enter the Praetorium, he actually came out to meet them. We also have confirmation here that they went to Pilate for potentially sentencing Jesus. The following verses record why He was tried before Herod: “Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.” When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”(Luke 23:1-12)
We can see that Jesus did not perform any miracles before Herod. One point that needs to be emphasized is that neither Herod nor Pilate could find Jesus guilty of any crime worthy of death. Because the scripture says, “Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.””(Luke 23:13-16) Here, we see that Pilate’s original intention was to release Jesus.
Regarding the fact that Herod and Pilate became friends, some people say that it was because of the death of Jesus. Yes, it is true that Herod and Pilate actually became friends before His death. However, the Bible does not say the reason, but it does record this fact. A fact that, although it may be explained in the aspect of human nature, we don’t know exactly the reason why? Things that are not mentioned in the Bible or have no concept should not be drawn to random conclusions from a human perspective. This will lead to the result of forcefully interpreting the Bible and cause controversy.
4. The first half of the trial before Pilate and its original intention
“Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.””(Matthew 27:11-19)
We first saw Jesus asking questions in the same way. Here we also see that Pilate’s original intention was to release Jesus, and his wife also asked him to leave the affairs of this righteous man alone, but he did not listen. Although he could not find Jesus guilty of any crime worthy of death, he ultimately had Jesus crucified “illegally.” Isn’t “illegal” a situation that some Christians still encounter today?
Concerning Him standing before the governor, the Gospel of John has this record. “Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” …”(John 18:33-38)
Jesus’ kingdom is indeed not of this world. When He was arrested, He said, “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”(Matthew 26:53-54) Please note that He said asking My Father. This is because after He became flesh, He became a perfect man. As a perfect man, He could not directly send angels, although He still retained completely the same identity of a complete God. Christians have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and their kingdom does not belong to this world. They are passers-by in this world. This is like Abraham,
“for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”(Hebrews 11:10) We will see later that Pilate, just as he said, did not care what the truth was. For him, standing on the correct side of the world’s politics was even more important.
Regarding the original intention to release Jesus, but the crowd refused, preferring to release the robbers and put Him to death, the scripture says this: “Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.”(John 18:38-40)
John was there personally, so the record in the Gospel of John is very accurate. Although Pilate gave them what seemed an obvious choice, they would rather release a robber who had committed a murder than Jesus, who was not guilty according to Roman law. We have seen this sharing, which only details the first half of what happened after Jesus was arrested. In the next sharing, we will describe what happened in the second half, and how Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
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