"Pilate said to them, 'Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.' To which the Jews answered, 'It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.' This was done to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death He was going to die."
Over in Acts 4, we read of the arrest of Peter and John by this same tribe, for boldly proclaiming the Name of their resurrected Lord, after which they had even more boldly defended themselves before the very same council as had Jesus, not so long before. Then upon returning safely to the gathered Believers, they proclaimed the following word of praise, as "...they lifted their voices together to God and said, 'Sovereign Lord, Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, Who through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said by the Holy Spirit', 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Anointed.’ For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place."
The law-givers had no idea that, at the time of Jesus' indictment they were acting as they did, only because of the predetermined will of God! Their own hands were tied; the law-givers were at the mercy of their own law...the high rollers in Judaism, caught with their pants down...so-to-speak. The combined authority in Israel, forced to admit to their own powerlessness. And as we see from vs. 32, those Jews were not only powerless, but they had become the very fulfillers of prophecy concerning the God-Man Himself! And then Pilate gets back to the business-at-hand.
In verses 33 and 34 we read that he turned his back upon the Jews, and re-entered the Praetorium to speak with Jesus, putting the question to Him, as Roman law would have required..."Are you then, king of the Jews?" Now take notice that in this court, Jesus' accusers were not present, nor was He given the benefit of counsel...not that He needed it! We find Jesus' response in vss. 34 and 36, to be straightforward, and true once again, to His calling..."If My Kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight to protect Me, but My Kingdom is not of this realm!" Jesus was not only more than capable of defending Himself, but He did-so with authority, and with scorn for both the religion of the Jews, as well as the rules and regulations of the Roman empire.
Now we must realize that the Jews' accusation of Jesus' claiming to be King, was based only upon His rising popularity, while Pilate's concern was for the unrivalled authority of Caesar over the humbled nation of Israel. So Jesus showed a great deal of restraint here, in refusing a direct answer to Pilate's question. He was, in every sense, the "Lamb of God", and He spoke only at the will of God, as reflected throughout the entirety of the Gospels. "My Kingdom is not of this world...I did not come to fight, but to die...I did not come with a sword, but rather, with peace. I came with peace and with Truth, to be a Witness of the Truth!"
Now truth is pretty rare in the world today...perhaps even moreso than then, and because of that, it seems that the world is becoming darker and darker. So Jesus had created a fuss with both the Jews and the Romans...and because He is Truth, He stood practically alone in His dark world. You see, truth is authoritative, and it is convicting, and it is revealing, and it causes controversy...as the truth always does. It's no wonder that He was so loved and so hated at the same time...being full of grace and truth! And Pilate was struck dumb by His wisdom...only to blurt out, "What is truth, anyway?"
And you know, that's the question of the ages...pondered by philosophers and theologians and students of all other sciences, to no avail. Satan had asked it of Eve, you know, when he questioned the truthfulness of God, and twisted the truth of God, as has always been his practice. And truth has escaped the hearts of mankind since that day.
The Greek philosophers of Athens were anxious to discuss truth with the apostle Paul, as recorded in Acts 17. They had what they considered to be truth, coming out their ears, and every one had his own special brand of it. So when Paul told them of the Truth with a capital "T", although most mocked, there were some who believed. So Jesus told Pilate, "This is My calling...to tell the truth; and everyone who is of the truth, hears Me". And, bye-the-bye , will someday be occupying a piece of golden pavement, on their faces, at the foot of the glorious throne of our great and glorious God...Truth indeed!
Then Pilate went out again to the Jews announcing, "I find no fault in him", and as they say, the rest is history..."...they all cried out...'Not this man, but Barabbas!'" Do you know the meaning of the name "Barabbas"? It means "son of the father"...truly a prophecy of the awful things to come...the unclean, redeemed by none other than the spotless Lamb of God...even me and you! Now that is truth.
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