And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
Pilate's sentence granted the crowd's demand and gave legal force to the Sanhedrin's condemnation, sending Jesus from his hall to Calvary to be crucified. Before he did so he repeatedly declared he found no fault in Him and tried to avoid executing an innocent man by having Him scourged to excite pity and by offering to release Him under the festival custom beside Barabbas. Though he knew Jesus was innocent and brought from envy, he sacrificed justice to appease his accusers and let the frenzied demand of priests, rulers and mob become Roman law. That demand was driven by Satan standing at the head of priests, rulers and mob to kill Christ, yet though He could have called heavenly hosts to His aid He submitted with calmness and kept Himself without stain as a perfect offering. With one voice the people chose the robber and murderer Barabbas over the Son of God, which was choosing Satan over Christ, and that same choice is repeated whenever people reject Christ and persecute Him in His saints.
Trial Context and Sentence
Luke 23:24 records the moment when Pilate confirmed the sentence the Sanhedrin sought and granted the crowd's demand that it should be as they required, and after that judgment Jesus was taken from Pilate's hall to Calvary for crucifixion. Before sentencing, Pilate repeatedly declared that he found no fault in Jesus, asking what evil He had done and pleading against putting to death One against whom nothing could be proved. To avoid executing an innocent man while trying to conciliate an enraged crowd, Pilate proposed to chastise Jesus and let Him go. He had Him scourged before the multitude in the vain hope that pity would make that punishment seem enough.
In terrible conflict of soul Pilate also tried to save Jesus by subterfuge, because he dared not in soul give up an innocent man to that maddened power. He used the unjust pagan festival custom without justice by which one prisoner condemned to death should be set at liberty at the great national festival. He presented the true and innocent Christ side by side with Barabbas and flattered himself that the contrast between innocence and guilt would be so convincing that the people would choose Jesus. The scourged Jesus appeared pale and suffering, crowned with thorns, stripped to the waist with long cruel stripes and freely flowing blood, His face stained with blood and marked by exhaustion and pain yet still noble, placed beside Barabbas to make the contrast stand out. Barabbas stood in striking contrast as a notorious, debased and hardened robber chief and murderer. He did wickedness and wonders through satanic agencies, pretending to be Christ and claiming religious power and right to set the world right and to take what he wanted by theft, robbery and murder.
Pilate's sentence gave the unanimous, frenzied demand of priests, rulers and mob the force of Roman law. Even the Roman governor, with Herod acting with him and stirred up by the chief priests, was thus made to carry out their will. That will was to condemn the just and holy Son of God and to put a murderer in His place as the people required.
Yielding Justice to Pressure
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, knew the leaders had brought Him from envy, and knew the charges were unproved, yet he sacrificed justice to appease his accusers and yielded to pressure from the priests and mob in giving sentence that it should be as they required. He repeatedly declared that he found no fault in Him, asked what evil He had done, and pleaded against putting to death One against whom nothing could be proved. His offer to chastise Jesus by scourging and then let Him go was a vain attempt to satisfy the accusers and to avoid both releasing Him outright and condemning Him to death.
His yielding came step by step from violating conscience and failing to judge fairly, until he was left nearly powerless before the people. In terrible conflict of soul he dared not in his soul give up an innocent man to that maddened power, and tried to save Jesus by subterfuge. The demand for death came from priests and rulers possessed by Satan and his army and acting in satanic fury, insisting that the Saviour, already faint with weariness, covered with wounds and subjected to shameful humiliation, must have His sacred flesh further bruised and mangled. The crowd that had once hailed Him as king turned on Him in the judgment hall with hissing and reviling, crying for His crucifixion and for the release of Barabbas the robber and murderer.
Satan stood at the head of those who reviled and crucified Him, confederating with priests and rulers and working with his band with fierce determination to kill Christ. With the whole energies of apostasy they assailed the light in one desperate act to destroy the champion of God and of truth and to cut off all communication between heaven and earth. Their aim in leading the cruel mob in abuse was to provoke Christ to retaliation or to work a miracle to free Himself and break up the plan of salvation. That satanic work, in which Herod stirred up by the chief priests acted with Pilate to put to death the just and holy Son of God and put a murderer in His place, was done before the heavenly universe and watched with intense interest from the heavenly courts. It displayed the murderous spirit of Satan and not the saving spirit of Christ, who came to save human lives, and for it man must receive a recompense.
Though by a command He could have brought the heavenly hosts to His aid and driven the mob away by flashing forth divine majesty, Christ submitted with perfect calmness to insult and outrage. He kept His human life without stain, so that the Lamb of God remained a perfect offering. His cruel death of shame on Calvary vindicated God in the sight of the angels as One willing to make the greatest sacrifice for man, proved false Satan's charges against God, and by His sinless life from the manger to the cross proved false Satan's assertion that God's law could not be kept.
Choice Repeated Through History
Luke 23:24 records Pilate giving sentence as the people required, yielding to their demand and sentencing Jesus to death though he had declared he found no fault in Him, and that sentence led to Christ's crucifixion. The verse means the people with one voice made their choice between Barabbas the robber and murderer and Christ the Son of God. In making that unanimous and frenzied demand that Christ be crucified, they accepted responsibility for Jesus' blood.
The choice of Barabbas over Christ represents Satan being chosen before the Son of God. The same choice is made in the world whenever people reject Christ, and each person's actions show whom they choose. Jesus was innocent, yet He was murdered for speaking truths they did not want to hear, and the verse stands as a pattern repeated when people choose Barabbas and persecute Christ in His saints.
His disciples had been prepared for this trial and were not surprised by the crowd's fickleness. The crowd that had once hailed Him as king turned on Him in the judgment hall with hissing and reviling, crying for His crucifixion, while He was humiliated and condemned as the crowd demanded. They would see their beloved Teacher treated as a criminal and led toward crucifixion while the criminal Barabbas was chosen in His place. This trial would test their faith and cause their hope and courage to fail, giving them cause to mourn and fast.
Pilate's sentence granted the crowd's demand and gave legal force to the Sanhedrin's condemnation, sending Jesus from his hall to Calvary to be crucified. Before he did so he repeatedly declared he found no fault in Him and tried to avoid executing an innocent man by having Him scourged to excite pity and by offering to release Him under the festival custom beside Barabbas. Though he knew Jesus was innocent and brought from envy, he sacrificed justice to appease his accusers and let the frenzied demand of priests, rulers and mob become Roman law. That demand was driven by Satan standing at the head of priests, rulers and mob to kill Christ, yet though He could have called heavenly hosts to His aid He submitted with calmness and kept Himself without stain as a perfect offering. With one voice the people chose the robber and murderer Barabbas over the Son of God, which was choosing Satan over Christ, and that same choice is repeated whenever people reject Christ and persecute Him in His saints.
Trial Context and Sentence
Luke 23:24 records the moment when Pilate confirmed the sentence the Sanhedrin sought and granted the crowd's demand that it should be as they required, and after that judgment Jesus was taken from Pilate's hall to Calvary for crucifixion. Before sentencing, Pilate repeatedly declared that he found no fault in Jesus, asking what evil He had done and pleading against putting to death One against whom nothing could be proved. To avoid executing an innocent man while trying to conciliate an enraged crowd, Pilate proposed to chastise Jesus and let Him go. He had Him scourged before the multitude in the vain hope that pity would make that punishment seem enough.
In terrible conflict of soul Pilate also tried to save Jesus by subterfuge, because he dared not in soul give up an innocent man to that maddened power. He used the unjust pagan festival custom without justice by which one prisoner condemned to death should be set at liberty at the great national festival. He presented the true and innocent Christ side by side with Barabbas and flattered himself that the contrast between innocence and guilt would be so convincing that the people would choose Jesus. The scourged Jesus appeared pale and suffering, crowned with thorns, stripped to the waist with long cruel stripes and freely flowing blood, His face stained with blood and marked by exhaustion and pain yet still noble, placed beside Barabbas to make the contrast stand out. Barabbas stood in striking contrast as a notorious, debased and hardened robber chief and murderer. He did wickedness and wonders through satanic agencies, pretending to be Christ and claiming religious power and right to set the world right and to take what he wanted by theft, robbery and murder.
Pilate's sentence gave the unanimous, frenzied demand of priests, rulers and mob the force of Roman law. Even the Roman governor, with Herod acting with him and stirred up by the chief priests, was thus made to carry out their will. That will was to condemn the just and holy Son of God and to put a murderer in His place as the people required.
Yielding Justice to Pressure
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, knew the leaders had brought Him from envy, and knew the charges were unproved, yet he sacrificed justice to appease his accusers and yielded to pressure from the priests and mob in giving sentence that it should be as they required. He repeatedly declared that he found no fault in Him, asked what evil He had done, and pleaded against putting to death One against whom nothing could be proved. His offer to chastise Jesus by scourging and then let Him go was a vain attempt to satisfy the accusers and to avoid both releasing Him outright and condemning Him to death.
His yielding came step by step from violating conscience and failing to judge fairly, until he was left nearly powerless before the people. In terrible conflict of soul he dared not in his soul give up an innocent man to that maddened power, and tried to save Jesus by subterfuge. The demand for death came from priests and rulers possessed by Satan and his army and acting in satanic fury, insisting that the Saviour, already faint with weariness, covered with wounds and subjected to shameful humiliation, must have His sacred flesh further bruised and mangled. The crowd that had once hailed Him as king turned on Him in the judgment hall with hissing and reviling, crying for His crucifixion and for the release of Barabbas the robber and murderer.
Satan stood at the head of those who reviled and crucified Him, confederating with priests and rulers and working with his band with fierce determination to kill Christ. With the whole energies of apostasy they assailed the light in one desperate act to destroy the champion of God and of truth and to cut off all communication between heaven and earth. Their aim in leading the cruel mob in abuse was to provoke Christ to retaliation or to work a miracle to free Himself and break up the plan of salvation. That satanic work, in which Herod stirred up by the chief priests acted with Pilate to put to death the just and holy Son of God and put a murderer in His place, was done before the heavenly universe and watched with intense interest from the heavenly courts. It displayed the murderous spirit of Satan and not the saving spirit of Christ, who came to save human lives, and for it man must receive a recompense.
Though by a command He could have brought the heavenly hosts to His aid and driven the mob away by flashing forth divine majesty, Christ submitted with perfect calmness to insult and outrage. He kept His human life without stain, so that the Lamb of God remained a perfect offering. His cruel death of shame on Calvary vindicated God in the sight of the angels as One willing to make the greatest sacrifice for man, proved false Satan's charges against God, and by His sinless life from the manger to the cross proved false Satan's assertion that God's law could not be kept.
Choice Repeated Through History
Luke 23:24 records Pilate giving sentence as the people required, yielding to their demand and sentencing Jesus to death though he had declared he found no fault in Him, and that sentence led to Christ's crucifixion. The verse means the people with one voice made their choice between Barabbas the robber and murderer and Christ the Son of God. In making that unanimous and frenzied demand that Christ be crucified, they accepted responsibility for Jesus' blood.
The choice of Barabbas over Christ represents Satan being chosen before the Son of God. The same choice is made in the world whenever people reject Christ, and each person's actions show whom they choose. Jesus was innocent, yet He was murdered for speaking truths they did not want to hear, and the verse stands as a pattern repeated when people choose Barabbas and persecute Christ in His saints.
His disciples had been prepared for this trial and were not surprised by the crowd's fickleness. The crowd that had once hailed Him as king turned on Him in the judgment hall with hissing and reviling, crying for His crucifixion, while He was humiliated and condemned as the crowd demanded. They would see their beloved Teacher treated as a criminal and led toward crucifixion while the criminal Barabbas was chosen in His place. This trial would test their faith and cause their hope and courage to fail, giving them cause to mourn and fast.