No Case Against the King
From Gethsemane to the Grave - The Johannine View • Sermon • Submitted
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· 36 viewsHe was Innocent but Died for Our Sins.
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Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus;
From this passage of text I’d like to use for a topic.....
No Case Against the King.....
In our nation....it is estimated that as many as 120,000 people may be incarcerated today as a result of wrongful conviction.......this means that 2-5 percent of all US prisoners are innocent. These wrongful convictions are called a miscarriage of justice.......or a failure of justice.....when a person is convicted and punished for a crime that they did not commit.
This travesty of justice is caused when witnesses falsely accuse innocent people, police officers make false arrests and force the innocent person to make plea bargains so that they plead guilty even though they are innocent to get lesser sentence, when evidence is withheld or even destroyed that would prove that the incarcerated person is innocent, contaminated evidence, faulty forensic tests....just to name a few of the reasons why a wrongly convicted person is incarcerated...
But not are there wrongly convicted people serving prison time.....there is a large number of wrongly convicted people who are on death row.....facing execution.
As I’m sure that many of you know....there have been so many innocent but wrongly convicted people that have been executed....
In recent years....there has been an increase use of DNA evidence to clear people who have been wrongly convicted..... In many of these cases.....men and women who had served most of there adult life in prison are now being released because they did not do the crime. The damage that the imprisonment has caused on the life of the wrongly convicted can be detrimental to the person and the family.
But then there are cases when condemned persons are executed before they are determined to have been wrongly convicted, the effect of this failure of justice is irreversible.
To be wrongly convicted of a crime that one did not commit is a travesty of justice......
In our text today.....we see that Pilate told the Chief Priests that he had no case against Jesus. But not only did Pilate state this one time......he professed 3 times that there was no case against Jesus.......
In other words, there was no reason for Jesus to face any punishment.......because there was no crime He committed.
Jesus was wrongly convicted of a crime that He did not commit.....
There was no evidence proving that He had done anything wrong.....
There was no witnesses on behalf of Jesus (the defendant in this case), but yet there were many false witnesses that testified against Jesus...
Yes my brothers and sisters......Jesus was convicted, tried and sentenced for a crime that He did not commit....
I believe the text gives us three points we can glean from on how the precious, innocent Lamb of God......was charged......was convicted........tried.......punished and executed for a crime He did not commit......
Let us look at the text....in
Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him.
Pilate went out to the Jews…after he questioned Jesus about the alleged crimes and said........... “I find no case against him”
If we look at the meaning of the Greek word for case.....it’s EYE TIA αἰτία and it means.....
cause or reason for which one is worthy of punishment, crime.....or responsibility....or an accusation.....also the charge of a crime
If we look at John 18:29-30.....
So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”
....we see that the Jews....really did not spell out a crime that Jesus had committed.
The Jews did not state the crime they had brought Jesus to Pilate for.....so not only did they not have a crime to charge Him with.....they claim He is a criminal because they brought Him to Pilate........
Pilate realized that there was no law that he could accuse Jesus of breaking and told the Jews to take Jesus and judge Him according to their laws......
The Jews not falsely accused Jesus....but they were ready to sentence Him to the ultimate penalty of death......
Look at Jn 18:31
They said “We are not permitted to put anyone to death”.....
And what we must understand my brothers and sisters......is that during this time......the Jewish law did in fact.....permit them to sentence someone to death...... However......the method of execution ....that the Jewish people had to follow......was by stoning that person to death......
We find in Gospel of John.... Chapter 8 that the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus.....
they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
The Jews knew that they were able to carry out the death sentence by stoning that accused.....
But this isn’t what how the Jews wanted Jesus to die........ They were not permitted to sentence someone to death by crucifixion .....Only the Roman officials could carry out such a sentence.....The Romans were know for their horrible and inhumane methods of punishment.....
Criminals in the Roman Empire who were sentenced to death were often executed in the most horrendous ways possible......
One of the methods of execution was called Poena cullei....translated to “Punishment of the Sack” in the victim was put into a large leather sack.......along with a number of animals such as a monkey, a dog, a snake and a rooster. ....and after all of them were put into the sack......it was sewn together and thrown into a river....... One can only imagine how the animals and the person inside the sack would react.....as they began to drown together....
Other forms of Roman capital punishment included strangulation......being thrown off a steep cliff.....
After the Great Fire of Roman... Emperor Nero would often sentenced Christians to being burned alive......or boiled in hot oil......
And the most humiliating form and popular form of execution done by the Romans was crucifixion....where the victim faced multiple forms of torture…after being nailed to the cross…often times left hanging there for days.....the executioner would use a sledgehammer to break the victims legs…and the person would eventually suffocate to death
So not only did the Jews falsely accuse Jesus of a crime He did not commit, falsely arrest Him....they take Him to the Roman officials to do their dirty work.....
But I’m hear to tell you this morning my brothers and sisters........ That there was No case against the King......
Pilate attempted time and time again to remove himself from this situation..
He said.....I find no case against him.
But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.
....but the Jews continued to pressure him to carry out the act of an execution....
The Bible tells us that Pilate took Jesus......and had him flogged.....in which the Roman soldiers repeatedly lashed and beat him with whips and rods....using a three thonged scourge that had pieces of bone and metal…and often times could be lethal in itself.
The soldier wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head......dressed him in a purple robe.....called him “King of the Jews” while striking Him in His face........
And even after that brutal punishment of flogging and punching.......
Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.”
Pilate said again......I find no case against him… the KJV says it this way........... I find in him no fault.
But the Jews did not like the fact that there was no evidence......no proof.......no crime......that Pilate could charge Jesus for.....
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
Pilate realized that there was no crime that Jesus was guilty of.........that there was no reason for Jesus to be crucified ........because there was No Case against the King......
But the people shouted......Crucify Him!! Crucify Him.......Louder and louder.......
Crucify Him.........Crucify Him......
Pilate said to them......”Take him yourself and crucify him; I find no EYE TIA........against him. I find in Him no EYE TIA.........
The we see the real charge.....the real accusation that the Jews had against Jesus....
And then this is where things begin to shift......
Look at
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die.......because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
In this Fourth Gospel.....the religious leaders did not want Jesus did because He claimed to be the King of the Jews......but because He claimed to be the unique Son of God......
The Jews, in their kangaroo court had found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, a crime that was punishable by stoning under the Law of Moses, but not under Roman law.
If they wanted the Romans involved they had to charge Jesus with a crime against Rome.
We see the atmosphere adjust and the situation shift when Pilate learned of the true charge.....
Pilate although not a religious man......He did understand that it could be true that the Man before him was more than a man......
The text tells us that Pilate was more afraid than ever.....
In the Greek text....it is translated as “exceedingly afraid”
It scared Pilate to know that Jesus could very well be the Son of God.....
Romans knew of stories of the gods or their offspring appearing as humans.....
So Pilate indeed had a very good reason to be afraid.......
Thats when we see Pilate wanted Jesus to defend Himself and give Pilate more reasons to let an innocent Man free.
The text says......
He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
And then we see that Pilate tried to flex his little muscles.....
Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”
You see we must understand my brothers and sisters.......
The Jews knew something about Pilate and his relationship with Rome.
He was only in position because he was married into the position
The Jews knew that he had been in trouble before and had only a weak hold on his position in Jerusalem.
They said to him, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
In other words they told Pilate that if he refused to execute Jesus they would report him to Rome and that would be the end of his career.
Pilate again questioned Jesus and could find Him guilty of nothing.
After that Pilate looked for ways to free Jesus, but everything he tried failed.
This mighty officer of Rome who had it within his power to defy the Jews and set Jesus free, who in fact had it in his power to kill anybody that displeased him, bowed to the will of the Jews and religious leaders.
Even though there was No Case Against the King......
Yes my brothers and sisters.....there was no case against the King.......
There was no charge......no reason to face the penalty of death........
But if truth be told........all of humanity is charged with the crime that Jesus went to the cross for......
Yes my brothers and sisters........we are guilty of the sin....that Jesus died for....... We are the ones that have the faults.......the flaws......the failings......
Yes my brothers and sisters........there is No Charge Against the King......
But humanity is guilty as charged.....
Romans 5:12 reminds us...
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—
since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
The words of the Apostle Paul in
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
Yes my Brothers and Sisters......there is No Case Against the King.....
Jesus, who being in very nature God, the son of God, went to that terrible scourging and the cross, because that was the only way to save us humans from the consequence of our sins— which is condemnation to eternal hell.
Whenever a sin is committed, a price must be paid to obtain forgiveness.
Paying that price is called redemption.
Jesus, the Lamb of God without blemish, established a new covenant in His own blood to redeem us from our sins.
No Case Against the King.....
He is ......
The Only Begotten Son.....
Light of the World
Lord of Glory......
Horn of Salvation.......
No Case Against the King.....
The First and the Last....
Faithful and True......
Author and Perfecter of our Faith.....
The Good Shepherd
No Case Against the King.....
He’s the Lamb without Blemish.....
Prince of Peace
True Bread
and The I AM......
No Case Against the King.....
He’s a Wonderful Counselor.....
A Friend that sticks closer than a Brother.....
The Son of the Most High....
The Stone that the builders rejected....
Yes my brothers and sisters......
He is our Savior......our Source of Eternal Salvation......and only protection from Damnation......
No Case against the King
Have you tried Him......
You ought to try Him.....
He’s good....... He’s good........
He’s MMM Mmmm Good....
I don’t know who I’m talking to this morning....
But if you don’t know Him.....you ought to try him for yourself.....