Luke 23:13-25 - Sure conviction but weak resolve

After the lengthy interrogation and having a whale of a time mocking Jesus, Herod also couldn't find any guilt in Him. So he sent Jesus back to Pilate. Naturally, Pilate must have been disappointed. This, however, would affirm His initial finding that Jesus was indeed innocent. Pilate first heard the charges and saw no guilt in Jesus. Now Herod, who also heard the same charges again, concluded the same way. The agreement of two very unlikely pair of people puts Jesus' guiltlessness beyond doubt. So calling Jesus' accusers together, Pilate delivered his verdict of His blamelessness the second time.

In declaring Jesus' innocence a second time, Pilate decided that He should be released. He proposed a resolution hoping to save Jesus and pacify His accusers. As a warning for an accused not to do the same thing, the Romans would sometimes give the accused a beating and then let him off. So Pilate proposed to do his. Luke also tells us here that it was customary for the Romans to let a political prisoner off during the Jewish Passover. Pilate wanted to use this as a way out for Jesus.

Why was Pilate, who was normally so insensitive, now so insistent on letting Jesus off?  Here are some reasons: firstly, His finding of Jesus' innocence was collaborated by Herod's. Secondly, Matthew 27:19 reveals that, "While he (Pilate) 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.”" Thirdly, in John 19:7-9, the apostle John tells us that Pilate was gripped by fear after hearing from Jesus' accusers that He claimed to be the Son of God. And finally, the nightmare that his wife had, and the mention of Jesus as God's Son, was unnerving to him.

Luke 23:18-20 tell us that the crowd, who  had formed a buffer between Jesus and His accusers up to now, had also turned against Him. Shouting aloud, they cried, "Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas."  This was a man who was thrown into jail for sedition and murder. When Pilate addressed the crowd and offered to release Jesus, they chanted loudly and in unison, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." There's a strange irony to this Barabbas. His name means son of the father. Here they cried out for the release of one, son of the father, and rejected one who is truly the Son of the Father.

In verses 22-23, Pilate pronounced Jesus innocence for the third time and offered to have Him punished and be released. While Pilate was quite sure of Jesus' innocence, the mob was also just as sure that they wanted him crucified. So vehement was their cry for His blood that their voice prevailed over Pilate's will.  So Pilate succumbed, pronounced the death sentence on Jesus and released Barabbas to them.

Two thoughts for our consideration: (1) Pilate, though sure of Jesus' innocence, gave in to another voice. What about us? Do we cave in and give in to another voice other than the Good Shepherd's?  In this world of competing voices let us learn to hear and obey His only. (2) We must guard against being carried away by the voice of the crowd. The way to ensure that, is to have our roots sink deep in the Lord. He said, "... he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing." Let's abide in Him and let Him abide in us!