Jesus Before Pilate
A Maundy Thursday meditation
The Fourth Gospel is a series of trial scenes, full of the courtroom language like “witness,” “judge,” and “judgment.”
Jesus usually stands in the dock as the accused. He perform a miracle, or says something, and the Jews crowd around to accuse, just like their father the Accuser (John 8:44).
Fittingly, John’s Gospel climaxes with a long account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection (John 18-21).
I’ll focus on the trial before Pilate (John 18:28-19:15). That episode divided into seven scenes, each scene change marked by Pilate’s movement in and out of the Praetorium (18:28, 33, 38; 19:1, 4, 8-9, 12). Outside, Pilate talks to the Jews; inside, he talks to Jesus.
The fourth and central scene is the coronation (19:1-3). The Roman soldiers crown Jesus, put on a robe, hand him a scepter, and shout in acclamation.
Of course, it’s a mock coronation. The crown is woven of thorns. His scepter is a reed. The shout isn’t “Long live the king!” but “Who beat you?” and “Crucify Him!”
At the same time, the solders mock the Jews: “This is the kind of king the Jews deserve – bloody, bruised, humiliated! Look, Jews: Behold your king! A perfect king for the Jews.”
Ahh, but: Contrary to appearances, God is not mocked. He turns the mockery of men against them.
John is fond of using double-entendres, phrases and words that have a double meaning (e.g., katalambano in John 1:5 means both “comprehend” or “overcome”).
John 19:13 contains such a double meaning. The verb ekathisen can mean “sat,” as in “Pilate sat down,” or it can mean “cause to sit,” as in “Pilate sat Jesus down.”
If Pilate seated Jesus on the judgment seat (bema), he means it as more mockery: “Look here, Jews! Your King is on his throne, ready to pass judgment.”
Even if it’s Pilate sitting on the bema, John’s phrasing hints that he’s not really in charge of the trial. Far from presiding over the judgment of Jesus, Pilate is on trial, along with the rest of this world (John 12:31).
The Jews are on trial too, and they’re found guilty. The eternal Word of their God stands before them in human flesh, and they renounce Him: “We have no king but Caesar” (19:15).
That’s apostasy. Israel exists to be the kingdom of Yahweh. They’re supposed to confess, “No king but Yahweh!”
There’s one final, subtle detail. Pilate brings Jesus to a place called “the Pavement” (lithostrotos; 19:13). In the Greek Old Testament, Israel bows on the lithostrotos when Yahweh’s glory fills Solomon’s temple (2 Chr 7:3).
That glory that fills the temple stands before them in human flesh, crowned with thorns. Instead of bowing on the pavement, the Jews swear loyalty to Caesar.
Mocking God, killing righteous men – that is the human project, but God won’t let our mockery have the last word. He always turns our mockery inside out to shine with His truth.
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Bonus track: Does the seven-scene trial follow the days of creation? Not impossible, since there are other creation-day sequences in John (Prologue; John 1-2). Try it on:
Day 1: Court meets early in the morning, 18:28
Day 2: Jesus is King
Day 3: Barabbas or Jesus
Day 4: Coronation, 19:1-3
Day 5: Behold the Man
Day 6: Son of God
Day 7: We have no king but Caesar, 19:12-15
Appears to work best at beginning, middle, and end: Court begins as light breaks; Jesus’ mock coronation on Day 4, when heavenly lights “rule” the day; while Jesus is presented as King and (perhaps) sits enthroned before the Jews, they pledge loyalty to Caesar, an anti-Sabbath.
The inverted Sabbath is stronger when we catch the echoes of the temple dedication in 19:13 (cf. 2 Chr 7:3): When Yahweh takes His throne, Israel bows to the pavement; when King Yahweh is presented in flesh, Jews turn to Caesar.