July 10 2025

Thursday July 10

Jesus on Trial Before Pilate

Luke 23

1 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King." 3 Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." 4 So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man." 5 But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."

Today we are continuing to look at Luke 23. In this chapter, we read about the trial, the crucifixion, and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus loves us so much that He gave His life on the cross of Calvary. In this chapter, we see men doing their worst and at the same time, we see God giving His best. I remember that verse in Romans 5:20, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound”. In the darkness of that hour, in the darkness of sin all around on planet earth, and especially there in Jerusalem as men are crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of God is abounding because God is pouring out His love through the death of His Son on the cross of Calvary.

Jesus didn’t just happen to die. In John 10:17-18, Jesus said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."  Acts 2:23 affirms that the crucifixion of Christ was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Jesus was the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8).

As we look at the first five verses of this chapter, we see Jesus coming on trial before Pilate. He has already faced three trials with the Jews during the night. Now, somewhere between 6:00am in the morning and 9:00am, when Jesus was crucified, this trial before Pilate takes place on Friday morning. Pontius Pilate is an interesting person. This is the first encounter Jesus has with someone in this chapter as far as the trial and His death on the cross are concerned. Pilate was the governor of Judea from AD 26 to AD 36, after which he was recalled to Rome and passed out of Roman history. Pilate was hated by the Jews, and it appears he hated them as well. When Jesus is hung on the cross, Pilate has a sign put over His head: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” He did this to provoke the Jews, who denied that Jesus was their King.

Jesus is taken inside the Praetorium to be tried before Pilate. The Jews are outside in the courtyard because they cannot enter without defiling themselves for the Passover (John 18:28). Jesus is in this room, and Pilate interrogates Him individually, personally. In Matthew 27:18-19, it says Pilate knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. In his handling of the trial of Jesus, the governor proved to be indecisive. The Gospel of John records seven different moves that Pilate made as he went out to meet the people and then went in to question Jesus (John 18:29, 33, 38; 19:1, 4, 9, 13). He kept looking for a loophole, but he found none. Pilate has gone down in history as the man who tried Jesus Christ, three times declared Him not guilty, and yet crucified Him just the same.

It was obvious Pilate understood some of the situation with Jesus and the Jews, knowing it was because of their hatred for Him, not because He had broken any Roman laws that would demand execution. While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife also sent a message to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I’ve suffered many things today in a dream because of Him” (Matthew 27:19).

Pilate is convinced He’s not guilty and proclaims this at least three times in the gospel accounts. But the Jews are determined to have Him crucified. In the end, Pilate makes no decision, saying, “I wipe my hands of the guilt of this just Man.” My friend, indecision is the worst decision; it is the fatal choice. Jesus says, “You’re either with Me or you’re against Me.”

We must decide for Jesus even today—whether we’ll accept Him as our Savior or deny Him as the Son of God and reject Him as our Savior. What is your choice?

God bless!