Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and taken to the high priest's palace where He was interrogated by Annas, the ex-high priest, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas the present high priest (verse 13) and still had great influence. It was while this interrogation was going on that Peter denied his Lord (verses 15-26). At dawn (verse 24) Jesus was hastily brought before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin Council for them to rubber stamp the decision already made that Jesus should be put to death. They didn't have the legal power to authorise the death penalty; only Pilate, the Roman governor, could do that, so still early in the morning they led Jesus to Pilate's palace to be judged and sentenced by him (verse 28).

The hypocritical Jewish leaders refused to enter the palace of a gentile in case they should become ceremonially unclean and not be able to continue to celebrate the Passover (verse 28). Pilate tried to avoid getting involved, but the Jewish leaders reminded him that he was the only one who could pass the death sentence. So Pilate was forced to deal with the case and in this way the words of Jesus (e.g. Matthew 20:19) were fulfilled. Pilate caved in to pressure and had Jesus crucified.

A. Pilate is one of the most tragic people in the New Testament
His story illustrates in a dramatic way what thousands of people do all the time. He rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. He rejected Christ even though he knew He was a special person.
   He was King, not of an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly one (verses 36-37).
   He had come into this world to tell men and women the truth about vital issues (verse 37).
2. He dismissed Christ even though he desperately needed Him.
   He was a thief. According to Josephus he had taken money from the temple treasury.
   He was a murderer (Luke 13:1).
   He was an idolator. Early in his governorship he had erected Roman emblems in the temple.
   He was totally unjust (verse 38).
   If ever a man needed to be forgiven and saved, Pilate did.
3. He rejected Jesus even when God tried to arrest him and make him think.
   Matthew 27:19 tells us how his wife had a startling dream just a few hours before.
4. He rejected Jesus in spite of his wife's appeal.
   Matthew 27:19. She appeals to him to "have nothing to do with [the condemnation of] that innocent man".
5. He rejected Christ in spite of what his conscience told him.
   It's obvious from verse 38 (see also 19:4,6) that Pilate's conscience told him to set Jesus free, but he went against his conscience. That is always a dangerous thing to do.

B. Why did Pilate do it?

1. Not because of his education and learning. What was intelligent about rejecting such a good person as Jesus and releasing a criminal like Barabbas? (verse 40)
2. Because he was afraid that he would lose his position and palace (19:12).
3. Because he was spiritually blind. He was an experienced, able man but he had no idea about the truth (verse 38, 2 Corinthians 4:4).

C. The outcome of rejecting Christ
Eventually, Pilate lost everything he had counted more important than Jesus.