It's the day of the crucifixion. Jesus has been betrayed and arrested. He's now on trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judaea. Proceeding are carrying on without a break from what happened at the end of John 18.

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.

The situation is very, very tense. Pilate knows that Jesus is completely innocent and wants to set him free. But at the same time he's nervous. There's a massive crowd of people gathered who are dead set against the Lord. They won't be satisfied with anything less than the killing of Jesus. And Pilate wants to please them. The last thing he wants is a riot.

Three things happen to the Lord in our passage...

i Jeered (v1-3)

In v1, Pilate has Jesus flogged.

This would have been terrible. Roman floggings involved a whip with leather strands. At the end of each strand there was a piece of bone or metal. A flogging would shred a man, reducing his back to pulp. Many victims didn't survive.

But a flogging wasn't just physically agonising. It was meant to humiliate the victim too. v2-3 show how the soldiers sought to humiliate our Lord. They dress him up like a king and then mock him mercilessly. They give him a crown of thorns and a purple robe.

There's irony here. The soldiers jeer at Jesus, saying, "Hail, O king of the Jews!" The irony is that he was the king of the Jews. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16 shows him as the victorious king, crowned with many crowns and dressed in a blood-spattered robe.

Those Roman soldiers didn't realise what they were doing. Can you imagine their shock when they stand before Christ at the end of time and see that the one they mocked so pitilessly is their king and their judge? Can you imagine the remorse they will feel for all eternity? What a terrible fate!

And yet, some people are like them today. They make jokes about Christ. They use his name as a swear word. They jeer at his followers. If that's been true of you, realise the enormity of what you've done. And then come to Christ, confessing your sin, trusting in him, following him. He is so gracious that he will forgive even sins committed directly and personally against him.

ii Justified

Three times in the passage, Jesus is justified. In other words, he is declared to be innocent.

The first time is in v4. Pilate says that there is no basis for a charge against him. He then has Jesus brought out in v5. He's hoping that the sight of this beaten, bleeding man will be enough to satisfy the blood-lust of the Jews, or at least to arouse their pity. But his plan fails dismally. In v6a, the chief priests and their men roar out "Crucify! Crucify!"

The chief priests are tragic figures. They had so many privileges as Jews. They so many privileges as chief priests. But here we find them brazenly committing the worst sin ever. They call for the death of an innocent man. They call for the death of their Messiah.

Again, there are some like them today. They are people who come to church and hear about Christ and listen to the gospel each week. But they reject him. Actually, their plight is worse than that of the soldiers. They know better. Repent now if you are guilty here.

Their shouting just makes Pilate declare Jesus innocent again in v6b. He starts to get a bit stroppy and sarcastic with the Jews. So they change tactics. In v7, they ask Pilate to uphold their Jewish laws. If they can't nail Jesus using Roman law, they'll try to get him under Jewish law. They say that he is worthy of death for blasphemy, because he claimed to be the Son of God.

Hearing this frightens Pilate. He doesn't want to be responsible for killing, as he sees it, a son of a god. In v8-9, he interrogates the Lord, but the Lord makes no reply. Pilate snaps in v10 and arrogantly asserts that he has the power either to free or to kill him.

Our Lord's reply in v11 is the third time in the passage where he is justified. This time he declares himself innocent. He also declares Pilate and the one who handed him over to him guilty. The verse teaches us two wonderful lessons.

The first lesson of v11 is to show us God's sovereignty and man's responsibility working together. Here's the sense of the verse with a few words added: "Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over Me if it [ie this turn of events, these circumstances], were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'"

Why, then, do Pilate and Jesus find themselves in their current situation? Because Jesus has been handed over to him by the Jews, and especially by Caiaphas, as John 18:28 shows. Caiaphas is responsible. But that's only half the story. Why do Pilate and Jesus find themselves in their current situation? Because this turn of events, these circumstances, have been given from above. In other words, God has decreed it.

So Caiaphas is responsible. And God is sovereign. Both work together. And both work together in such a way that God is not responsible for Caiaphas' sin, and Caiaphas does not wrench matters out of God's control. Acts 4:27-28 teaches this even more clearly.

It's important to hold these two truths together in your mind. You may never be able to reconcile them, but God can! It means that you are responsible for your actions. But it also means that when you go wrong, even when you sin, God is overruling for your good in his sovereignty. Never make that an excuse to sin.

The second lesson of v11 is another example of irony. Here is Jesus. He's there to be judged. But in this verse, he does the judging! He rules himself innocent and Pilate and Caiaphas guilty! Pilate saw himself as the most powerful man in Judaea. But the Lord turns the tables on him. Jesus is the judge, the governor. He is in control, even during those hours just before his death. Worship him for that.

iii Judged

Things are even more tense by v12. Pilate is more determined than ever to release Jesus. But then the Jews play a master-stroke against their governor. They bring the name of Tiberius Caesar into the equation. They say, as it were, "You'd better do this, Pilate, old son. If you don't get rid of this 'king', we'll make sure Tiberius hears about it..."

Pilate is more concerned about his own safety than about justice. So in v13-16, he condemns Jesus to death. The chief priests' words in v15 are unspeakably sad: "We have no king but Caesar." And they were right. They've surely rejected God as their king.

So Jesus is handed over to the soldiers. And why did he allow it? Because he loves people like you and me. He endured all we've read of today for us. He's about to endure the cross for us too. He did it all in love for us.

What is your response? How can you do anything other than love him with all your heart? Feed your soul with thoughts of what Christ went through. Let that fuel your love for him. Keep on looking by faith at the Lord Jesus Christ.