In a plot to have Jesus put to death, the chief priests and elders brought Him before the Roman governor Pilate. After examining Him, Pilate found “no guilt in Him” (John 18:38) and knew that it was “because of envy they had handed Him over” (Matthew 27:18). Once he found out that Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God (John 19:7), he “made efforts to release Him” (John 19:12), but the mob demanded His death, such that Pilate was afraid they would turn violent.
“When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather a riot was starting he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves’” (Matthew 27:24).
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but refused to stand up to the mob that demanded His death. He washed his hands to signify that he was absolving himself of responsibility. If they wanted to kill Jesus, he would not participate, but neither would he intervene to deliver Him from them.Continue Reading
At the end of John’s first epistle, he mentioned two different kinds of sins – one that leads to death and one that does not lead to death. What was he talking about? Is there a certain class of sins that God permits or tolerates and, therefore, allows them to go unpunished? Or does John mean something else? Notice what he wrote:
