John 16:1-11
The Work of the Holy Spirit
John 16:12-22
The Transformation of Pain to Joy
John 16:23-28
Understanding God’s Word and Applying It
John 16:29-33
Jesus has Overcome the World
John 17:1-13
Jesus’ Prayer For His Glorification
John 17:14-19
Jesus’ Prayer for His Disciples
John 17:20-26
Jesus’ Prayer for Unity of Believers
John 18:1-14
Jesus’ Betrayal by Judas
John 18:15-27
Trial Before Annas
John 18:28-40
Pilate’s Compromise
John 18:38-40
Pilate’s Compromise
John 19:7-16
Pilate Gives In Under Pressure
John 19:12-22
Jesus is Crucified
John 19:23-30
Fulfilment of Prophecy
John 19:31-42
The Burial of Jesus
John 20:1-10
The Resurrection of Jesus
John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene Returns to the Tomb
John 20:19-23
Jesus Gives Peace
John 20:24-31
Thomas Sees Jesus and Believes
John 21:1-8
Revelation by the Sea
Pilate Gives In Under Pressure
John 19:7–16
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The Hope College women’s basketball team had made it to the national playoffs. The final game saw Hope 20 points behind with 10 minutes left to play. The team remained calm and began to narrow the gap. Then with just 5 seconds remaining, a 3 point basket tied the game. The final … More
As Pilate refuses to execute Jesus, the Jewish leaders continue to bring group pressure and display their hatred toward Him and shout for His death. According to Roman law, Jesus was innocent but the Jews now appeal to their law (vv. 7-8). They say that since Christ has claimed to be God, He should die by Jewish law (Lev. 24:16). When Pilate hears that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God he becomes afraid (v. 8). He had already been warned by his wife that he should have nothing to do with Jesus (Matt. 27:19) because of a dream she had. Pilate then asks the question, “Where do you come from?” (v. 9). When Jesus doesn’t answer, Pilate says to Him, “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?” (v. 10). It was at this point that Jesus reminded Pilate that his so-called authority was only delegated to him from God (v. 11). Fear and anger often go together. When we are afraid we are weak we often go to the other extreme and try to appear strong. This is what Pilate did as he reminded Jesus of his Roman authority.
Becoming even more fearful and realizing that Jesus is innocent, Pilate again attempts to release Him (v. 12). With this the crowd starts to accuse Pilate of being a traitor to Caesar. He knows that if the Jews contact Caesar and tell him that Pilate has released a man who threatens Roman authority, he could be accused of treason and killed. No doubt, Pilate also had plenty to cover up and did not want an unfavorable report to go to his boss. If he had to choose between his loyalty to Rome or protecting a despised Jew there was no question about which way he would go. It was Pilate who was on trial. It was under this kind of pressure that Pilate gives in to the crowd and turns Jesus over to them to be crucified (vv. 13-16).
Application
When have I been under pressures that have caused me to make decisions that I knew in my own heart were not right? What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?
John 19:7-16 (English Standard Version)
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