SUBJECT TO ROMAN LAW

JOHN 18:25–32

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled …

(John 18:28).

Having completed His trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus is hurried off to Pilate so the death penalty could be enacted. The Jews did not have the power to execute a criminal. They could make a judgment, but that was all. The scepter had truly gone out from Judah, and only the Romans could finish what the Jews had started. So they appealed to the governor. The hypocrisy of the Jews was always present as they mixed their wicked scheming with religious pomp. They ripped their judicial law to shreds in order to bring Jesus to their sort of “justice,” but they refused to set foot in Pilate’s Praetorium because they might become defiled! They had no problem with moral defilement, but ceremonial defilement was another matter. It is ironic that He who fulfilled all ceremonial laws, who alone could make that which was unclean clean, was treated like a malefactor, an “evil-doer,” whom the Jews thought deserved to be crucified at the hands of the Romans.

And who would be the final authority to make this decision? The answer is two-fold. As far as Roman law was concerned, Pilate had to make that decision. A man who was known for his cruelty, who had no love for the Jews, and who was a man-pleaser would judge the King of Heaven! And even though Pilate did everything he could to get rid of the case, in the end, he did what was most convenient for himself. At first, he didn’t want anything to do with Jewish affairs, but when he saw his position threatened in the smallest degree, he surrendered.

But notice that we said the answer is two-fold. Even though Pilate was the ruling authority, John makes it clear that God Himself was in control of everything. Verse 32 says all this occurred so “that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.” Before Pilate became governor, or was even born, God had ordained that he would be the instrument through which grace and mercy would be realized. Jesus would become a curse and would be crucified—a type of execution carried out by the Romans, not the Jews. God ordained every detail so that His Son would be condemned by a Gentile, and by His death men from every nation would be set free.

CORAM DEO

Isaiah 41–42

Colossians 1

Read Acts 4:23–30. How do these verses show God’s sovereignty in the trial of Jesus? Do you ever doubt that God is in control when you are subject to the whims and schemes of powerful men? Take some time today to meditate on Psalm 2. Find comfort in the control God has over the actions of others.

For further study: Matt. 27:1–10 • Mark 15:1–5 • Luke 23:1–5

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