Swindoll Study Bible - Book of John - Flipbook - Page 50
1311
J ohn 1 9 : 2 1
He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 But one of the household slaves of the high
priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut
off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive
grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
28 Jesus’
trial before Caiaphas ended in the early
hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the
headquarters of the Roman governor.* His accusers
didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and
they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.
29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked,
“What is your charge against this man?”
30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he
weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own
law,” Pilate told them.
“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled
Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.*)
33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters
and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you
the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did
others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people
and their leading priests brought you to me for trial.
Why? What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly
kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep
me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But
my Kingdom is not of this world.”
37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was
born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All
who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out
again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of
any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to
release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you
like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We
want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-
19
tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of
thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple
2
robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked,
as they slapped him across the face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people,
“I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus
came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”
6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple
guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said.
“I find him not guilty.”
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in
Hebrew, Golgotha). 18There they nailed him to the cross.
Two others were crucified with him, one on either side,
with Jesus between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign
on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth,* the King of
the Jews.” 20 The place where Jesus was crucified was
near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin,
and Greek, so that many people could read it.
21 Then the leading priests objected and said to
Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He
said, I am King of the Jews.’”
18:28 Greek to the Praetorium; also in 18:33. 18:32 See John 12:32-33.
19:9 Greek the Praetorium. 19:12 “Friend of Caesar” is a technical term that
refers to an ally of the emperor. 19:14 Greek Jewish people; also in 19:20.
19:19 Or Jesus the Nazarene.
HERE IS THE MAN John 19:5 All the way through
the Gospels, it’s as if the Word of God has been telling us,
“Here is the man!” Here is the man in Bethlehem, where
He was born. Here is the man in Nazareth, where He was
reared. Here is the man in Galilee, choosing His disciples
and preaching His early messages. Here is the man at
the Last Supper in Jerusalem with His eleven faithful on
that final night. Here is the man in Gethsemane, praying, “If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken
away from me” (Matt. 26:39). Here is the man after the
flogging. And here is the man at Golgotha on the cross,
suffering and finally committing Himself to the Father’s
hands. All throughout, the Word of God points to Jesus.
LIVING INSIGHTS
Jesus Sentenced to Death
7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought
to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened
than ever. 9He took Jesus back into the headquarters*
again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But
Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t you talk to me?”
Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the
power to release you or crucify you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over
me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the
one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish
leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no
‘friend of Caesar.’* Anyone who declares himself a
king is a rebel against Caesar.”
13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to
them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment
seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement
(in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon on
the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate
said to the people,* “Look, here is your king!”
15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him!
Crucify him!”
“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests
shouted back.
16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be
crucified.
