Scripture: John 19:1-16
Video Link: https://youtu.be/aSyEdB_BGD0
Good morning everyone.
A fire station burns down, a police station gets robbed, a pilot who is afraid of heights. What word would we use to describe these three situations? [Wait] That’s right, irony.
Situational irony is when an event or situation is the opposite of what is expected. No one expects a fire station to burn down.
In the same vein, verbal irony is the use of words to mean the opposite of what is said. The name of one of Robin Hood’s merry men, Little John, is ironic because he is actually big in stature and big in heart.
This morning we continue our series for Lent looking at Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion and death. Today’s reading, which focuses on Jesus’ trial before the Roman governor Pilate, is full of irony. We don’t have time to read the whole account of Jesus’ trial, so let’s pick up the story from John 19, verse 1…
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
Let me give you a window on this passage. Imagine four panes of glass…
On the bottom left we have Pilate, the Roman governor, who (ironically) is acting out of fear and ignorance. That’s ironic because Pilate has the authority and power of the Roman empire behind him, yet he doesn’t know who Jesus is, nor does he have the courage to see that justice is done in this situation.
On the bottom right we have the Jewish priests who, like Pilate, are ignorant but, unlike Pilate, they are fearless. Again, it is ironic that Israel’s theologians are ignorant of who their own Messiah is.
On the top left we have the disciples who are informed as to who Jesus is but are fearful for their lives. We don’t read about the disciples in today’s passage because they are in hiding.
And then, on the top right we have Jesus who is both informed and fearless. Jesus knows who he is and he knows God’s purpose. Jesus is not afraid. He faces his trial with courage and calmness. Nevertheless, Jesus is not immune from the irony of the situation.
As we work our way through these verses, keep this window in mind.
Dramatic irony is when the audience can see the irony of the situation but the characters inside the story can’t. So dramatic irony is like a secret only the audience know. We are the audience and that puts us in a good position to see the irony of Jesus’ situation.
In John 18, Jesus stands trial before the Jewish high priests, Caiaphas and Annas. They struggle to find two witnesses to agree that Jesus has done anything wrong. Eventually, they trump up some charges of blasphemy which, under Jewish law, is a capital offense worthy of the death penalty by stoning.
But Israel is subject to Roman law, which means the chief priests can’t kill Jesus without getting permission from the Roman governor and so they hand Jesus over to Pilate asking him to execute Jesus.
Pilate interviews Jesus and finds no basis for a charge against him. It is clear to Pilate that Jesus is innocent. But when Pilate tries to release Jesus, the chief priests won’t let him. We see the dramatic irony of the tail wagging the dog.
In the opening verses of John 19 we read that Pilate had Jesus flogged. The soldiers heard that Jesus was accused of being the King of the Jews, and so they used sarcastic irony to mock Jesus.
They made a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Then they clothed him in a purple robe (purple being the colour of royalty) and said ‘Hail, king of the Jews’, striking him in the face. By mocking Israel’s king, the soldiers are mocking the nation of Israel as a whole.
Ironically, the Roman soldiers are like the Jewish priests, in that they are ignorant of who they are really dealing with. The dramatic irony, that we the audience can see, is that Jesus actually is a King, the King of heaven and earth.
You may be wondering, if Pilate thinks Jesus is innocent, then why did he have Jesus flogged?
Verses 4-5 indicate that Pilate had Jesus whipped as a strategy to get him released. Bringing Jesus out before the people, beaten, bruised, covered in blood and wearing a crown of thorns, demonstrates clearly to everyone that Jesus poses no real threat to the Roman empire. He can hardly be accused of treason.
Pilate presents Jesus saying, ‘Here is the man’. There is a deeper meaning to Pilate’s words here that the governor is not aware of. The Hebrew word for ‘man’ is Adam. Jesus is the new Adam. The new paradigm or model of what it means to be human.
The first Adam (back in Genesis) was created by God to be a king over the earth and all the creatures in it. Sadly, the first Adam sinned and failed to fulfill God’s original intention for him. [1]
But, in Christ, God’s intention for humanity is fulfilled. Jesus, the Son of Man, shows us what the image of God looks like. Jesus shows us how human beings are to rule over creation; by caring for it with love and wisdom.
Jesus is representative of humankind in another sense here too. The first Adam (and his descendants) committed treason against God Almighty. Now Jesus, the second Adam, (who is faithful and innocent) faces the accusation of treason. Jesus stands before the judgement seat in our place, to face the charges we are guilty of. [2]
You would think people would feel sorry for Jesus, seeing him in such a pitiful state. Ironically, the chief priests have no pity and shout ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ A priest with no pity is like a pub with no beer or a bakery with no bread.
Pilate repeats what he has been saying all along, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
Clearly, Pilate can see Jesus is innocent but, at the same time, he doesn’t want to deal with this. A governing official who won’t make a decision is like a car with no steering wheel or a boat with no rudder.
When (in verse 7) the chief priests say that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, Pilate becomes even more afraid. Pilate has been hamstrung by his fear all along but now his fear goes into overdrive. It is extremely difficult to make good decisions when you are afraid.
Ignorance only fuels fear. Knowledge of the facts helps to calm our fear. So Pilate asks Jesus where he comes from. ‘Son of God’ was a title the Emperors used for themselves. Maybe Pilate was afraid Jesus was somehow related to the Emperor.
Then again, as a pagan, Pilate may have simply been superstitious. People at that time believed the gods sometimes walked among them. If Jesus was supernatural, then Pilate may well have feared a reprisal from the gods.
In contrast to Pilate, who is panicking right at that minute, Jesus is completely calm and says nothing. This is not what Pilate might have expected. Normally the accused would be trembling in the dock and chaffing at the bit to defend themselves, but not Jesus.
Jesus’ courage comes from being informed. Jesus knows he is innocent and he knows God’s purpose is being worked out through these proceedings. Jesus, the King, submits to God’s will for him.
In frustration, Pilate says to Jesus…
10 “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
There’s some dramatic irony right there. Pilate is kidding himself if he thinks he can free Jesus. Clearly he wants to, but he hasn’t been able to.
Jesus’ answer is full of grace and truth, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Power is given and taken away by God. Pilate only has power because God has given it to him. There’s a humbling thought. Power comes in many forms. Knowledge, money, social influence, official positions of authority at work or in government. Whatever power we might hold is a gift from God. It is not ours as of right. It is only ours by the grace of God and for a limited time. How are we using the power entrusted to us?
Jesus goes on to explain that Caiaphas, the high priest, is responsible for handing him over and so Caiaphas is guilty of a greater sin. This doesn’t mean Pilate is off the hook altogether. He is still guilty of a lesser sin. But the grace and truth of Jesus’ words touch something in Pilate.
In a way that Pilate isn’t really expecting, Jesus, who has just been flogged and abused by Pilate’s soldiers, shows understanding of the difficult situation the governor finds himself in. Jesus turns the other cheek and loves his enemy. Pilate seems to appreciate the understanding Jesus has extended to him.
Despite Pilate’s efforts to set Jesus free, the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar…”
To be a friend of Caesar was like a formal title bestowed by the Emperor. Roman historical sources tell us that Pilate had become ‘a friend of Caesar’ through the good graces of an imperial official called Sejanus.
The emperor Tiberias was notoriously suspicious and killed his officials from to time to time. Sejanus had recently been killed in one such purge of the palace. This meant Pilate no longer had friends in high places to protect him. [3]
A word in the right ear in Rome and Pilate was a dead man. The Jewish leaders were essentially threatening Pilate with a bad report, one that could get him killed.
Pilate didn’t have a great track record as it was, so he found himself in the unenviable position of having to choose between political expediency and justice. Between saving his own skin and doing right by Jesus. Pilate chose to save his own skin.
It is significant that Pilate does not declare Jesus guilty. He simply says to the Jews, “Here is your king” and when the cry rings out, “Crucify him”, Pilate responds not with a judgement but with a question, “Shall I crucify your king?”
Pilate reflects the priests’ words back to them and avoids condemning Jesus, for he knows Jesus is innocent. It’s like Pilate is saying to the Jews, ‘these are your words, not mine’.
The condemnation of Jesus comes from the chief priests who answer by saying, “We have no king but Caesar”. This is incredibly ironic, especially when we consider it is not the crowd who are saying this. It is the chief priests themselves.
When Israel entered into a sacred covenant with God at Sinai, and the Lord gave them the ten commandments, the Israelites were basically saying, ‘Yahweh, from now on you are our King, we have no other’. So when the chief priests of Israel said, “We have no king but Caesar”, they were breaking Israel’s covenant with God. They were breaking faith with Yahweh.
The priests were supposed to encourage the people to remain faithful to the covenant. Caiaphas an co. did the opposite. They renounced God.
Some, through the past twenty centuries, have misused John 19 (and parallel passages from the other gospels) to stir up hate and aggression toward the Jewish race. This is utterly wrong, not to mention ironic.
Whether we agree with Israel’s politics or not, we should respect Jewish people because they are our brothers & sisters and because Jesus was Jewish. It is not fair or reasonable to condemn a whole race of people based on the bad behaviour of a few individuals 2000 years ago.
The high priests, in John 19, were religious fanatics. A religious fanatic is both fearless and ignorant (a dangerous combination). We need to steer well clear of fanaticism of any kind.
That means avoiding extremes. It means not becoming entrenched in an either / or, them verses us, mindset. It means cultivating the curiosity to find a new way of thinking about things. Getting some balance in your life. Spending time with Christians and non-Christians. Becoming comfortable with not having all the answers. Slowing down and listening. Getting your information from reliable sources.
Jesus is the man. Jesus is our King. He is our model, our pattern. We take our lead from him. Jesus did not seek to get even or take revenge on Caiaphas. Jesus was fearless in the face of condemnation and death, knowing God’s purpose would prevail. Jesus did not act out of ignorance but rather out of informed integrity.
We might not have the same clarity or courage or integrity as Jesus did. We are more often like the disciples who ran and hid. That’s okay. God’s grace is sufficient for us.
We are not likely to be crucified. But we are called to be living sacrifices, serving Christ day by day. That is our spiritual worship.
Let me finish with a poem titled ‘Irony’ by Eileen Duggan…
Not hawk, not leopard is ironic.
Believe me it needs mind
To see the moral wit of
Using kind on kind.
Some poor fellow for a pittance
Made the cross-bar sure
To hold another carpenter
On it for the poor.
Grace and peace to you this holy week.
The musicians will lead us in sung worship now as we prepare for communion.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- What is irony? Can you think of a situation of irony in your own life (either past or present)? What irony do we observe in John 19:1-16?
- Why does Pilate think Jesus is innocent? Why does Pilate have Jesus flogged? Why is Pilate so fearful?
- What feelings (or memories) are you in touch with as you read of Jesus’ abuse at the hands of the soldiers and the miscarriage of justice at the hands of Pilate?
- Discuss / reflect on the deeper meaning of Pilate’s words, “Here is the man”, in verse 5.
- What power has God given you? How are you using that power? Does anything need to change?
- How might we avoid religious fanaticism? How might we cultivate informed integrity in our own lives?
[1] Richardson quoted in Leon Morris’ NICNT ‘John’, page 702
[2] Bruce Milne, BST ‘John’, page 276
[3] Bruce Milne, BST ‘John’, page 272
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