Read Luke 23:1-12

1Then their whole assembly rose up and brought him before Pilate. 2They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.” 3So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 4Pilate then told the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds for charging this man.” 5But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he started even to here.” 6When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. 7Finding that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days. 8Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see him because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by him. 9So he kept asking him questions, but Jesus did not answer him. 10The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11Then Herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt, mocked him, dressed him in bright clothing, and sent him back to Pilate. 12That very day Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously, they had been enemies.

Reflect

The Jews in the time of Jesus had no power to carry out the death sentence. Such a sentence had to be passed by the Roman governor and carried out by Roman authorities. It was for that reason that the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate.

When standing before Pilate, that charge was never mentioned. They knew well that it would have carried no weight with him, and that he would never have proceeded on a charge that would have seemed to him a matter of Jewish religion and superstition. The charge they leveled against Jesus was entirely political, and it has all the marks of the minds and creativeness of the Sadducees. It was really the aristocratic, collaborationist Sadducees who achieved the crucifixion of Jesus, in their terror lest He should prove troublesome and produce a situation in which they would lose their wealth. Their charge made before Pilate was really threefold. They charged Jesus (a) with stirring up people with his teachings; (b) with opposing of taxes to Caesar; (c) with assuming the title “King”. Every single item of the charge was a lie, and they knew it. They resorted to the most calculated and malicious lies in their desire to eliminate Jesus.

Questions

Have you ever experienced people spreading untruthful things about you?

Just think what Jesus must have experienced by the charges brought against Him. How did you handle such an experience?