Luke 23:1-5 1Then after arising, the whole assembly of them brought him before Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And answering he said to him, “You have said.” 4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for guilt in this man.” 5But they insisted, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee until here.”
This next chapter begins with a different kind of crowd than before. A crowd of disciples and believers welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem. A crowd of police arrested him in the garden. A now a crowd made up of the Sanhedrin took Jesus to the political leaders. Luke’s account again is brief, lacking some of the details found in the other Gospels. The point again is on the identity of Jesus and the Jews’ refusal to accept this identity.
The group brought Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the one person who had the authority to execute a person (John 18:31). Pilate was governor of Judea from 26-36. He may have been in Jerusalem at that time to make sure everything stayed under control. Not much is mentioned in history about Pilate, though there are scattered accounts in the histories of Josephus and Tacitus. Those accounts and what is found in the Gospels paint the picture of someone who wanted to maintain Roman control, even if it meant at times making the Jews angry. But he also would placate the Jewish leaders to keep the peace, as the story of Jesus’ trial indicates.
The Sanhedrin brought three accusations to Pilate against Jesus. Jesus was accused of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin, but before Pilate, he was accused of political insurrection. The Jews shifted from religious reasons to political reasons in their accusations. The first accusation was that Jesus was misleading (diastrephonta) the Jewish people. The word used here can have a strong sense of subverting, perverting, or distorting the beliefs or values of someone. The Jewish leaders felt threatened by the power and authority Jesus had. They believed their interpretation of God’s ways was correct, but they missed the most important elements of their own Scriptures. People flocked to Jesus because he spoke the truth that changed lives. Many of the leaders were hypocrites who looked religious but were empty inside.
Second, they accused Jesus of not paying tribute to Caesar. The tribute here most likely refers to taxes. Jesus already made clear in 20:20-26 that his followers should pay their taxes to Caesar, so the Jewish leaders are clearly wrong here. They were trying to pit Jesus against the Romans and have him charged for insurrection.
The third accusation was that Jesus claimed to be King, which would have been a direct threat to Roman control. The Jews did have at least one item correct in their connection of the Messiah to kingship just, however, their idea of a messianic king was wrong because they were thinking in political power, and the kingdom Jesus brought was a spiritual one. The Jews had once again misinterpreted, perhaps on purpose, the mission and message of Jesus. Only the Romans could appoint the kings of they conquered lands. If Jesus claimed to be king, this was another form of insurrection.
The Jews seemed to have a solid case against Jesus worthy of execution. Pilate was a savvy leader. It is likely that he had heard of Jesus and was keeping his eye on things. Someone who drew crowds of thousands would be on the radar of any political leader, especially a Roman governor. What caught Pilate’s attention was the accusation of Jesus being a king. The first two accusations could easily be dismissed as political chatter, but the third could be serious. Luke makes the account brief and to the point, focusing on Jesus’ identity as King. When Pilate asked his question, Jesus turned it around to indicate that Pilate affirmed Jesus’ kingship.
More must have gone on than just one question for Pilate to find nothing wrong with Jesus, but Luke was not concerned about the fine details of a court scene. The truth of Jesus’ presence was powerful and convincing enough that even the Roman governor had a sense of awe and uncertainty. The typically strong and ruthless leader crumbled under the authority of the King of kings. The Jews, however, would not give up so easily. They had connived and worked hard to get rid of Jesus. They expanded their appeal to merge the first and last accusations and show how extensive Jesus’ bad influence had gone. People all over, from the north in Gilalee to the south in Judea, had heard about him. His influence had even gone to the capital city of Jerusalem. Something had to be done. To what lengths to people go to reject Jesus when the truth is right before them?
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