“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.’ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’ Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’” John 19:1-6a
For what crime was Jesus guilty and deserving of death? The chief priests and a majority of the Jewish council had determined He should die and arrested Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but then, after Jesus’ arrest, they met to come up with charges against Him and could not find any agreeing witnesses against Him.
When Jesus, placed under oath, admitted to being the Son of God and the promised Messiah, they considered Him guilty of blasphemy and deserving of death but needed a different charge in their attempts to convince Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to execute Jesus, so they said Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews and opposed paying taxes to Ceasar, contrary to Jesus’ own words (cf. Matt. 22:15-22; 26:63-66; Luke 23:1-2; John 18:33-38).
Yet, after examining Jesus, Pilate repeatedly said, “I find no fault in Him.” Jesus admitted to coming into the world to establish a spiritual kingdom made up of all who heard His words of truth and believed. But He was not seeking to overthrow Rome or establish a worldly kingdom. And Jesus’ admission that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, who would establish an everlasting kingdom and judge this world on the last day, was not blasphemy; He spoke the truth!
So, what was really going on when He was hated and condemned by His own people and rulers and then found innocent but still crucified by the Roman governor? The Old Testament Scriptures explain it.
In Isaiah 53:5-6, we read: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Jesus was not condemned and put to death for any fault in Him — He was, in fact, without sin and holy in His thoughts, desires, words, and deeds (cf. Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21). We, on the other hand, are like wayward sheep. Instead of hearing God’s Word and living according to His perfect will, we all go astray. We turn aside from following God, our true and faithful Shepherd, and go our own way and do our own thing.
But our gracious and merciful God, not desiring to condemn us, laid the guilt and condemnation of all our sins upon the holy and sinless Son of God and punished Him in our stead when He suffered and died on the cross so that we might look to Him in faith and obtain God’s mercy and pardon and receive, instead of eternal death and damnation, forgiveness for all our sins and eternal life in communion with our God and Maker.
Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had told Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews who became a disciple of Jesus: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
Though innocent and without sin, Jesus was condemned to die and lifted up on the cross so that you and I might acknowledge our wayward ways and look to Him and His sacrifice on the cross for mercy and forgiveness and receive, instead of the death and condemnation we deserve, the eternal joys of heaven.
Grant, O Lord, that I see Jesus’ innocence and look in faith to Him and His death on the cross as my substitute so that I may receive Your pardon, forgiveness, and eternal life in communion with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]