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Commentaries
English
John
  
13When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha.14Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!"15They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."16a Then he handed him over to them to be crucified…


Pilate was scornful of the Messianic hope held by Jews, and mocked their defiance of Rome and said, "You have accused Jesus who claimed kingship! Take up your powerless kingdom! You are like him, not deserving any attention!"
The Jews understood the point of this mockery, which turned their complaint against Jesus into contempt of his accusers. They cried together, "Take him to the cross, to shame, he is accursed! Crucify him!"
Brother, those who cried were pious according to their law, but had become blind, unable to recognize love incarnate and divine condescension, as well as God’s holiness fulfilled in Jesus. They hated him and wanted to do away with him. Neither bigotry, nor zeal will draw people to God; only love manifested in Jesus will open our eyes to his mercy and sacrifice.
Pilate vented his scorn on the furious Jews, and again called Jesus "King", bringing out the evidence that all the populace were resolved to kill Jesus. Pilate tried to find an excuse for his accusing conscience, but the howling mob was one in their aim to crucify Jesus. The voice of the people is not the voice of God, because they err often in their ambitions, and worldly drives, and Satan exploits these failings.
The priests were indignant at Pilate’s repeated mockery. They rejoined with a surprising declaration, "We have no king but Caesar." This in itself was hypocrisy. The priestly family feared the Messianic movements, as well as hating Herod the puppet king. They preferred Caesar, the guardian of Greek culture, with law and order in the land. They thus betrayed the Old Testament prophecies and all Messianic expectations. The Father of lies inspires his children. However, Jesus alone in the Court stood by the truth, hearing God’s voice in his conscience and holding fast to his integrity.
Eventually, Pilate passed the harsh sentence, driven by egoism, malice and deceit. The Son of God kept silence, relying on the guidance of his Father, who had allowed the governor to crucify his Son. By this unjust sentence, Jesus completed the reconciliation between God and Man. The evil spirits imagined they had won, but it was God’s plans that had become fulfilled, despite the deceitful machinations of the forces of hell.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, we bow to you; you are the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Grant us a merciful, truthful and upright heart. Help us not to use others as means for our benefits, and enable us to prefer death to deceit and compromise with evil.
Question
Why did Pilate pass judgment on Jesus?