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There’s no question that the problems we face in Eastern Europe present a big problem for our nation and the nations of the world. A large military force has invaded a smaller country and threatens several others. It’s just these sorts of situations that the prophets of the Old Testament faced. Much of their message is given in the context of an imperial power threating to invade and then actually invading the smaller and less powerful countries around them.
What the prophets saw was that God was not going to let this go on forever. He would come in power and glory to judge the nations. The problem, though, was that when God called the world to account, how could anyone survive? Yes, Assyria, the predatory imperial power of the day was going to face judgment, but, when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he said, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips and live amongst a people of unclean lips” (Is. 6:5).
Our own conscience bears witness that we must give an account to God. We will have to answer the question, have we done all that God has asked of us? Have we done what God has forbidden us? In this world, we may compare ourselves to others and feel good about ourselves, but when we come before the throne of God all our games will be put aside, and we will deal with the absolutely holy God whose glory fills the universe.
Then, we will have to admit, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!” How can I survive the judgment of God and not be condemned and punished?
That is the key question of our existence, and that is the question to which our text gives the answer.
Jesus Before the Priests of His People
Jesus was going to be judged. The first people to judge Him, though, were not the civil authorities. They would be the religious leaders of His people. “The chief priest and the teachers of the law” oversaw certain aspects of life in Israel. They were the ones who had arrested Jesus, and they were the ones who would judge His people now.
Do you like to be judged? People can get very sensitive about this. Often, people feel judged in church. If you have never experienced court, it’s judgment on a whole different level. It’s serious and stern. It’s not something that you want to experience. Yet this is what Jesus was going to experience throughout this whole day. He was going to be set in front of everyone and judged for what He had done.
When the council of the elders met, they were supposed to have two meetings before they condemned anyone to death. What Luke records is likely the second meeting, the first meeting having occurred the night before, as recorded in Matthew. The question that is asked of Jesus is designed not to find the truth but to trap Him. It is a good question to ask of Jesus, are you the Messiah? But in this case it is with malicious design.
In addition, the Jews generally thought of the Messiah more in political terms than spiritual ones. Christians can sometimes make the opposite error, as if Jesus were only a “spiritual” Savior, separate from the rest of life, including politics. But the Jews often thought of the Messiah as merely a political liberator. As a result, for Jesus to answer this question directly would give the wrong impression.
So, Jesus challenges them. He says, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer” (Luke 22:67–68b). Jesus had already challenged them. You can read this in Luke 20. They didn’t answer Him. They wouldn’t answer Him here. So, Jesus doesn’t give a simple “yes” or “no” to their question. He could not say “yes” to their nationalistic expectation. He also could not simply say “no” to being the Christ because He was and is that. So, what He did was to clarify their expectation. He pointed them to the much more exalted vision of the Messiah that is in the prophets. “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God” (v. 68). This is taken from Daniel 7:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (vv. 13–14).
This is the exalted vision of the Messiah that the prophets had, but which many of the people had missed.
However, once they heard this declaration from Jesus, they asked him if he was actually the Son of God. “Are you the Son of God?” They said.
He responded with an affirmative. “You have said it” (Luke 22:70).
They concluded that he should be condemned. “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips” (v. 71).
There was only one problem. They had no authority to put anyone to death. Only the Roman governor could do that. So, that’s where they went.
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
Recall that in the Apostle’s Creed, we confess that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” It is a rather astonishing thing that the church’s universal confession of faith in the triune God and the works of Jesus includes the name of a minor governor in the Roman Empire. It is as if we said that in the future, every time we confess our faith in the triune God, we would include the name of the Tennessee Governor, Bill Lee, in the confession. Unfathomable, really. To get the depth of this, consider. How many other governors of the Roman Empire can you name? How many American governors from the 18th century can you name? It’s not something that generally sticks in our mind. However, Pontius Pilate is one governor that has become world famous or rather infamous, as we shall.
Pontius Pilate was the governor of the Roman province of Judea at this time, and he lived in Jerusalem. If they were going to put Jesus to death, Pilate would have to sentence Him. Now, they knew that Pilate wouldn’t care if Jesus had blasphemed, so they shape their accusation in terms that Pilate would appreciate, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king” (23:2). This is rather amazing. These were not people who were strongly pro-Rome. They would have rather not have had Roman government. However, they present themselves as people who are concerned about preserving Rome’s government. It’s the height of hypocrisy.
Pilate spoke to Jesus and asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (23:3).
Jesus responded, “You have said so” (ibid.) Again, this means that Jesus is affirming what the person was asking.
Pilate considered the issue and responded, “I find no basis for a charge against this man” (23:4). Note this very carefully. Pilate was declaring that Jesus was innocent of the charges. From that point on, He was seeking a way to release Jesus or, at least, not to be responsible for His death. Some of this might have come from an awareness that many viewed Jesus favorably, and He likely did not want to create a disturbance with himself as the object of the crowd’s vengeance.
The chief priests and elders did not give up so easily. They said, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here” (v. 5). On hearing this, Pilate saw a way out. He realized Jesus was a Galilean and that Herod was the governor of that area. So, he sent Jesus to Herod, who happened to be in Jerusalem.
Herod was very excited because he had been wanting to see Jesus for some time. He wanted to see a sign or some sort of trick from Jesus. Herod tried to figure out what was going on, but Jesus said nothing. At the same time, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him” (Luke 23:9). At that point, Herod and his men began to mock Jesus. They then sent him back to Pilate with an elegant robe, ridiculing His claim to be king. Luke adds an interesting twist. Working together on this case produced a friendship between Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before.
Jesus Justified and Condemned
They returned Jesus to Pilate. There, Pilate declared Jesus innocent. He justified him. To justify is the opposite of to condemn. To justify is to declare innocent or in the right. To condemn is to declare guilty or in the wrong. Listen to what Pilate said to them, “I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death” (Luke 23:14–15). So, note very carefully here that Jesus was actually acquitted or justified by the civil authorities.
To understand what happens next, we need the background in Matthew and Mark. During the Passover, Pilate had a custom of releasing a prisoner to them. So, Pilate wanted to release Jesus. However, the crowd would not have it. They already had a plan. They would have someone else released, a prisoner named Barabbas. Here is the irony. They said they wanted Jesus to be executed because Jesus opposed the Roman government, which He hadn’t. Barabbas, on the other hand, actually was a person who had sought to overthrow the Roman government! He was also a murderer. “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (v. 19).
Pilate, however, wanted to release Jesus. This was still his goal because he knew that Jesus was an innocent man. But they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (v. 21).
Pilate responded again, “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty” (v. 22).
But the crowd kept shouting all the more. The result was that Pilate gave into their demand. He shamefully condemned a man who, by his own confession, was an innocent man. One of the great creeds of the Reformation, The Heidelberg Catechism, gives a full explanation of the Apostle’s Creed. It asks, “Why did he suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as judge? A. So that he, though innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge, and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us” (Q/A 38). The sentence of Pontius Pilate reflects the decree of heaven. The decree of heaven was that the innocent Jesus should suffer. Why? Not for His owns sins because He had none, but for ours! It was the “severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.” As the Apostle Paul put it, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
This is powerfully depicted in the final verse of our passage. “He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25). Barabbas, the guilty, went free, and Jesus, the innocent, was condemned.
Conclusion
And that is the whole Gospel right there. We are those who have sinned. We are the people of unclean lips. We are the people who have to say, “Woe is me!” And . . . we are declared righteous! We are justified! Why? Because Jesus was condemned. He was condemned so that we might never be condemned. He was sentenced to death so that our sentence of death might be suspended and reversed. He was not declared righteous so that we might be declared perfectly righteous before the throne of God. That is the meaning of this passage.
So, my question for you is this. Is Jesus your substitute? Have you said to Jesus, “I can’t stand before God in my sin. You stand in my place. I would be condemned. I can only be freed if You take the punishment for me.”? We have to entrust ourselves to Jesus. We do not get this gift of justification automatically. We only get it if we accept it. If God calls you before Him tonight, will you stand there alone in your sin? Or, will Jesus be standing there on your behalf? That’s the choice you have. That’s the question each one of us has to answer.
But to those who have answered “yes” to Jesus by the grace of God, for faith is also a gift, I say to you that there is now no condemnation for you. You will never hear God say, “You are guilty and condemned.” Jesus’ condemnation is enough. The only verdict you will hear is “righteous, righteous, righteous,” because of what Jesus has done. That is the meaning of justification by faith alone.
There is no work of the believer that is completely perfect or untainted by sin. However, sometimes we do things that particularly make us feel our guilt. A while back, I had done one of those things. I had sinned. Yes, pastors sin. One thing we can do when feel the weight of sin is to speak about it to a friend. That’s what I did. I remember after I told him, he said to me. “Your sins are forgiven. It’s over. God won’t ever bring it up.” What my friend declared is the sentence of heaven. Those who have Christ as their substitute have the answer to the biggest of life’s dilemmas. How can sinful man stand before a holy God? The answer? Christ was condemned so that we won’t ever have to be. We will only be justified. When we go before our Father in heaven, we won’t face the sternness and severity of a judge. We will experience the loving welcome of the Father who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all and will not fail to give us all other things as well. Hallelujah! Amen.
Benediction: