To Encourage You

John 19:1 “Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.”

Often the Lord uses similes and metaphors to teach us in His Word.  For example, He tells us He’s like a Great Shepherd, a Great Physician, and a protector who wants to shelter His people like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.  However, God also teaches us with striking contrasts.  One example of this is found in John 19. The contrast here is between the Judean governor Pilate and the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Pilate punished Jesus with flogging and then execution, although in Jesus he could find no guilt. In contrast, Jesus withheld punishment from those who unjustly punished Him and even prayed for them, saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Pilate controlled those under his authority by having his servants striking and physically punishing those he ruled over.  Jesus had all authority given to Him in Heaven and earth by His Father (Matthew 28:18), yet He told His servants, like Peter, to put away their swords and not to fight for His ultimate kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). During Jesus’ trial, Pilate, although he was the one judging Jesus, was plagued with fear.  He feared the crowd, he feared Caesar, and he even feared Christ (John 19:8).  Jesus, on the other hand, although He was fully aware of the torture and death that awaited Him, was in total control of His own emotions, and His answers to Pilate during His inquisition reflected total peace and the absence of fear.  Pilate, although seemingly in control of the situation, found that he actually had no control.  He found himself backed into a corner, thereby condemning Jesus to death all the while looking for ways to release Him (John 19:12).  By contrast, although Jesus appeared to be in total subjection to Pilate and the Jewish mob, He was actually in sovereign control over His own trial and death, as He directed the events so that they fulfilled the prophesies of both the Old Testament and His own words in the most minute detail.  And finally, Pilate, when faced with the guilt of condemning the innocent Jesus, tried in vain to pass that guilt onto others and wash his hands of his own culpability.  Jesus, by contrast, the innocent and pure Lamb of God, willingly bore the guilt of the sin of the whole world. 

The many vile aspects of Pilate’s character give us insight into why he was despised and hated by those under his authority.  Jesus, by contrast, is loved by those who have submitted themselves to His authority – and no wonder, for there was never a greater, more righteous, and more loving king.