Pilate Washed his Hands

Of course, that is not found in the Luke account; rather, we get that from the book of Matthew. In looking at Luke 23:1-25, we see that Pilate was more than willing to free Jesus. He spoke up in the defense of Jesus. He lobbied for his release. In the Luke account of the trial of Jesus, Pilate acted as his only advocate and champion.

So, let us work back from the point where Pilate should have washed his hands but did not. In verse 25, Pilate finally relented and “delivered Jesus to their will.” 'Their' was comprised solely of the people who brought Jesus to Pilate and who stood as his accusers. More on that later.

Before Pilate relented, he said this in verse 22, “Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.” This was the third time that Pilate stood up for Jesus.

The second occasion of Pilate as the advocate for Jesus' innocence can be found in verse 20, “Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.” Judging by the reactions of the accusers to the appeals put forth by Pilate, said advocacy was no quiet and casual matter. I can see the Prefect having to raise his voice to be heard over the tumult of the crowd.

The initial instance of Pilate's advocacy for Jesus may be found in verses 14-16, “Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him.”

These three instances of advocacy were all accomplished after the return of Jesus from Herod. At that particular time, the celebration of the Passover, Herod, also being a Jew, was in Jerusalem. Herod had actively followed the news of Jesus. He had wanted to meet him for a long time; he wanted to see a miracle with his own eyes. When it was evident that no miracle was forthcoming, Herod and his soldiers mocked Jesus and dressed him in a 'gorgeous' robe and sent him back. The robe was a message. It had a meaning. My thought is that it had a political significance – as of royalty or high rank. It was an in-joke between two rulers that united them against the religious absurdities of Judaism.

The same group of men who led Jesus to Pilate led Jesus to Herod. They stood and accused Jesus to Herod as they had to Pilate. Movies might depict this multitude as a conglomeration of religious elite and common citizens. However, one must know that those in charge are not assailed by the common mob – that is not how it is done. Only those with business are allowed in. The accusers had business, and on that note, we should take a quick look at bureaucracy.

The tempo of the gospel accounts may give us a sense that events happen in quick succession, but it just doesn't happen like that. We are told that Jesus was whisked off to see Pilate – this is shortly after dawn. Let me ask this, how many of us have gone downtown to conduct business only to discover that some office is not yet open? So, we either have to sit in our cars and wait, or go do some shopping and come back later. Do you really think Pilate leaped from bed at the crack of dawn just to deal with Jews? I think he took his own sweet time, maybe had breakfast first, washed and took care of personal matters before opening to the public.

Before the three instances of advocacy, before the Herod interlude, say perhaps around nine in the morning, Jesus stood between the men who accused him and the Prefect of Rome. The initial accusations were made and Pilate questioned Jesus. Nine is still early for the ruling class, perhaps Pilate was a bit groggy. Having been accused of the serious crime of forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, Pilate casually asked about an assumed title.

“Art thou the King of the Jews?” Verse 3.

Jesus answered in the same verse, “Thou sayest it.”

Now, most people simply take that answer at face value, thinking that Jesus was saying something like, 'those are your words, not mine'. However, the accusation was not that of Pilate but the religious elite, insomuch that Jesus should have answered something more on the lines of 'they sayest it'.

Pilate's question may have actually been more familiar than we are want to think; Jesus response may have been just as familiar. Without any proof to back my assertion, I submit that the possibility Jesus and Pilate may have had previous conversations is real. Pilate knew exactly who Jesus was – everyone knew of Jesus; his fame had gone abroad from day one. Jesus was associated with the religious elite – that is a fact. They followed him everywhere, were all in his business, and quite often invited him into their company. As a ruler, it stands to reason that Pilate also traveled in some of the same circles.

This may seem wild, but, what if the response “Thou sayest it,” did not mean 'your words, not mine', but rather, meant something more like 'you said this might happen.'?

Finally, back to the multitude of accusers. We want to know who this multitude consisted of. In verse 1, we read, “And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.”

This was shortly after dawn when Jesus had been judged by the Sanhedrin. As we recall from Luke 22:66, “As soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council.” The Sanhedrin was a group whose number ranged between twenty-three and seventy-one members. This, along with the possible inclusion of those who arrested Jesus and some false witnesses were the only ones who stood as accusers before Pilate.