Day 20 – I Find No Fault with This Man (Friday morning of Passion Week)

Mark 15:1-5; Matthew 27:2, 11-14; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-38

Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here” (Luke 23:1-5).

Pilate is known to have been appointed procurator (i.e., Roman governor) of the province of Judea, by the Emperor Tiberius, and served for 10 years, from A.D. 26 to 36. The Sanhedrin led Jesus away to Pilate and they were very astute in finding a way to play upon Pilate’s fear of losing his favored status with Rome. First, Jesus is accused of telling his followers not to pay taxes, which was totally untrue.

On a previous occasion, recorded in Mark 12:13-17, Jesus was asked about paying taxes: “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, ‘Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or shouldn’t we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ And they were amazed at him.”

The religious leaders were hoping to trap Jesus with this question. Jewish zealots refused to pay taxes to Caesar because that would be acknowledging his right to rule over them. The Pharisees didn’t like to pay taxes, but they went along with it. The Herodians, representing Jews loyal to Rome, were okay with paying taxes.

Jesus had the perfect response: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Certainly Pilate and other Roman leaders wouldn’t be upset with that advice!

The other accusation was that Jesus was “stirring up” the people, and this would have been a big concern if it were true. Large crowds had come to hear Jesus speak and a big group of people gathered to honor him at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. However, Jesus was never guilty of inciting people to harm the Jewish establishment or the Romans.

Pilate concluded, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” It’s interesting to note that various people involved in this final week proclaimed Jesus’ innocence. Pilate said it here. Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver to the religious leaders and proclaimed, “I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Later on, one of the men crucified with Jesus said, “This man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41), and the Roman centurion standing at the foot of the cross said, “Surely this was a
righteous man” (Luke 23:47). The apostles Peter and John also spoke of his sinlessness (1 Peter 2:21-22; 1 John 3:5).

Jesus’ friends and his enemies both agreed that he was an innocent man unjustly condemned to die. Isn’t it amazing that the one who never sinned bore the punishment for our sins? Even today, he imparts his righteousness to all who believe!

Prayer

Jesus, you are the only sinless one who ever lived, and in light of your holiness, we can see ourselves more clearly. We acknowledge that we couldn’t save ourselves; we needed you to come and rescue us. Thanks for showing us how to live and being willing to bear the punishment that we deserve on the cross.

Question

Think back to what was going on in your life when you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. What did he save you from or deliver you out of?

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