DELAYED VERDICT AT THE JUDGE’S SEAT

JOHN 18:29–19:16

Pilate was well aware that Jesus was a threat to Caiaphas and the other chief priests, and he was willing to entertain their request to kill Jesus. As the Roman procurator, however, Pilate was mindful of the importance of protecting his own hold on power. So Pilate set up his judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement on behalf of Rome, yet when he did so he delayed Caiaphas’s request for a reason. A hasty and premature act could place Pilate in a weak position, so he used the proceedings to determine what could be gained from Caiaphas before acting on Caiaphas’s demand.32

The precise location for the Stone Pavement is still somewhat uncertain, but more important than where it might have been located is what it represented. As an imperial procurator, Pilate was a man of power whose judgment seat represented the power of Rome. When the accused stood before him, it was as if the defendant was standing before the emperor himself. Pilate’s verdict could be overturned only by the Roman emperor, so when he informed Jesus that he had the power to release or convict him, Jesus knew that was true because of Pilate’s authority within Rome’s judicial system (John 19:10).

Fourteenth-century marble depiction of the scourging of Jesus.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Musée du Louvre; Autorisation de photographer et de filmer—LOUVRE.

Jerusalem model depicting the northern end of the Herodian palace, where Pilate set up his judge’s seat.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Reproduction of the City of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple. (See full credit on page 4.)

Yet Pilate was vulnerable because a long record of abuses of power had compromised this powerful man in this powerful place.33 As a result, what he feared more than anything else was the prospect of Jewish citizens traveling to Rome and reporting the wide array of misconduct that attended his stay in office. Just such an embassy had been organized earlier. The Roman Jewish historian Philo summarizes what it meant to Pilate: “It was this final point which particularly exasperated him, for he feared that if they actually sent an embassy they would also expose the rest of his conduct as governor by stating in full the briberies, the insults, the robberies, the outrages and wanton injuries, the executions without trial constantly repeated, the ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty.”34 Later, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, such a delegation was sent by the Samaritans to Rome in order to deal with Pilate’s debauchery. As a result, Pilate was recalled to Rome.35

Now for Pilate, the judge’s seat set on the Stone Pavement had only the appearance of power. He could ill afford to make a decision regarding Jesus that would cause him to lose his political position. Therefore, Pilate considered his options: instruct Caiaphas to kill Jesus (John 18:28–31); permit Herod Antipas to kill Jesus (Luke 23:6–12); or set Jesus free (Luke 23:13–22). When Pilate decided to let Jesus go, the crowd of chief priests and elders shouted, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.” In response to this threat Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” In error the chief priests had earlier charged the Son of God with blasphemy (Matt. 26:63–66). Now these same men committed blasphemy as they proclaimed, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

With these words the high priests rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and submitted to direct imperial cult by making the Roman emperor their god.36 So there before the judgment seat of Rome on the Stone Pavement, Pilate heard the words that allowed him to kill Jesus and not worry about any political fallout.

Aerial view looking east of the towers located at the northern portion of Herod’s palace, which later became Pontius Pilate’s Jerusalem residence.