John 19:1-16
In mockery the soldiers put on the Lord Jesus a purple robe and a crown of thorns. And it is when He is dressed like this that Pilate chooses to present Him to the people, saying, "Behold the man!"
"Crucify him, crucify him," the chief priests reply angrily. And they put forward a new reason – He has blasphemed; He made Himself the Son of God. But this upsets Pilate yet again. It is not only a king but a God who could be before him (vv. 7, 8). In order to reassure himself, Pilate speaks of his power; but the Lord Jesus puts him in his true place. This pagan magistrate learns, certainly for the first time, by what authority he holds his position: not from Caesar as he had thought, but "from above" (v. 11; Romans 13:1). Feeling from now on that he has no hold over this extraordinary defendant and that His case is quite beyond him, he would really like to release Him. But the Jews will not hear of it and make use of one last argument, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend." But in spite of the warning he has received (v. 11), the governor seeks to please and to obey man rather than God. Fearing both the resentment of the Jews and the blame of his overlord, he deliberately sacrifices the innocent Man.