Shamed and Humiliated

Trial Before Herod

Pilate must've breathed a sight of relief as he watched the crowd lead Jesus out of his courtyard. He probably thought he dodged a bullet by deferring this trial to Herod's judgement. Up to this point, Herod and Pilate didn't really like each other...and so it didn't really bother Pilate to pass this difficult situation off on him.

Herod, on the other hand, was excited to see Jesus. He had heard all about this great Teacher and all the miracles that He did. In fact, Herod had been convinced for a long time that Jesus was actually a resurrected John the Baptist. The fact that this Man was on His way to Herod's palace meant that he could witness Jesus' power first-hand.

Unlike the trial before the Jewish leaders (which was concerned with violations of Jewish law) and the trial before Pilate (which was concerned with threats to Roman authority), there wasn't really any legal issues discussed by King Herod. Sure, the Jewish leaders recited their list of charges against Jesus...but Herod wasn't interested in any of that. All he wanted was to see Jesus do something spectacular. Herod asked Jesus a lot of questions - probably aimed at who He was and how He could do the things He was famous for - but Jesus didn't say a word.

However long the trial lasted, Jesus was silent through the whole thing. No matter the question from Herod, and no matter the accusations by the elders, Jesus didn't say anything at all. Eventually, Herod began to mock Jesus as if He were just a silent fool. Herod put one of his own royal robes on Jesus to make light of the "King of the Jews" accusation. After this, he sent Him back to Pilate.

Getting More Serious

While Jesus was over at Herod's palace, Pilate received a message from home. His wife found out that Jesus was on trial before Pilate and was begging him to stay out of the whole thing. She wrote, "Do not have anything to do with that Man- He's innocent! Last night I had a terrible dream about Him...warning us to leave Him alone!"

If you remember, Pilate had already figured out that Jesus hadn't done anything wrong...and this conclusion was only made stronger by his wife's message. It looked like he was being divinely warned to leave Jesus alone. So after reading his wife's message, he must've been glad that Jesus' fate was no longer his decision to make...or so he thought.

But before long, there was a commotion outside his palace again. Jesus had been paraded through town over to Herod's home, and then paraded back through town (now wearing a kingly robe) to the Roman fortress. Obviously, this would've attracted a lot of attention...and there was a lot more people involved in this trial now. Pilate's heart must've sank as he saw this much larger crowd - now numbering in the thousands - bringing Jesus back into his courtyard. 

Trial Before Pilate (Part 2)

When Pilate realized that Herod didn't make any decision about Jesus, he had another idea to avoid making a decision. If he could steer the Jews toward letting Jesus go, then he wouldn't have to announce a verdict. So he worked to set up an obvious choice for them.

The Roman governor of Jerusalem had a custom during the Passover feast. As a way to keep the Jewish people happy, Rome would allow the people to select a prisoner to be released. Typically, these prisoners were people who had broken a minor Roman law - people that the Jews didn't believe should be imprisoned. This custom was similar to a presidential pardon...a way for someone to be set free when they technically broke the law, but didn't deserve the punishment.

Using this custom, Pilate offered the people a choice. He brought out the absolute worst criminal they had at the time - a man named Barabbas. This was a man who was rightfully imprisoned...and was actually on death row. He was a rioter and an insurrectionist against Rome. During his rebellion, Barabbas murdered at least one person, and then was arrested. Obviously, no sane human being would want this man out on the street again.

This was the man that Pilate stood beside Jesus. He was confident that everyone in the crowd knew Jesus was innocent. He was sure the people would make the obvious choice; he was sure they would agree to let Jesus go.

Pilate declared, "You know the custom. I have to set one of these men free today. Which one of these do you want on your streets, Jesus or Barabbas?"

Without even a moment's hesitation, the crowd cried out, "Release Barabbas!"

Pilate was shocked. "What?! Then what do you want me to do with this Man?"

"Crucify Him!"

"Why? We haven't found any reason to kill Him!"

But the crowd only grew more frantic. They got louder and louder as they insisted that Jesus be crucified.

Pilate's solution backfired on him. Not only was the crowd still insisting that an innocent man be killed, but now he was faced with the possibility of having to set a hardened criminal free - an unrepentant murderer that wanted Roman rule to be overthrown. I'm sure he could imagine himself trying to explain to his superiors why he would even offer the crowd this choice!

Pilate was running out of options. The mob wanted the death of an innocent man. If he didn't comply with their wishes, there would probably be a violent outcome. But, according to his wife's message, this Man wasn't just innocent - He was divine. What would happen to him if he killed a Man that the gods favored?

Pilate had one last idea to convince the crowds to let Jesus go...one that was going to make Jesus bleed.

Jesus' Redemptive Act

Remember, Jesus chose to endure this entire experience in order to deliver you. Everything that happened to him was redemptive for us.

Have you ever been publicly shamed or humiliated? Have you ever had a group of people ruthlessly mock and make fun of you? If so, I have great news for you! Jesus loves you so much that He took the sting of that cruelty on Himself! 

First the Jewish guards mocked Him.

Then we found out today that Herod's bodyguards humiliated Him as well.

Later we'll see that the Roman soldiers got involved in making fun of Him.

No one else has endured mockery and humiliation to this extent. The worst high school experience you've ever had couldn't even compare to this...and He chose to suffer that for you. He knew the issues that you were going to face, and He offered up His own life in your place! They may still make fun of you - even cruelly - but you don't have to bear it alone!

Another thing Jesus bore for us is this: The crowd sided with a criminal over Him. Jesus had done nothing wrong...and Barabbas had done everything wrong. And yet, the crowd chose the later and disregarded the former. 

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever had your peers oppose you, siding with someone who was clearly in the wrong? Jesus endured this...in fact, He endured this disrespect from His whole nation! He chose to watch the crowd take Barabbas' side so that you could roll that hurt over on Him.