The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 226

we must reo.d St. John's account in hiB members or tho.t ho.tcd nation he had been eighteenth chapter (ver. 28 o.nd following). brought into such familar contact with; From the place of meeting of the So.nbedrin, utterly nnselfish, noble with o. strange no- J csue wo.e led to the po.Ince of Pilate, the bility, which was quite unknown to officio.ls Prmtorium. The Roman governor was evi- and politieio.ns of the school or Pil:i.te; but dently prepared for the case; for application os regards Rome and its views quite harm- must ho.ve been mnde to bim the evening less. The Roman evidently wo.s strongly before for the guard which arrested Jesus in opposer! to harsh measures being dealt out Gethsemane. St. John tells us that the dele- to this dreamy, nnpro.etical, generoua En- gates of the Sanhedrin entered not into the th usio.st, o.s he deemed him. hall of judgment, "lest they should be de- Vere. 5-12.-Pilatesends Jwu to be tried filed; but that they might eo.t the Passover." by Herod. Pilate, who knew well from his past experi- Ver. 5.-And they were the more fierce, ence how fiercely these fanatics resented saying, He etirrath up the people, tes.ching o.ny slight offered to their religious feelings, throughout e.11 J'ewry, beginning from Gali- wishing for his own purposes to conciliate lee to this place. On hearing the Roman them, went outside. These Jews, prior to governor's declaration that in his opinion co.ting the Passover, would not enter any the Prisoner was innocent, the Sanbedrists dwelling from which o.ll leaven had not becnme more vehement, repeating with in- been carefully removed; of course, this had creased violence their e.ccusation that Jesus not been the co.se in the palace of Pilate. had been for a long time past e. persistent The governor asks them, in St. John's stirrer-up of sedition, not only here in tho ncrount, what was their accusation against city, but in the northern districts of Galilee. the Man. They replied that they hnd Vere. 6, 7.-When Pilo.te heard of Galilee, three charges : (I) he had perverted the he asked whether the Man were a Galilienn. nation; (2) he had forbidden thnt tribute And as soon as he knew that he belonged should be given to Clllsar; (8) he ho.d nnto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to asserted that he was Christ o. King. Herod, who himself also was at .Jerusalem Ver. 3.-And Pilate asked him, saying, at that time. Now, Pilate dreaded lest these Art thou the King of the J'ews t Pile.ta then Jews should make his clemency towards the went ago.in into his judgment-ball, where Prisoner o. ground of accusation age.inst him he had left Jesus, but before going be.C'k at Rome. Pilo.te had enemies in tue co.pit.a.I. he could not resist addressing an ironical His once powerful patron Sejnnus had ju.qt word to the accusing J ewe : " Take ye him, fallen. His own past, too, he w11s well and judge him according to your Law" (John 11wo.re, would not bear exo.mination; so, xviii. 31), to which the Se.nhedrists replied moved by his cowardly fears, he refrained that they were not allowed to pat any man to from releo.sing Jesus in e.ccordo.11ce with who.t death, thus publicly confessing the state of his heart told him was just and right; and yet compamtive impotence to which they were he could not bring himself to condemn One now reduced, and also revealing their deadly to whom he wns drawn by o.n unknown feel- 1mrpose in the case of Jesus. Pilate, ho.ving ing of reverence and respect. But hen.ring gone into the judgment-he.11 ago.in, proceeds that Jesus was accused among other things to int(w:rogo.te Jesus. The first two nccusa- of stirring up sedition in Galilee, he thought tions he passes over, seeing clearly that they he wonld shift the responsibility of Bcquit- were baseless. The third, however, st1'l1ck ting or condemning, on to the shouhlers or him. Art thou, poor, friendless, powerless Herod, in whose jurisdiction Galilee lay. l',fan, the King I have been hearing obout? Herod wo.s in Jerusalem just then, because And he answered him and so.id, Thou sayest of the Passover Feo.st. His usual resi<.lenoe it, St. Luke gives only this bare snmmery was Caperno.um. of the examination, in which the prisoner Ver. 8.-A.nd when :Herod saw J'esus, he Jesus simply replies "Yes," he was the was exceeding glad : for he was deeiroua to King. St. John (xviii. 33-38) gives us a see him of a long season, because he had heard more full and detailed account. It is more many things of him; and he hoped to have 11mn probable the.t John we.a present during seen some miro.ole done by him. This was the interrogatory. In the sublime answe111 Herod AntipllB, the slayer of John the Bap- of the Lord, his words cxphmo.tory of the tist. He wo.s at that time living in open 110.ture of bis kingdom, which "is not of this incest with that princess Herodio.s coucem- world," struck l'ilo.te o.nd decided him to ing whom the l:faptist hnd administered give the reply we find in the next verse. the publio rebuke which had led to his Ver. 4.-Then said Pilate to the ohiof arrest and subsequent execution. Godot priests and to the people, I find no fault in this graphically sums up the situntiou: "Jesus Man. The Row11n WI\II interested in the was to Herod Antipas wbe.t a juggler is to poor Prisoner ; perho.ps he grurlgi1,gly ad- 11 sated court-an object of curiositv. ilut wired him. He was so differtent to the J csus did not lond himself to ~uch a po.rt; he  TIIE oosrEL ACCORDlKG '1'0 S'l'. LUKE. [ea. XXIII. 1-50.