Job 27:2

27:2 “As surely as God lives, ¹  who has denied me justice, ² 

the Almighty, who has made my life bitter ³  –

Job 34:5

34:5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent, ⁴ 

but God turns away my right.

Isaiah 5:23

5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,

they ignore the just cause of the innocent. ⁵ 

Isaiah 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ⁶  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ⁷ 

Habakkuk 1:4

1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, ⁸ 

and justice is never carried out. ⁹ 

Indeed, ¹⁰  the wicked intimidate ¹¹  the innocent. ¹² 

For this reason justice is perverted. ¹³ 

Matthew 27:12-26

27:12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he did not respond. 27:13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many charges they are bringing against you?” 27:14 But he did not answer even one accusation, so that the governor was quite amazed.

27:15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, ¹⁴  whomever they wanted. 27:16 At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus ¹⁵  Barabbas. 27:17 So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus ¹⁶  Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” ¹⁷  27:18 (For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.) ¹⁸  27:19 As ¹⁹  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ²⁰  his wife sent a message ²¹  to him: ²²  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ²³  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ²⁴  about him today.” 27:20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 27:21 The ²⁵  governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!” 27:22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” ²⁶  They all said, “Crucify him!” ²⁷  27:23 He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!”

Jesus is Condemned and Mocked

27:24 When ²⁸  Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!” ²⁹  27:25 In ³⁰  reply all the people said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” 27:26 Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged, ³¹  he handed him over ³²  to be crucified. ³³ 

John 19:12-16

19:12 From this point on, Pilate tried ³⁴  to release him. But the Jewish leaders ³⁵  shouted out, ³⁶  “If you release this man, ³⁷  you are no friend of Caesar! ³⁸  Everyone who claims to be a king ³⁹  opposes Caesar!” 19:13 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat ⁴⁰  in the place called “The Stone Pavement” ⁴¹  (Gabbatha in ⁴²  Aramaic). ⁴³  19:14 (Now it was the day of preparation ⁴⁴  for the Passover, about noon. ⁴⁵ ) ⁴⁶  Pilate ⁴⁷  said to the Jewish leaders, ⁴⁸  “Look, here is your king!”

19:15 Then they ⁴⁹  shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! ⁵⁰  Crucify ⁵¹  him!” Pilate asked, ⁵²  “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” 19:16 Then Pilate ⁵³  handed him over ⁵⁴  to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus,

¹ tn The expression חַי־אֵל (khay-’el) is the oath formula: “as God lives.” In other words, the speaker is staking God’s life on the credibility of the words. It is like saying, “As truly as God is alive.”

² tn “My judgment” would here, as before, be “my right.” God has taken this away by afflicting Job unjustly (A. B. Davidson, Job, 187).

³ tn The verb הֵמַר (hemar) is the Hiphil perfect from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”) and hence, “to make bitter.” The object of the verb is “my soul,” which is better translated as “me” or “my life.”

⁴ tn Heb “righteous,” but in this context it means to be innocent or in the right.

⁵ tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”

⁶ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

⁷ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

⁸ tn Heb “the law is numb,” i.e., like a hand that has “fallen asleep” (see Ps 77:2). Cf. NAB “is benumbed”; NIV “is paralyzed.”

⁹ tn Heb “never goes out.”

¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

¹¹ tn Heb “surround” (so NASB, NRSV).

¹² tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

¹³ tn Heb “comes out crooked.”

¹⁴ sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39).

¹⁵ tc Although the external evidence for the inclusion of “Jesus” before “Barabbas” (in vv. 16 and 17) is rather sparse, being restricted virtually to the Caesarean text (Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s), the omission of the Lord’s name in apposition to “Barabbas” is such a strongly motivated reading that it can hardly be original. There is no good explanation for a scribe unintentionally adding ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) before Βαραββᾶν (Barabban), especially since Barabbas is mentioned first in each verse (thus dittography is ruled out). Further, the addition of τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν (ton legomenon Criston, “who is called Christ”) to ᾿Ιησοῦν in v. 17 makes better sense if Barabbas is also called “Jesus” (otherwise, a mere “Jesus” would have been a sufficient appellation to distinguish the two).

¹⁶ tc Again, as in v. 16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s Or^mss (Θ 700* lack the article τόν [ton] before Βαραββᾶν [Barabban]). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as original in the previous verse applies here as well.

¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁰ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

²¹ tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

²² tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²³ tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.

²⁴ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.

²⁵ tn Grk “answering, the governor said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

²⁷ tn Grk “Him – be crucified!” The third person imperative is difficult to translate because English has no corresponding third person form for the imperative. The traditional translation “Let him be crucified” sounds as if the crowd is giving consent or permission. “He must be crucified” is closer, but it is more natural in English to convert the passive to active and simply say “Crucify him.”

²⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁹ sn You take care of it yourselves! Compare the response of the chief priests and elders to Judas in 27:4. The expression is identical except that in 27:4 it is singular and here it is plural.

³⁰ tn Grk “answering, all the people said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

³¹ tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”

³² tn Or “delivered him up.”

³³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

³⁴ tn Grk “sought.”

³⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

³⁶ tn Grk “shouted out, saying.”

³⁷ tn Grk “this one.”

³⁸ sn Is the author using the phrase Friend of Caesar in a technical sense, as a title bestowed on people for loyal service to the Emperor, or in a more general sense merely describing a person as loyal to the Emperor? L. Morris (John [NICNT], 798) thinks it is “unlikely” that the title is used in the technical sense, and J. H. Bernard (St. John [ICC], 2:621) argues that the technical sense of the phrase as an official title was not used before the time of Vespasian (a.d. 69-79). But there appears to be significant evidence for much earlier usage. Some of this is given in BDAG 498-99 s.v. Καῖσαρ. E. Bammel (“φίλος τοῦ καίσαρος (John 19:12),” TLZ 77 [1952]: 205-10) listed significant and convincing arguments that the official title was indeed in use at the time. Granting that the title was in use during this period, what is the likelihood that it had been bestowed on Pilate? Pilate was of the equestrian order, that is, of lower nobility as opposed to senatorial rank. As such he would have been eligible to receive such an honor. It also appears that the powerful Sejanus was his patron in Rome, and Sejanus held considerable influence with Tiberius. Tacitus (Annals 6.8) quotes Marcus Terentius in his defense before the Senate as saying that close friendship with Sejanus “was in every case a powerful recommendation to the Emperor’s friendship.” Thus it is possible that Pilate held this honor. Therefore it appears that the Jewish authorities were putting a good deal of psychological pressure on Pilate to convict Jesus. They had, in effect, finally specified the charge against Jesus as treason: “Everyone who makes himself to be king opposes Caesar.” If Pilate now failed to convict Jesus the Jewish authorities could complain to Rome that Pilate had released a traitor. This possibility carried more weight with Pilate than might at first be evident: (1) Pilate’s record as governor was not entirely above reproach; (2) Tiberius, who lived away from Rome as a virtual recluse on the island of Capri, was known for his suspicious nature, especially toward rivals or those who posed a political threat; and (3) worst of all, Pilate’s patron in Rome, Sejanus, had recently come under suspicion of plotting to seize the imperial succession for himself. Sejanus was deposed in October of a.d. 31. It may have been to Sejanus that Pilate owed his appointment in Judea. Pilate was now in a very delicate position. The Jewish authorities may have known something of this and deliberately used it as leverage against him. Whether or not they knew just how potent their veiled threat was, it had the desired effect. Pilate went directly to the judgment seat to pronounce his judgment.

³⁹ tn Grk “who makes himself out to be a king.”

⁴⁰ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

⁴¹ sn The precise location of the place called ‘The Stone Pavement’ is still uncertain, although a paved court on the lower level of the Fortress Antonia has been suggested. It is not certain whether it was laid prior to a.d. 135, however.

⁴² tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

⁴³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁴⁴ sn The term day of preparation (παρασκευή, paraskeuh) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

⁴⁵ tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

⁴⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁴⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

⁴⁸ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

⁴⁹ tn Grk “Then these.”

⁵⁰ tn The words “with him” (twice) are not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁵¹ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

⁵² tn Grk “Pilate said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because it is clear in English who Pilate is addressing.

⁵³ tn Grk “Then he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵⁴ tn Or “delivered him over.”