“We Have a Law"
What did Jesus say or do that so upset the Jews that they hauled him before Pilate and demanded his death? The narrative of the trial of Jesus holds some interesting clues.
The Trial of Jesus (John 18:29-19:15)
“What accusation do you bring against this man?” Pilate asked Jesus’ accusers. “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him to you” came the vague reply. Now I am not trying to justify the actions of Pilate but put yourself in his sandals for a moment. What would you make of such an accusation? It sounds very much like an accusation with no merit.
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” I can picture Pilate rising from his chair, turning his back to the Jews and striding majestically toward the nearest exit. What a waste of my time, he probably thought to himself.
“We are not permitted to put anyone to death” came the chilling reply. Pilate must have frozen in his tracks upon hearing these words. Did they say death? Maybe this was more serious than he initially thought.
Pilate called for Jesus to testify before him. After questioning him about whether or not he was a king, Pilate determined that Jesus presented no threat. He went out to the Jews and said “I find no guilt in him.” With that he offered to release Jesus to them. Pilate must have hoped that the Jews would be satisfied that he had taken their complaint seriously.
“Not this man, but Barrabas!” they cried out. By that time Pilate must have been frustrated with the mob. Why didn’t they accept his course of action? Were they questioning his judgment? With exasperation over a growing crisis not of his own making, Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. The man is probably guilty of some offense, he may have reasoned.
“Behold, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” Surely the Jews would be satisfied with the punishment meted out to this man who had so incensed them.
“Crucify him, crucify him,” they shouted angrily. Suddenly filled with fear, Pilate realized that he was in danger of losing control. The crowd was seething with anger. Under stress, Pilate lost his composure. “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no fault in him!” he shouted. He may have reasoned that since the Jews had already informed him that they couldn’t put anyone to death, they wouldn’t actually kill Jesus. Perhaps the Jews might offer an alternative.
“We have a law, and by that law he ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God!” they shouted. This made Pilate even more afraid. Once more, he took Jesus in for questioning.
Pilate tried one last time to release Jesus but the Jews would have none of it. “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Now it was clear to Pilate. For the sake of political self-preservation, he would have to sacrifice the life of an innocent man.
It was time to sear his conscience and give the people what they wanted. Taking his place in the judgment seat for the final act of this terrible drama, Pilate brought Jesus before them and said, “Behold, your king.” Perhaps he could convince the Jews that upon further questioning he had been able to find fault with Jesus after all.
“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” they shouted, apparently aware that they were about to get what they had requested.
“Shall I crucify your king?” he must have said in a mocking tone of voice. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests replied. Ah, loyalty from the mob! His career salvaged, Pilate ordered the troublemaker put to death. His popularity with the crowd must have soared that awful day. And the rest, as they say, is history.
What was this law the Jews kept referring to? It must be related to the accusation that Jesus made himself out to be the Son of God.
Jesus the King
What does the term “Son of God” mean? To people who believe in the doctrine of the Trinity it means that Jesus was claiming to be Almighty God. They might point us to the accusation of the Jews as proof: “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God” (John 10:33).
Can such an explanation be correct? Only if we fail to listen to Jesus’ own response to this accusation! Jesus said, “Has it not been written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36).
Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 in his defense. Psalm 82 was written to rebuke the unjust decisions of the judges and rulers of Israel. The New International Version Study Bible (10th Anniversary Edition) contains this illuminating note: “In the language of the OT — and in accordance with the conceptual world of the ancient Near East — rulers and judges, as deputies of the Heavenly King, could be given the honorific title ‘god’ or be called ‘son of God.’”
Professor Craig L. Blomberg adds further confirmation: “In Psalm 82:6, the psalmist refers to the corrupt evil judges of his day (or perhaps to Israel at the time of the giving of the Law) as ‘gods.’ If the authoritative Scriptures can call mere mortals ‘gods,’ in this limited sense of referring to earthly leaders, Jesus argues, then how much more is it not acceptable for him to apply the term to himself, who is God’s unique agent on earth?”[1]
Jesus did not deny that he said he was the Son of God. However, far from claiming to be God himself, Jesus was actually announcing himself to be the judge and ruler of Israel!
With this understanding, the line of questioning Pilate pursued with Jesus, the denial of the Jews that Jesus was their king and their subsequent pledge of allegiance to Caesar are quite understandable. Pilate feared the Jews and the possibility that Jesus was plotting a rebellion. The Jews, particularly the chief priests, did not believe Jesus’ claim to be their king.
Jesus the Prophet
The people believed that Jesus was a prophet. For example, when he made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Matthew records, “And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matt. 21:11).
Jesus himself believed that he was a prophet. In an early visit to Jerusalem he said, “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).
But not all believed. Luke also records the reaction of a Pharisee to the actions of a woman who anointed Jesus with perfume: “If this man were a prophet he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39b). Once again we encounter disbelief, probably widespread, of the claim made by Jesus.
But what possible bearing could this claim of Jesus to be a prophet have on our question about the law? Though there was no explicit mention of it in the trial before Pilate, I intend to show that it has a direct bearing on our understanding of the attitude of the Jews and their appeal for the death penalty in the case of Jesus.
Bring in Moses
The Jews appealed to Pilate that they had a law which called for the death penalty. The law they referred to would have been something written by Moses. The Jews called upon the written words of Moses to prosecute Jesus.
It is interesting that Philip also appealed to the writing of Moses when he told Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
Jesus himself said to the Jews, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45-47). What did Moses write about Jesus?
A Prophet Like Me
Moses wrote about a great prophet that God would one day raise up. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). That this Scripture was applied to Jesus may be clearly seen in the testimony of Peter in his second sermon after Pentecost (Acts 2) and the testimony of Stephen just before he was martyred (Acts 7:37).
I Will Put My Words in His Mouth
Moses goes on to write, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18).
That prophet certainly was not to be God Himself. The apostolic application of Moses’ prediction to Jesus absolutely rules out any doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus is the ultimate prophet, a member of the House of Israel, not God!
In opposition to the application of Scripture made by Peter and Stephen, Aryeh Kaplan expresses the Jewish view: “There is no evidence that the original passage speaks of the Messiah at all. The verse merely states that the future prophets of Israel in general would share Moses’ saintly qualities.”[2] The positions of these camps are irreconcilable. Christians accept the teaching of the Apostles (Acts 3:22; 7:37).
Bring in Jesus
Jesus made few comments during the trial, but by examining just a few of the statements made during his ministry, we will notice a beautiful harmony with the writing of Moses. It is clear from his words that he was acting not on his own accord but as the representative of God.
“My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (John 7:16).
“Jesus answered them, ‘I told you and you do not believe; the works [miracles and teaching] that I do in my Father’s name, these testify of me’” (John 10:25).
“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in me, does not believe in me but in Him who sent me’” (John 12:44).
“For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49).
“I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me” (John 12:50).
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does His works” (John 14:10b).
“He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14:24).
All this is in perfect harmony with the portrait of the Messiah provided by Moses (Deut. 18:15-18).
Bring in the Voice from Heaven
In the vision of the transfiguration of Jesus, we encounter the powerful testimony of the Father: “Then a voice came out of the cloud saying, ‘This is My son, My chosen one; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:35). All other testimony pales in comparison to the testimony of Jesus’ Father.
Bring in Moses Again
Moses had also written, “It will come about that whoever will not listen to My [God’s] words which he [the prophet] shall speak in My [God’s] name, I [God] Myself will require it of him” (Deut. 18:19). God promises a severe penalty for anyone who will not listen to the prophet He will raise up. That the prophet is God’s Son, Jesus, is evident from the Scriptures.
We Have a Law
That the Jews did not listen to Jesus, that is, did not believe the words he spoke, has been clearly demonstrated by their words and actions. This failure to listen (believe) is the key that leads us to the writing of Moses, the particular law they appealed to. And what was this law?
Moses wrote, “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My [God’s] name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deut. 18:20).
Continuing Ramifications
The Jews did not believe the words of Jesus. They therefore viewed him then, and still view him now, as a false prophet. Aryeh Kaplan writes, “The Bible (Deuteronomy 18:22) says that one of the signs of a true prophet is when his prophecy comes true exactly. There is no evidence that Jesus fulfilled this condition.”[3]
This is of course tragic. In discussing the current state of the Jews, Paul teaches that they have been cut off for their unbelief, but they may be grafted back in if they do not continue in their unbelief (Rom. 11: 20, 23).
There is also an important message here for those who profess to believe in Jesus. “Quite right, they [the Jews] were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith [in the gospel message proclaimed by Jesus]. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell [because of their unbelief], severity, but to you, God’s kindness; if you continue in his kindness [through belief in the words of His Son]; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:20-22). (No doctrine of “once saved, always saved” here!)
Jesus warned, “He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). As we have seen, the word Jesus spoke was the Gospel message of the Kingdom that God commissioned him to proclaim. Those who do not believe the message will be judged and punished for their unbelief.
It is therefore absolutely essential that we believe the message delivered by the messenger. And what was the message that Jesus proclaimed? “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23).
The Jews rejected the gospel Jesus preached and were cut off because of their unbelief (Acts 3:22, 23). Many today, both Jews and Gentiles, are misled because they have not believed the gospel of the kingdom. To them we say, hear these words of Jesus the Messiah: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). That is Jesus’ first command and salvation is conditional on obedience to the Messiah (Heb. 5:9).²
by Brian K. Wright edited by Bruce Lyon
What did Jesus say or do that so upset the Jews that they hauled him before Pilate and demanded his death? The narrative of the trial of Jesus holds some interesting clues.
The Trial of Jesus (John 18:29-19:15)
“What accusation do you bring against this man?” Pilate asked Jesus’ accusers. “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him to you” came the vague reply. Now I am not trying to justify the actions of Pilate but put yourself in his sandals for a moment. What would you make of such an accusation? It sounds very much like an accusation with no merit.
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” I can picture Pilate rising from his chair, turning his back to the Jews and striding majestically toward the nearest exit. What a waste of my time, he probably thought to himself.
“We are not permitted to put anyone to death” came the chilling reply. Pilate must have frozen in his tracks upon hearing these words. Did they say death? Maybe this was more serious than he initially thought.
Pilate called for Jesus to testify before him. After questioning him about whether or not he was a king, Pilate determined that Jesus presented no threat. He went out to the Jews and said “I find no guilt in him.” With that he offered to release Jesus to them. Pilate must have hoped that the Jews would be satisfied that he had taken their complaint seriously.
“Not this man, but Barrabas!” they cried out. By that time Pilate must have been frustrated with the mob. Why didn’t they accept his course of action? Were they questioning his judgment? With exasperation over a growing crisis not of his own making, Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. The man is probably guilty of some offense, he may have reasoned.
“Behold, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” Surely the Jews would be satisfied with the punishment meted out to this man who had so incensed them.
“Crucify him, crucify him,” they shouted angrily. Suddenly filled with fear, Pilate realized that he was in danger of losing control. The crowd was seething with anger. Under stress, Pilate lost his composure. “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no fault in him!” he shouted. He may have reasoned that since the Jews had already informed him that they couldn’t put anyone to death, they wouldn’t actually kill Jesus. Perhaps the Jews might offer an alternative.
“We have a law, and by that law he ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God!” they shouted. This made Pilate even more afraid. Once more, he took Jesus in for questioning.
Pilate tried one last time to release Jesus but the Jews would have none of it. “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Now it was clear to Pilate. For the sake of political self-preservation, he would have to sacrifice the life of an innocent man.
It was time to sear his conscience and give the people what they wanted. Taking his place in the judgment seat for the final act of this terrible drama, Pilate brought Jesus before them and said, “Behold, your king.” Perhaps he could convince the Jews that upon further questioning he had been able to find fault with Jesus after all.
“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” they shouted, apparently aware that they were about to get what they had requested.
“Shall I crucify your king?” he must have said in a mocking tone of voice. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests replied. Ah, loyalty from the mob! His career salvaged, Pilate ordered the troublemaker put to death. His popularity with the crowd must have soared that awful day. And the rest, as they say, is history.
What was this law the Jews kept referring to? It must be related to the accusation that Jesus made himself out to be the Son of God.
Jesus the King
What does the term “Son of God” mean? To people who believe in the doctrine of the Trinity it means that Jesus was claiming to be Almighty God. They might point us to the accusation of the Jews as proof: “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God” (John 10:33).
Can such an explanation be correct? Only if we fail to listen to Jesus’ own response to this accusation! Jesus said, “Has it not been written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36).
Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 in his defense. Psalm 82 was written to rebuke the unjust decisions of the judges and rulers of Israel. The New International Version Study Bible (10th Anniversary Edition) contains this illuminating note: “In the language of the OT — and in accordance with the conceptual world of the ancient Near East — rulers and judges, as deputies of the Heavenly King, could be given the honorific title ‘god’ or be called ‘son of God.’”
Professor Craig L. Blomberg adds further confirmation: “In Psalm 82:6, the psalmist refers to the corrupt evil judges of his day (or perhaps to Israel at the time of the giving of the Law) as ‘gods.’ If the authoritative Scriptures can call mere mortals ‘gods,’ in this limited sense of referring to earthly leaders, Jesus argues, then how much more is it not acceptable for him to apply the term to himself, who is God’s unique agent on earth?”[1]
Jesus did not deny that he said he was the Son of God. However, far from claiming to be God himself, Jesus was actually announcing himself to be the judge and ruler of Israel!
With this understanding, the line of questioning Pilate pursued with Jesus, the denial of the Jews that Jesus was their king and their subsequent pledge of allegiance to Caesar are quite understandable. Pilate feared the Jews and the possibility that Jesus was plotting a rebellion. The Jews, particularly the chief priests, did not believe Jesus’ claim to be their king.
Jesus the Prophet
The people believed that Jesus was a prophet. For example, when he made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Matthew records, “And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matt. 21:11).
Jesus himself believed that he was a prophet. In an early visit to Jerusalem he said, “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).
But not all believed. Luke also records the reaction of a Pharisee to the actions of a woman who anointed Jesus with perfume: “If this man were a prophet he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39b). Once again we encounter disbelief, probably widespread, of the claim made by Jesus.
But what possible bearing could this claim of Jesus to be a prophet have on our question about the law? Though there was no explicit mention of it in the trial before Pilate, I intend to show that it has a direct bearing on our understanding of the attitude of the Jews and their appeal for the death penalty in the case of Jesus.
Bring in Moses
The Jews appealed to Pilate that they had a law which called for the death penalty. The law they referred to would have been something written by Moses. The Jews called upon the written words of Moses to prosecute Jesus.
It is interesting that Philip also appealed to the writing of Moses when he told Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
Jesus himself said to the Jews, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45-47). What did Moses write about Jesus?
A Prophet Like Me
Moses wrote about a great prophet that God would one day raise up. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). That this Scripture was applied to Jesus may be clearly seen in the testimony of Peter in his second sermon after Pentecost (Acts 2) and the testimony of Stephen just before he was martyred (Acts 7:37).
I Will Put My Words in His Mouth
Moses goes on to write, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18).
That prophet certainly was not to be God Himself. The apostolic application of Moses’ prediction to Jesus absolutely rules out any doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus is the ultimate prophet, a member of the House of Israel, not God!
In opposition to the application of Scripture made by Peter and Stephen, Aryeh Kaplan expresses the Jewish view: “There is no evidence that the original passage speaks of the Messiah at all. The verse merely states that the future prophets of Israel in general would share Moses’ saintly qualities.”[2] The positions of these camps are irreconcilable. Christians accept the teaching of the Apostles (Acts 3:22; 7:37).
Bring in Jesus
Jesus made few comments during the trial, but by examining just a few of the statements made during his ministry, we will notice a beautiful harmony with the writing of Moses. It is clear from his words that he was acting not on his own accord but as the representative of God.
“My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (John 7:16).
“Jesus answered them, ‘I told you and you do not believe; the works [miracles and teaching] that I do in my Father’s name, these testify of me’” (John 10:25).
“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in me, does not believe in me but in Him who sent me’” (John 12:44).
“For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49).
“I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me” (John 12:50).
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does His works” (John 14:10b).
“He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14:24).
All this is in perfect harmony with the portrait of the Messiah provided by Moses (Deut. 18:15-18).
Bring in the Voice from Heaven
In the vision of the transfiguration of Jesus, we encounter the powerful testimony of the Father: “Then a voice came out of the cloud saying, ‘This is My son, My chosen one; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:35). All other testimony pales in comparison to the testimony of Jesus’ Father.
Bring in Moses Again
Moses had also written, “It will come about that whoever will not listen to My [God’s] words which he [the prophet] shall speak in My [God’s] name, I [God] Myself will require it of him” (Deut. 18:19). God promises a severe penalty for anyone who will not listen to the prophet He will raise up. That the prophet is God’s Son, Jesus, is evident from the Scriptures.
We Have a Law
That the Jews did not listen to Jesus, that is, did not believe the words he spoke, has been clearly demonstrated by their words and actions. This failure to listen (believe) is the key that leads us to the writing of Moses, the particular law they appealed to. And what was this law?
Moses wrote, “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My [God’s] name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deut. 18:20).
Continuing Ramifications
The Jews did not believe the words of Jesus. They therefore viewed him then, and still view him now, as a false prophet. Aryeh Kaplan writes, “The Bible (Deuteronomy 18:22) says that one of the signs of a true prophet is when his prophecy comes true exactly. There is no evidence that Jesus fulfilled this condition.”[3]
This is of course tragic. In discussing the current state of the Jews, Paul teaches that they have been cut off for their unbelief, but they may be grafted back in if they do not continue in their unbelief (Rom. 11: 20, 23).
There is also an important message here for those who profess to believe in Jesus. “Quite right, they [the Jews] were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith [in the gospel message proclaimed by Jesus]. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell [because of their unbelief], severity, but to you, God’s kindness; if you continue in his kindness [through belief in the words of His Son]; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:20-22). (No doctrine of “once saved, always saved” here!)
Jesus warned, “He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). As we have seen, the word Jesus spoke was the Gospel message of the Kingdom that God commissioned him to proclaim. Those who do not believe the message will be judged and punished for their unbelief.
It is therefore absolutely essential that we believe the message delivered by the messenger. And what was the message that Jesus proclaimed? “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23).
The Jews rejected the gospel Jesus preached and were cut off because of their unbelief (Acts 3:22, 23). Many today, both Jews and Gentiles, are misled because they have not believed the gospel of the kingdom. To them we say, hear these words of Jesus the Messiah: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). That is Jesus’ first command and salvation is conditional on obedience to the Messiah (Heb. 5:9).²
by Brian K. Wright edited by Bruce Lyon
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