John 18:19-24
19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
John 19:6-11
Pilate's Power Over Jesus is from Above
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Romans 13:1
Providence of God
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Jeremiah 27:4
God Gives Us Power
4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
1 Samuel 16:7
God Looks to the Heart
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
From Weakness to Strength
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Sometimes, because of our circumstances or where we are or what we are doing, we do not think about the power of God, and what He can do...And often man thinks of power and strength as something physical...Not so with God, He looks at the heart...
Pilate and the chief priest and officials believe they have power over Jesus...They do not...Jesus seems to be arrested and in a very weak position...But He has been sent by God...God has established who has power...There is no authority except that which God has established...The authorities that exist have been established by God...Jesus is telling Pilate that often those in power and those who think they are powerful, are not as powerful as they think...God has power...The chief priests and their officials have turned Jesus over to Pilate...They really do not have a case against Him...They are charging Him for blasphemy, and for claiming to be the Son of God...But His work and His miracles and His teachings must be taken into account...Maybe He is the Son of God and the chief priest needs to take a closer look...But instead, he turns the Son of God over to Pilate to judge...And when they do, Jesus tells Pilate that the ones who have handed Him over to him is guilty of a greater sin than he has in this trial...
And as I listen to Jesus and Pilate, as well as His conversations with the high priest and his officials Jesus is the One who seems to have the power and authority...And this is true, even though those around Him do not understand the things going on...Being crucified is a shameful act...It is literally pure torture...The shameful act of being hung on a cross is about to happen, and as we read the gospels, only Jesus seems to know where the true power exists...God is in control...
Pilate has not considered not being in control...He is a Roman and a man...But the high priest and his officials is different...They are in a position to know God and Scripture...They know that a Messiah was and is to come...On there own free will they have had Jesus arrested and not considered that He might be from heaven, and sent from God...Pilate's power was given to him from above...He actually in terms of eternity had no power over Jesus...At the flick of His finger, Pilate and the high priest could have been dead and gone...God could have at anytime taken them away...
And in the weakness of the position that Jesus is in we see and find power...God often brings good out of evil, and strength out of weakness...Out of the heart comes love, truth, mercy, forgiveness, and grace -there we find so much true strength...