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Pilate
Discussion points:
-
Jews bring Jesus to Pilate
- he has authority to execute
- having the Romans kill Jesus would keep the Jews that supported Jesus from being angry at the Jewish leaders
-
Pilate questions Jesus about the charges
- stirs up unrest, resists taxation, claims to be a King
- Pilate finds nothing to charge Jesus with
- Pilate knows the leaders have brought Jesus to him out of envy
- Sends Jesus to Herod Antipas
-
Herod Antipas is the Jewish ruler set
up by Rome to rule Galilee, where Jesus is from
- Herod hopes to see Jesus perform a miracle, but is disappointed
- He allowed his soldiers to viciously mock Jesus, and sent him back to Pilate
-
Pilate tries to free Jesus by offering
him or a murderer to go free
- The Jewish leaders urge the mob to release Barabbas instead
- Pilate's wife warns Pilate that her dreams warned her that Jesus was just
- Pilate offers to scourge Jesus and free him
- The crowd demands he be crucified, and threaten to tell Caesar he has released a traitor
- Pilate refuses to be blamed and the crowd accept the blame for the charge
- Pilate relents and they take Jesus to be crucified
Activity: Trace the route of Jesus' travels on a map of Jerusalem.
True or False
- Pilate was the Roman governor. T
- The Jewish rulers were honest men. F
- Pilate knew that Jesus was a just man. T
- Jesus washed his hands while the crowd watched. F
- Pilate's wife had a disturbing dream about Jesus. T
linguistic
questions - Spell crucify.
- Recite the books of the Bible that describe Jesus' trials. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Why did Jesus remain silent in so much of the trial? (he knew when the questions were sincere and when they weren't)
activity questions - Act out the crowd calling for Barabbas.
- Act out Pilate washing his hands.
- Find Herod's palace on a map of Jerusalem.
emotion questions - How did Pilate's wife feel after her dream? (anxious, scared)
- How did Pilate probably feel about being pressured to execute Jesus? (frustrated, angry, reluctant)
- What are some things Jesus must have been feeling during this trial? (sorrow, pain, frustration, exhaustion, anger, hurt, disappointment)
application questions - Should we allow threats or crowds to make us do what we know is wrong? (no)
- Is Pilate responsible for the choice he made? (yes)
- How should we handle stressful confrontations, or physical abuse? (as Jesus did: we should not get drawn into meaningless arguments; when unavoidable, we must endure persecution with patience)
fact questions - Who was Herod Antipas? (roman appointed King of Jewry, in charge of Galilee)
- What did Herod expect from Jesus? (miracles, begging for mercy, defensiveness)
- What offer did Pilate make the Jews to free Jesus? (he offered a wicked murderer or Jesus, probably hoping they would not want Barabbas.)
- What did the soldiers do to Jesus in mockery? (made a crown of thorns, put a purple robe on him and a reed for a scepter, mocked him as king)
review questions - Why did Pilate send Jesus to Herod? (to "pass the buck")
- Why did Pilate wash his hands before the crowd? (to show that he disapproved of the decision and to claim no responsibility)
- Why did Jesus not defend himself before Herod? (he knew that it would do no good.)