Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. Luke 23:4
One of the unusual court cases I encountered during my time as a reporter involved a man who had mistreated his common-law wife for many years. This man was well known for his gross immorality and his uncaring attitude. One night, the woman became sick and choked to death in her bed, with the man lying beside her unaware of her predicament. Although the man was charged with criminal negligence, the judge was forced to find him not guilty because of the lack of evidence that he knew she was dying. Before issuing the verdict, the judge spoke harshly about the man, noting that he was a very poor example of a good citizen. It was a case that was just the opposite to the trial of the Lord Jesus before Pontius Pilate.
After hearing the case, Pilate was made to declare, as our text states, that he found Jesus faultless. Even the cruel ordeal of scourging, intended to wring a confession – false or otherwise – from its victims, uncovered no flaw or blemish on Jesus’ record. Although he could find no fault, Pilate sent Jesus to Golgotha.
One of the thieves on the cross beside Jesus admitted he was getting his just desserts. And he recognized that Pilate’s observation was accurate. He grasped the magnitude of the contrast between Jesus and himself – the best of humanity versus the worst of humanity. Just as we today look at the cross and recognize that the Lamb of God was spotless and holy, so unlike our sinful selves.
An innocent man was crucified that day. And yet, when Jesus went to the cross, He went there because of crimes that had been committed. They were not His crimes. They were mine, and they were yours. As the thieves made their way from the prison to Golgotha, they no doubt had regrets about the destructive path of their lives. They never intended to end their days on a gibbet. Not so Jesus. His path, from the day of His birth, and for an eternity before it, always led to Crucifixion Hill. His intent was always to endure the shame and anguish of unjust trials and man’s evil treatment, and then to suffer for our sins on the cross. And as He left Pilate’s courtroom for Golgotha’s dread anguish, Jesus had no regrets. He was going to suffer for our sins. And we were going to be spared.
Pilate was right; there was no fault in Jesus. But He went to the cross to atone for our faults that day. -Jim MacIntosh