Dr Paul Allen

Octavius Winslow once famously said, “Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy—but the Father for love.” 1  We could just as easily edit this statement in the following way: “Who put Jesus on the cross? Judas, for money; Pilate, for fear; the Jews, for envy; and you and me, for enmity.”  We should never tire of hearing this truth, to which we must often return. Our understanding of the nature of our depravity is essential if we are to rightly understand the nature of Jesus's death. In short, the doctrine of human depravity helps us better understand who delivered Jesus up to the death on the cross. When considering the nature of sin, many professing Christians focus on the horizontal relationships they sustain with those around them. In a genuine sense, we have all been culturally conditioned to think of the manifold ways we violate the last six—rather than the first four—commandments.  Perhaps it is because the rel...

During the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate asked a question that has resounded through the ages: " What is truth? " That is the key question for today, when the idea of absolute truth is increasingly and soundly rejected in our culture. To help us understand what is at stake, we are examining the conversation between Jesus and Pilate in John 18 . In the first post, we looked at the  rejection  of God 's truth as that which lies behind all sorts of evil in society today, and in the second post, we looked at the  reality  of truth. This post will look at the  reception  of truth. Let us review our passage: Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been ...

Christ before Pontius Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 27:27 –31 “And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him” (v. 31). Reformed theologians often describe Christ ’s work in terms of His active and passive obedience . The active obedience of Christ is His doing the Father’s will, taking specific actions — teaching, miracle-working, obeying the Law — to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). The passive obedience of Christ encapsulates His submission to death. We cannot absolutely separate Christ’s active and passive obedience, for Jesus must actively set His mind on the Father’s plan if He is to endure the cross. Still, passive obedience is an appropriate description of Jesus’ nonviolent resistance to suffering ( 1 Peter 2:23). This passive obedience includes Jesus’ arrest, trial, and scourging (Matt. 26:47–27:31). Jesus is scourged with...

What is truth? Deutsch: Was ist Wahrheit? Français : "Qu'est-ce que la vérité ?" Le Christ et Pilate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 27:11 –23 “Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’” (v. 22). Our study of Matthew’s gospel has highlighted the opposition of Israel ’s leaders to Jesus (Matt. 2:16–18; 12:22–32; 16:1–4; 22:15–46). This hatred is seen most clearly in Christ’s trial and execution. Having had Jesus betrayed into their hands, the high priest Caiaphas and the other religious authorities have falsely convicted our Lord of blasphemy, a capital crime according to the  Mosaic code (Matt. 26:47–68; 27:1; see Lev. 24:16).  Since Rome does not allow the Jewish leaders to enforce the death penalty, Jesus is taken before Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:2), and we find ourselves in his court today as we return to Matthew. To understand why Pilate final...

Christ Before Pilate. Friedländer (1969): p. 83. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) " Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." ( Matthew 27:65-66 ) Pilate had endured many strange experiences leading up to the crucifixion of Christ . Both he and some close to him (v. 19) had wanted to release Him, finding no fault in Him (v. 23). But, for political expediency, willing to pacify the Jewish leaders and quell a potential riot, Pilate had agreed to the execution. But once Christ was dead and in the grave, Pilate's troubles did not end. Perhaps we are justified in reading a tone of sarcasm and impatience in Pilate's words "make it as sure as you can." What is there to fear from a dead man? Guard the tomb if you want. But just perhaps Pilate was hounded by unexplained doubts; maybe a guard could prevent the bizarre fears from becoming realit...

Wenceslas Hollar - Jesus before Pilate 2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When a catastrophe happens in our world, it is virtually certain that a question will come up: “Where was God ?” People always seem to question how a good God could allow a terrible thing to happen. The same question came up in Jesus ’ time, as we see from an incident recorded in Luke’s Gospel : There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (13:1–5) Some people asked Jesus a question about an atrocity t...