He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate

Good Shepherd Community Church

After Jesus' arrest he was taken to the residence of Annas for a pretrial hearing which failed to produce a charge. From there he was taken to the Temple where a council was hastily summoned before daylight. False witnesses were called but no witness proved credible. Ultimately the High Priest by an oath compelled Jesus to answer the question, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matt. 26:64). He was quoting from Daniel 7. Because they rejected his claims, despite his many signs, they condemned him to death. However, since they did not have the legal power to implement capital punishment, they took him to the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate to secure a political verdict. Pilate said he was not guilty but yielding to pressure of the Jewish leaders he handed Jesus over to be crucified! Peter summarized the truth of what happened and why it happened in his sermon on Pentecost day. "This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men" (Acts 2:23).Yet it was through this means that Jesus accomplished the atoning death necessary for the forgiveness of sins for all who would believe on him.