Pilate More Afraid - John 19:8

John the apostle wrote how, “Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said unto them, Take you him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God”, and in chapter nineteen and verse eight of his book John shared, “when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid” where we read:

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

The verse reads, “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, ...” John began with the words, “When Pilate therefore” which means “at the time and moment Pilate whose name means armed with a spear and was the sixth procurator of Judah and Samaria” “heard that saying” or “was endowed with the faculty of hearing, perceiving and understanding what the Jewish people told him”, he had the following reaction. John shared how “Pilate” responded in the following way to the Jewish people saying that Jesus claimed to the “Son of God”.

The verse continues, “... he was the more afraid;” John added the words, “he was the more” or “he, Pilate, was to a greater degree struck” “afraid” which means “struck with fear, alarm and fright”. John shared how “Pilate” became even more “fearful” when He heard what the Jewish people said.

When we think through John's words in this verse, we learn how “Pilate” had some sense of “awe and reverence” toward Jesus when He appeared before him, however, after the Jewish people told him Jesus referred to Himself as “God's Son”, “Pilate” became even “more afraid”. He should have been. We shall see how “Pilate” speaks to Jesus in our next verse, but for now we should carefully consider the statement of the Jewish people, Jesus “made himself the Son of God”, and those who understand this must decide whether or not they should surrender their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time John shares how Pilate asks Jesus, “who are you?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".