by Donald Senior, C.P.

The trial of Jesus by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate dominates the Johannine passion story. The evangelist organizes the trial into a series of vignettes, alternately staged inside the praetorium and outside in full view of the crowds. The scenes mount in intensity, beginning with Pilate's seemingly bored discussion with the religious leaders, through his increasing mystification with his prisoner, and climaxing with his attempt to free Jesus that is rejected by the crowd.

John once again injects irony into his narrative. In the first scene the religious leaders are concerned with maintaining ritual purity but they are engaged in handing over the Son of God to the Romans. They are concerned to be ready for the feast of Passover (18:28) yet the true Passover Lamb is about to be sacrificed. Their jousting with the Roman procurator about legal rights leads ironically to Jesus being crucified--the very manner of death which the Johannine Jesus had predicted he would undergo, being "lifted up" for the life of the world (see 3:14-15; 12:32-33).

A potent symbol of the whole trial is that of kingship, a theme that emerges as Pilate begins to interrogate Jesus (18:33-38). Pilate represents political might symbolized in the emperor's crown. But Jesus' sovereignty is not "of this world," that is, it represents a very different sort of power--one that gives life. As the prologue of the Gospel had already proclaimed in poetic fashion (1:1-18) Jesus came into the world to proclaim the ultimate truth of God's love--those who hear the voice of Jesus know God's truth and live it out in their lives (8:47). The truth of God's love--and not brute, oppressive force--is the source of Jesus' power. Pilate, like the religious leaders, is incapable of recognizing this truth (18:37).

Even though he cannot understand Jesus, Pilate is convinced of his innocence and he goes outside to inform the leaders of his decision. To assuage them, he offers to release Jesus as a gesture on the occasion of the Passover (18:39). But the "Jews" demand that Barabbas be released instead. The Gospel simply notes that Barabbas was a "revolutionary" (18:40). Is John's irony at work again? Does the evangelist imply for the reader that the crowds are blind to the fact that the most profound revolution is the one inaugurated by Jesus himself? [Note that at this point John has subtly moved from identifying Jesus' opponents as the religious leaders to calling them in generic fashion, "the Jews"--the Christian reader must be careful not to draw the conclusion that all Jews are somehow guilty for the death of Jesus. This cannot be John's point: Mary, the Beloved Disciple, and Jesus himself were Jews!]

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