That Just Man

A trial with no crime. In a fair court, a judge looks for the truth and gives the verdict the truth deserves. At Jesus' trial, the people judging Him kept saying the same thing. They could not find anything wrong in Him.

Pilate, the first time. After questioning Jesus about His kingdom, Pilate went out and said, “I find no fault in Him at all” (John 18:38). A fault here means a true charge, a real reason to blame someone.

Herod too. Pilate told the leaders, “I have found no fault in this Man... no, neither did Herod” (Luke 23:14-15). Herod had questioned Jesus and sent Him back.

Nothing worthy of death. Pilate added, “indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him” (Luke 23:15).

A message from his wife. While Pilate sat on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him” (Matthew 27:19). Just means right and good.

Again and again. Pilate brought Jesus out to the crowd and said, “I find no fault in Him” (John 19:4). When the crowd shouted, he said it once more: “for I find no fault in Him” (John 19:6).

What evil? Pilate asked the crowd, “Why, what evil has He done?” (Mark 15:14). Nobody gave him an answer. “But they cried out all the more.”

Washing his hands. When Pilate saw that a riot was starting, “he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person’” (Matthew 27:24). He said in front of everyone that he did not want to be blamed for this just Person's death.

Water could not wash it away. But Pilate was the judge. He had the power to set Jesus free, and he did not use it. Jesus told him, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).

One clear fact. Jesus did not die for anything He had done. Even the judge who handed Him over said He was innocent.

Then why did He die? If Jesus had no fault, the cross was not His punishment. It was ours. He took the punishment our sins deserve, and on the third day He rose again.

What this means for you. You can trust Jesus completely, because there is no fault in Him. And you can thank Him, because He died for faults that were yours.

God's Servant. Hundreds of years before Jesus, God spoke through Isaiah about His Servant, the One who would suffer for His people. The New Testament shows that this Servant is Jesus (Acts 8:32-35). In Isaiah 50 the Servant speaks.

He would not turn back. The Servant says that people would treat Him shamefully, and that He would not hide or turn away (Isaiah 50:5-6).

God will help. Then the Servant says, “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced” (Isaiah 50:7). He trusted God to stand with Him.

He is near. “He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me?” (Isaiah 50:8). To justify means to declare someone right. The Servant knew that God would show He was in the right.

Who will condemn? “Surely the Lord God will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me?” (Isaiah 50:9). To condemn is to declare someone guilty.

No deceit. Isaiah also wrote that the Servant “had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:9). Deceit means lying and tricking. Jesus never did either one.

Men condemned Him. At the trial, Pilate said Jesus had no fault, yet he handed Him over to be crucified. For a short time it looked as if the wrong verdict had won.

God's verdict. Then God gave His own answer. On the third day He raised Jesus from the dead. Paul says that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).

Peter preached it. Peter told the people of Jerusalem that they had asked for a murderer and had killed “the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 3:15). Peter also told them that they had acted without knowing what they were doing, “as did also your rulers,” and he called them to “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:17, 19). God turned the verdict of men upside down.

For us too. Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again, everyone who trusts Him can speak like the Servant. Paul wrote, “It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen” (Romans 8:33-34).

Not held against us. This means God no longer holds our sins against us. Jesus already took the punishment for them.

What this means for you. When you feel guilty, or someone tells you that you are too bad for God, remember who has the last word. If you trust Jesus, God has declared you forgiven.