Forming Faith Blog

Pilate Condemns Jesus (John 19a)

Posted on March 10 2026 by Gregory Rawn

In reality, Pilate was cruel, but John portrays him as weak, bullied by the Jewish authorities into condemning Jesus. What pressures us to turn our backs on Jesus?

Note: For Lent, I’m trying something new with this blog. Let me know what you think!

A judge's gavel. Pilate's judgment condemns Jesus to crucifixion.
Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA
About the Story

After questioning Jesus in the previous chapter,  Pontius Pilate must now decide what to do with him. John’s portrayal of Pilate makes him appear to be weak, but writings from outside the New Testament portray this Roman governor as cruel and greedy, with no respect for the Jewish people. One result of this recharacterization is that a mild Pilate provides a contrast to the chief priests’ unwavering persecution of Jesus.

Roman cruelty is on display in the soldiers’ actions as they dress Jesus as a king with a purple robe of royalty, but also with a painful crown of thorns and mocking praise as they hit him in the face. Parading Jesus like this is intended not only to degrade Jesus, but to remind the religious authorities the low regard with which they hold the Jewish people.

The Jewish authorities continue to press their demands on Pilate. Now, not only do they want Jesus to be executed, but they specifically want him to be crucified. Crucifixion was a cruel and painful method of execution used by the Romans to punish lower-class citizens and would-be rebels. It was as much a warning to the people as it was a punishment for the condemned.

The chief priests and the temple police continue bullying Pilate, questioning his allegiance to the Roman emperor and pledging their own allegiance to the oppressive Roman government. Pilate quickly caves and hands Jesus over to be crucified.

Note

Note: The Gospel writer’s continued use of the word “Jews” in this and other passages in the Gospel of John has had the tragic effect of bolstering anti-Semitism throughout Christian history with the claim that Jesus was killed by the Jewish people as a whole. However, in the majority of cases, John is using this as shorthand for “the Jewish authorities.” It is not the Jewish people as a whole who stand against Jesus, but only those people in power who are threatened by Jesus’ own authority as the true king. (Adapted from Living the Word: Small Groups)

Context Insights

The following are a few insights found in our background resource Living the Word: Contexts & Connections.

  • History: By parading a beaten Jesus before the chief priests with a crown of thorns on his head, Pilate is not only mocking Jesus but also the Jewish authorities and saying, “Here is your king!” (John 29:24). The subtext is, “Look at how we Romans treat your king.” This is in keeping with what we know of the man. Historical evidence from outside of the New Testament shows that Pilate was a cruel and greedy governor who had no respect for the Jewish people under his rule. 
  • Culture/Religion: Crucifixion was used by the Romans as a political punishment to intimidate subject peoples. There is evidence that, by the first century CE, it was understood to connect with a command found in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which states that “anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” According to Deuteronomy, an executed criminal must be taken down from “the tree” the same day as the execution in order to avoid God’s curse. The Romans usually left crucified bodies on the cross for weeks, if not longer. This added to the heinousness of the practice in Jewish eyes.
  • Authorial Intention/Occasion: Throughout the trial of Jesus in the Gospel of John, it appears that Jesus is the one facing judgment. On a deeper level, however, John is actually showing that the political and religious powers of “the world” are on trial, represented by Pilate and the chief priests. By condemning Jesus, these powers condemn themselves.
Connections and Suggestions

We have Narrative Lectionary curriculum resources for all age groups. Here are a few activity summaries you can use. The full activity descriptions and much more are available in the product noted.

  • Kids: Jesus’ kingship is not at all like we would expect. Illustrate the idea that things are not always as they seem using a simple science experiment showing a drinking straw appearing bent in a glass of water via refraction.  (From Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (PK-6th))
  • Youth: Challenge youth to a relay race where two teams run across a playing space to a chair (throne) where one member from each team is sitting wearing a crown and a robe. The runner helps the crown-wearer remove the crown and robe, and then the runner puts on the two items. The previous crown-wearer races back to the team, and the next runner races to the throne. (From Living the Word: Youth)
  • Intergenerational education: Divide intergenerational participants into small groups. Either give each group a scenario (the original activity includes prepared scenarios) or have them come up with their own. Challenge groups to role-play their scenario and come up with two different endings: how a worldly “king” might respond and how a servant “king” might respond. (From Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education)

I hope you find this useful! If you have any questions or feedback on this blog post (or anything else), comment on this post below or on Facebook, or send me a message.

In Christ,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Order Faith Formation Resources

Lent is almost over, but it’s not too late! Order the Spring Quarters of our various resources and download them immediately. Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online, ready to order, and available for immediate download! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Brand new RCL faith-at-home resource!

I’m excited to announce a new product series for Spirit & Truth Publishing: Taking Faith Home. Taking Faith Home is a set of weekly devotional resources (often distributed as worship bulletin inserts) that follows the Revised Common Lectionary. Originally published by Milestones Ministry, they handed it off to us as of January 1, 2026. We offer it as a Church Year (Dec. 2025 to Nov. 2026) and a Program Year (Spring & Summer 2026 and Sept. 2026 to May 2027). You can also purchase by quarter (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall). Learn more here!

Lent, VBS, and More!

Are you looking for resources for Lent, VBS, topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive. Each unit can be used at any time in many different settings, but here are a few suggestions:

+ Lent: The I AM Statements of Jesus (free!), Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees), Do Justice
+ VBS: Paul’s Adventures (NEW!), Celebrations, Created to Care, God’s Gift of Water, Heroes of the Bible
+ Education/Events: Women of the Old Testament, Bible 101

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!! You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units!

I am very honored to announce that I was a guest on the premiere episode of season 3 of the Around the Table podcast! The topic: how faith formation is different than Christian education. Check it out at Around the Table S03E01.

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