Roman governor for execution, since the Romans had taken from
the sanhedrin the authority to execute a death sentence (John xviii. 31).
Before Pilate the Jews had to name an offence recognized by Roman law; his
accusers therefore falsified his claim and made him out a political
Messiah, hostile to Roman rule (Luke xxiii. 1, 2). Pilate soon saw that
the charge was trumped up, and sought in every way, while keeping the
good-will of the people, to escape the responsibility of giving sentence
against Jesus. His first effort was a simple declaration that he found no
fault in the prisoner (Luke xxiii. 4); then, having heard that he was a
Galilean, he tried to transfer the case to Herod, who happened to be in
the city at the time (Luke xxiii. 5-12); he then sought to compromise by
agreeing to chastise Jesus and then release him (Luke xxiii. 13-16); next
he offered the people their choice between the innocent Jesus and
Barabbas, a convicted insurrectionist (Mark xv. 6-15; Luke xxiii. 16-24),
and the people, instructed by the priests, chose Barabbas, caring nothing
for a Messiah who would allow himself to be arrested without resistance;
the fourth gospel tells of Pilate's still further effort, by appealing to
the people's sympathy, to escape giving sentence, even after he had
delivered Jesus to the soldiers for the preliminary scourging. Finding the
Jews ready to urge, at length, a religious charge, Pilate's superstitious
fear was roused (John xix. 7-12), and he sought again to release him, but
was finally cowed by the threat of an accusation against him at Rome,
and, mocking the people by sitting in judgment to condemn Jesus as their
king, he gave sentence against the man whom he knew to be innocent (John
xix. 12-16).

200. Some of Jesus' disciples and friends were witnesses of the early
stages of the informal trial, in particular, John (John xviii. 15) and
Peter. It was during the progress of the early examination that Peter was
drawn into his denials by the comments made by the bystanders on his
connection with the accused. It has been suggested that the house of the
high-priest where Jesus was tried was built, like other Oriental houses,
about a court so that the room where Jesus was examined was open to view
from the court. In this case it is easy to see how Jesus could overhear
his disciple's strenuous denials of any acquaintance with him, and could
turn and give him that look which sent him out to weep bitterly (Luke
xxii