Pilate Proclaimed
Jesus to be God
by Shari Abbot, Reasons for Hope* Jesus
Did Pilate Proclaim Jesus to be
God?
There was a message nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s not easily
seen, but it’s there.
What did Pilate write? He wrote more than what
you know.
Did Pilate intentionally write the
message and have it nailed to the cross?
Of course we know what’s really
important. Nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ was every sin we have committed,
or ever will commit.
Jesus took upon Himself our sins and paid for
them with His blood, opening the way of salvation for all who come to Him in
faith.
But there is also another message, nailed to
that cross.
It was written on a piece of wood, placed
above the head of the Lamb of God, and it proclaimed Jesus not only to be
The King of the Jews but also to be the Great I Am.
A Hidden Message Written in Wood
This message is a remez.
A remez, in Jewish hermeneutics (study
of Scripture), is the hint of a hidden message or a deeper meaning.
It’s something “below the surface” or “behind
the words” that reveals another message or a deeper understanding.
We find a remez in the piece of wood that
Pilate commanded to be nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s really amazing
what Pilate commanded to be written on it.
The Scripture tells us that Pilate asked Jesus
the question, “Art thou the King of the Jews?”
We are also told that Jesus confirmed
Pilate’s words with, “Thou sayest it.” (Luke 23:3)
Next we are told that Pilate offered to
release one of the prisoners to the people and he used the title “The King of the Jews” in referring to Jesus:
“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the
Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” (John
18:39)
The Jews did not accept this offer, but
instead cried out, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified.
The Titlon
It was customary for the Romans
to put a sign on each cross. .
This sign labeled the person being crucified
with the crime for which they had been charged.
The sign was called a titlon and it was an
official announcement from the presiding government official.
Pilate wrote the inscription and had
it nailed to the top of the cross of Jesus.
“Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing
was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (John 19:19)
This greatly angered the chief priests of the
Jews, who demanded of Pilate . . .
“Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the
King of the Jews.”‘ (John 19:21)
Pilate responded with,
“What I have written
I have written.” (John 19:22)
In the Greek, Pilate answered the chief
priest using the perfect tense, which is understood to mean, “What I have written will always remain
written.”
And so it has remained written–not only on the
cross that day but throughout the pages of history from that time forth.
What Made The Chief Priests So Angry?
Here’s where we find the remez,
or hidden message.
Yes, we know that the chief priests did not
want to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews, but there may
have been something much deeper that alarmed and stirred them to even greater
concern.
The following information is something I
learned from the Bible study teachings of Chuck Missler (khouse.org).
I present it for your consideration and I
encourage you to search the Scripture to see if this be so (Chuck Missler would
also tell you to do the same).
It’s very interesting and has merit. There’s
definitely a message, but whether Pilate intended it to be so we do not
know.
We also do not know if this roused the
anger of the chief priests, but there is reason to believe they would have seen
the message on the titlon and understood what it proclaimed.
An Epitaph Above Jesus’ Head
Pilate may not have understood
what he was doing when he gave instructions for the words to be inscribed
on the titlon placed above Jesus’ head.
He required that the words, Jesus of Nazareth
King of the Jews, be written in all three languages of the day.
Hebrew was the native language of the
people of Jerusalem, the land in which Jesus was being crucified.
Greek was the common language used
during that time.
And Latin
was the official language of the governing power of the day, Rome.
“Now Pilate wrote a title and
put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE
JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus
was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin.” (John
19:19-20)
The remez is found in understanding the
inscription written in Hebrew.
Remember that the Hebrew language is written
from right to left, so it would have read:
The Jews
The King The
Nazarene Jesus
HaYehudim
v Melech HaNazarei
Yeshua
The message is found in the acrostic that
is formed by these words.
An acrostic is a form of writing in which the
first letters of each word, line or paragraph are strung together to spell a
word or message (we call this an acronym).
Acrostics are found throughout Hebrew
writings, including in the books of Lamentations, Esther, Leviticus, Proverbs
31, and numerous psalms - most notably the longest psalm, Psalm 119, which is
divided into subsections with each section beginning with a letter of the
Hebrew alphabet.
The acrostic formed by the first letters of
each word in the inscription on the titlon (reading right to left) is YHVH.
Therefore, above Jesus’ head, written in an
acrostic, was revealed “YHVH,” which
is Yahweh or Jehovah.
This is the covenant name of God, given to His
people.
It is also known as the Tetragrammaton, the unpronounceable
name of God, and the Great I Am.
God the
Father chose to send Jesus to the cross to show His love and the seriousness of
our sin.
Jesus accepted to take our punishment, to save all who would believe.
Why
not receive
God's gift of salvation and become His child?
Open
your heart and say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am
a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from
my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help
me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the
Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You
that according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit
to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to
study Your Word - the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray.
Amen.”
"WHOSOEVER shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved," (Romans 10:13).
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lyrics
Crown Him Lord of Lords
Wonderful, Counselor
The Mighty God
Emmanuel, God is with us
And He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign forevermore
Crown Him King of Kings
Crown Him Lord of Lords
Wonderful, Counselor
The Mighty God
Emmanuel, God is with us
And He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign forevermore
Crown Him King of Kings
Crown Him Lord of Lords
Wonderful (Wonderful), Counselor (Counselor)
The Mighty God (The Mighty God)
Emmanuel, God is with us
And He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign forevermore
Crown Him King of Kings
Crown Him Lord of Lords
Wonderful (Wonderful), Counselor (Counselor)
The Mighty God (The Mighty God)
Emmanuel, God is with us
And He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign, He shall reign
He shall reign forevermore
Emmanuel, God is with us
Forevermore, Forevermore
https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/pilate-proclaimed-jesus-god/
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