Luke 23:3

Now two charges having been brought against our Lord, namely, that He forbade to pay tribute to Cæsar, and called Himself Christ the King, it may be that Pilate had chanced to hear that which our Lord spake, Render unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar's; and therefore setting aside this accusation as a palpable lie of the Jews, he thought fit to ask concerning that alone of which he knew nothing, the saying about the kingdom; for it follows, Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews, &c.

Therefore Pilate too, having understood the slander, openly says: "I find no fault in this man." In my opinion, even the very question which he puts to Christ is a mockery of the slander. For by saying: "Are You the King of the Jews?" he …

It seems to me that he asked this question of Christ by way of deriding the wantonness or hypocrisy of the alleged charge. As if he said, Thou a poor humble naked man, with none to help Thee, art accused of seeking a kingdom, for which Thou wouldest need many to help Thee, and much money.

And Pilate asked him, saying,....

Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage — what false accusations were laid to our Lord Jesus Christ's charge. We are told that the Jews accused Him of "subverting the nation, forbidding to give taxes to Caesar, and stirring up the people." In all this indictment, we know, there was not a word of truth. It was nothing but a devious attempt to enlist the Roman governor against our Lord. Lying and slander are two favorite weapons of the devil. He was a liar from the beginning, and is still the father of lies. (John 8:44.)

Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage — what false accusations were laid to our Lord Jesus Christ's charge. We are told that the Jews accused Him of "subverting the nation, forbidding to give taxes to Caesar, and stirring up the people." In all this indictment, we know, there was not a word of truth. It was nothing but a devious attempt to enlist the Roman governor against our Lord. Lying and slander are two favorite weapons of the devil. He was a liar from the beginning, and is still the father of lies. (John 8:44.) When he finds that he cannot stop God's work — his next device is to blacken the character of God's servants, and to destroy the value of their testimony. With this weapon, he assaulted David , "False witnesses," he says, "testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about." With this weapon, he assaulted the prophets. Elijah was accused of being a "troubler of Israel!" Jeremiah was accused of undermining the nation, and being a traitor! With this weapon Satan assaulted the apostles . They were "pestilent fellows," and men who "turned the world upside down." With this weapon he assaulted our Lord all through His ministry. He stirred up his agents to call Him a glutton and a drunkard, a Samaritan and a devil! (Luke 7:34; John 8:48.) And here, in the verses before us, we find Satan plying his old weapon to the very last. Jesus is arraigned before Pilate upon charges which are utterly untrue. The servant of Christ must never be surprised if he has to drink of the same cup with his Lord. When He who was holy, harmless, and undefiled, was foully slandered — then who can expect to escape? "If they called the master of the house Beelzebub — then how much more will they call those of his household?" (Matthew 10:25.) Nothing is too evil to slander a saint with.