Luke 23:1-2, John 18:30-19:33 — “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend…” There is one person who looms large over the account of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion who we don’t think about very much. He wasn’t there, but his influence most certainly was. His voice was never heard, but he was on the minds of many who were present in Pilate’s hall. This person’s name was Tiberius Julius Caesar.
When we carefully consider what happened during Jesus’ trial we see that Caesar really was the dominant figure and it seems as though Jesus of Nazareth was just another person crushed beneath the might of Rome. But is this true? Who really had the victory the day that Jesus was crucified?