- Pontius Pilate: The Roman governor who presided over Jesus' trial. He publicly declared multiple times that he found no fault in Him. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." ... Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ... For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." Luke 23:4, 13-15, 22, (Also John 18:38, 19:4)
- Pilate’s Wife. She sent a message to her husband warning him not to harm Jesus because of a troubling dream she had. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." Matthew 27:19
- Herod Antipas: The tetrarch of Galilee who also examined Jesus. After questioning Him, he found no grounds to condemn nim to death and sent him back to Pilate. See above, Luke 23:15
- The Repentant Thief. The criminal crucified alongside Jesus defended him while on the cross, stating that Jesus had done nothing wrong. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Luke 23:41
- The Roman Centurion: The soldier in charge of the execution detail declared Jesus to be a righteous and innocent man immediately after witnessing his death. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man. Luke 23:47
- Judas Iscariot: After realising the consequences of his betrayal, the disciple confessed that he had sinned by handing over "innocent blood". "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." ... Matthew 27:4a
- The religious leaders. Despite their efforts the religious leaders could not even find acceptable false evidence against his innocency. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Matthew 26:59, 60
The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.
Seven People who testified to the innocence of the Lord Jesus
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