Pilate
John 18:29-40
The phrase “suffered under Pontius Pilate” is used in the Apostle’s Creed and has been translated into more languages than just about every other name. Even though he stepped onto the stage of human history for only about four hours, Pilate’s name is known to more people in the world than most great men in history. He didn’t choose to get involved in the Passion of Jesus but involved he was. So what do we know about Pilate and what can we learn from him?
Pilate had a middle class upbringing. He served in the Roman army in Germany, and while on a long stay in Rome caught the affection of a Roman girl Claudia Procula, the granddaughter of Caesar Augustus. Because of this, Pilate was given a position that otherwise would never had been given to him. In A. D. 26, he was appointed governor of Judea and allowed to take his wife with him which was a very unusual privilege. As governor, Pilate was in charge of administering all aspects of Roman law, was head of its judicial system, collected taxes, allocated spending for the province, and sent taxes to Rome.
During this time, Palestine bristled with problems. Because of the stubborn resistance by the Jews toward their Roman captors, there was constant rebellion and unrest. Governor of Judea was not a highly sought position and was considered to be the armpit of the Roman Empire. Nobody in their right mind wanted the job. Although he was able to live in a palace with servants and soldiers at his side, he had to deal with all types of problems including keeping peace among the Jews, a seemingly fanatical people who only understood the whip.
There are diverse views about Pilate throughout history. The Ethiopian Coptic church recognized both Pontius Pilate and his wife, Procula, as saints and observe June 25 in their honor. The early church father Tertullian believed that Pilate "was a Christian in his conscience", and the Greek Orthodox church made Procula a saint. Medieval legends have Pilate tortured, exiled and compulsively washing his hands in his remaining days. Several historians paint Pilate as a brutal despot who despised the Jewish people. The historian Philo writes of "his venality, his violence, his thefts, his assaults, his abusive behavior, his frequent executions of untried prisoners, and his endless savage ferocity.” History seems to bear this out.
In one instance, Pilate decided that Jerusalem needed a new water supply. In order to finance the new aqueduct, Pilate stole from the temple treasury. The people were so incensed that they rioted in the streets and protested at His palace. Seeing the crowd, Pilate had his soldiers dress in plain clothes, mingle among the protesting people and then draw their swords and murder several thousand people. Another time, Pilate viciously quelled a peaceful gathering of Samaritans at Mt. Gerazim by killing those leading the event. They had gone there in search of holy vessels they believed Moses had buried there. These atrocities were hallmarks of Pilate’s rule. That kind of treatment only incited Jewish riots further which didn’t please Caesar. If there was one thing Rome wanted from their governors was peaceful rule. All of his actions eventually led to Pilate being recalled back to Rome in March 37AD.
At the time of his encounter with Jesus, Pilate was on the political hot seat. He had had several protests and riots and had been called to Rome by Caesar to feel his wrath. He couldn’t afford another insurrection. To make matters worse, when the Jews wished to fulfill the punishment of the law on their people, especially a death sentence, they had to go to Pilate for the Romans to carry out the sentence. He’s drawn into their squabbles whether he wants to or not. And that’s why when the religious leaders bring Jesus to Pilate on that fateful Friday morning, they know his back is against the wall and Caiaphas uses that to force Pilate’s hand. Pilate is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body enforcing Jewish law, sought to maintain Israel’s religious freedom but to do that, they needed to keep the Jewish people from rioting. Pilate needed the Sanhedrin to keep the Jewish people in check. The Sanhedrin had reached a guilty verdict against Jesus and handed him over to Pilate. They want Jesus punished and yet Pilate interviews him and finds him innocent. If he didn’t please the Jews, they would riot, report to Rome, and would probably lose his job. If he didn’t please his wife, well you know the old saying, “Happy wife, happy life” or to put it another way: “if momma ain’t happy, no one’s happy.” So Pilate’s decision will determine whether he either keeps his job and makes the Jews happy or frees an innocent man and makes his wife happy.
So what do we learn from Pilate? First, Pilate refuses to stand up for justice. Proverbs 18:5 says, “It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.” Pilate is more interested in looking out for his own interest rather than that of an innocent man. Luke and John tell us that Jesus admits to Pilate that He is the King of the Jews but that His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom not a physical or political one. On hearing that testimony, Pilate goes back out and tells the leaders that there is no basis for a trial, that their accusations are not relevant to his court. When Pilate hears that Jesus comes from Galilee, he passes him off to Herod who ruled over that province. But Herod found no fault and sent him back. Then he tries to let Jesus off with just a beating but that’s not enough to please the crowd. Pilate then goes to the crowd and asks them to choose between Jesus and Barrabbas, thinking that surely they would choose an innocent man over a hardened criminal but much to his dismay, they choose Barrabbas.
In all of this, Pilate was trying to live up to his wife’s request “to leave that innocent man alone.” But instead of taking a stand for Jesus, he bows to the will of the crowd. It’s so much easier to let others decide a person’s fate rather than step up and speak out on another’s behalf. And yet that is exactly what we are called to do for “The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5 And Zechariah 5:9 says, “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.” We need to take a stand for the poor, the victims, for those who have no voice, for those society overlooks and speak out on their behalf and seek justice for them. We need to take a stand for justice and righteousness.
Second, Pilate refuses to seek truth. Jn. 18:37-38 (14:6; 8:31-32) Jesus said to Pilate, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate answers Jesus with a question: “What is truth?” “And the Scriptures say, “With that, he went out to the crowd.” Right then and there, Pilate had the opportunity of a lifetime to have a discussion with the Teacher of All Truth which would not only guide him in his immediate situation but for all of his life. But instead, he throws out a philosophical question, a question that shows he hasn’t ever really wrestled with his faith and what he believes and he just leaves it at that.
When Jesus speaks of Truth, he not just talking about any truth or one person’s idea of ’truth’ but, an absolute, universal, and unalterable Truth. With this, Jesus gave Pilate a tremendous opportunity, an opportunity to stand and stake his life and position on such a Truth rather than the jaded opinions of the Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, a truth relative to them and only them but which they are trying to impose on others. When Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” and then he leaves the conversation, he does what many people to do fail to do and that is think and wrestle with Truth and what they really believe. Too many Christians fail to put in the work to not only seek Truth but to really think about what they believe, why they believe it and what makes it Truth, not just truth for them but Truth for all people, in all circumstances and in all times. We have become a people who want to be spoon fed our faith and told what to believe but we don’t want to do the hard work of wrestling with their faith and what they believe and why they believe it. It’s so much easier to just accept what we’re told to believe or what we think makes sense without ever really putting it to the test.
Pleaseconvinceme.com writes, “…in our search for answers; sometimes we ask the wrong spiritual questions! If the question is simply how I can find happiness, or satisfaction, or purpose, well there are a number of ways I can do that (although most of them are very temporary). There may be many ways (many spiritual paths) that I can take in an effort to be happy or satisfied, but these goals are not specific enough. I’m asking some good questions but….happiness and satisfaction are secondary questions to a much more important question; what is the truth about the existence and nature of God?” And then he writes, “Personally, I am not interested in simple happiness and satisfaction. I am interested in the objective, absolute truth about God, because only this truth has long term significance.” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
Third, Pilate fails to make a decision for Christ. His encounter with Christ is an encounter with Truth (the Way, the Truth and the Life) and truth always demands a response. Pilate brought more and more truth to bear on his conscience. Jesus answered those questions by talking about the real source of authority, which is God not Caesar. Jesus had talked to Pilate about the nature of His kingdom—a kingdom not from this world but from heaven above. He talked with him about two kinds of people—those on the side of truth and those in opposition to truth. Pilate progressively realizes that there is something highly unusual about Jesus. We, in turn, must recognize that Jesus gives us the same opportunity. Will we respond, like Pilate, and flippantly challenge the entire notion of truth? Or, will we embrace that which is absolute and unalterable, regardless of our denials and efforts to re-define truth?
Jesus presents us with a decision: are we going to decide to believe in Him and follow in His footsteps seeking to live a life just like Him or are we going to just “lay-up,” stay on the fringes, and continue to be a fan of Jesus rather than a follow. You see a fan of Jesus stays in the seats or on the sideline and never gets in the game. Kyle Adelman writes, “A fan is an enthusiastic admirer but Jesus is never interested in “enthusiastic admirers. He wanted completely committed followers. He wants more from us that a raised hand or a prayer repeated at the end of the service. He is looking for more than a prayer before a meal and a Jesus fish on the back of a car. He wants more than fans: he wants followers who take up a cross and die to themselves.” Fans never fully commit to Jesus but instead are content just worshipping Him but not living focused on the mission, the values and the heart of God. Pilate’s dilemma then is ours today: to stay on the sideline or to get involved, make a decision and accept the call of His life to become a follower.
Like Pilate we must answer two questions: Who is Jesus? Is He just a good man so there’s no reason to commit to Him, or is He who he says he is? The Son of God who died in my place. If I believe the latter then why wouldn’t I give my life to Him? And once we decide who Jesus is, we’ve got to answer Pilate’s question: “What will I do with Jesus?” Will we try to evade him and thus make the decision to remain uncommitted? Or will I surrender to Him as Lord, the director of our life?
As James Stewart, in his book, “The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ”, wrote: "Everyone who studies this narrative has the strange feeling that the tables are being turned, before their very eyes. And that what they are seeing, is not Jesus on trial before the crowd, but Pilate, on trial before Jesus. In fact, as Pilate stands with the Son of God in those hours, it is as if Jesus’ searchlight is probing his soul, revealing his true character for all the world to see. But every soul stands where Pilate stood at sometime in their life... Face to face with Jesus in the place of decision."
