It was the time of the Passover. Typically the Passover was a busy time in Jerusalem. For this reason, Pilate planned to spend several weeks in Jerusalem at this time of year. This year, Procula, his wife, wished to make the trip also, but Pilate refused her. "It’s too risky" he said, "The city is seething with unrest about this Messiah?"
Several days later, after a period of indirect persuasion, Pilate changed his mind and took her with him to Jerusalem. Procula was delighted with this eventual decision, because she herself was intrigued by this man Jesus. Everyone was talking about Him - maybe SHE could even meet him.
Finally when they reached the summit of the last ridge before Jerusalem they saw over in the distance, to the East, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, a crowd which appeared to be waving branches of some kind. It wasn’t clear what was happening, but Pilate and Procula were determined that they would find out exactly what was going on as soon as possible.
It finally made sense to them, later that evening they found out it was in honour of a man, the prophet Jesus, who had now come out of hiding. They were concerned about the potentially serious political overtones, but they were reassured by a roman tribune that this prophet Jesus was not politically motivated in the slightest, and that these swarms of pilgrims completely misunderstood him.
In this parade, Jesus’ vehicle was not a golden chariot as would be expected of a leader; rather it was a jogging old donkey. When Jesus reached Jerusalem He made no speeches or proclamations. He simply got off the donkey, walked over to the temple, and enjoyed the view across the Kidron Valley. After this he returned to Bethany with his disciples for the evening meal. Pilate was baffled. Pilate spent quite a while pondering the events of the afternoon. He was concerned for Jesus; he could see that this man Jesus was really getting himself into a double-bind. No matter what course of action he chose to take he would find himself in trouble with someone, it seemed like there were many in power wanting to see the end of him. If on the one hand Jesus entered the political arena, Rome would interfere, yet on the other hand, if held his strictly religious orientation, he would be in trouble with Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Pilate could see no way out for the man.
The next day, Monday, Pilate started assigning quotas for the annual tribute to Rome when Zacchaeus the tax collector arrived and announced "Noble prefect, in going over my accounts, I find that I made an error of $50,000 in last years tribute."
"Zacchaeus!" Pilate sniffed, "Securing a tax rebate from the imperial treasury is impossible."
"No, no your Excellency. I OWE the treasury $50,000. And here it is." Zacchaeus’ eyes were blazing happily.
Pilate’s jaw sagged. "What’s come over you, Zacchaeus? You usually battle me down to the last cent."
"Last Thursday, while I was up a tree in Jericho, the prophet…" He stopped abruptly, then laughed, "Oh ... nothing, gentlemen. Now Excellency, how much did you say poor Jericho will have to ’contribute’ this year?"
Later when the conferences had finished the tribune of Jerusalem arrived to see Pilate with a report that he thought the governor may be interested in.
"Just an hour ago we heard a commotion in the temple area. I took a squad of men up to the outer courts, but by then it was too late. ...The prophet Jesus had a whip in his hands and was using it to drive all the animals out of the temple." The tribune looked at Pilate and began to smile. Pilate was eager to hear more. "Did Jesus give any explanation for this ... unusual conduct?" he probed.
"Yes, it was most interesting. He said, ’My Father’s house is for PRAYER. You have made it a den of robbers!’ he was not a happy man. He sent the money changers tables flying; it was quite a sight to see them chasing their money!"
"Tell me more!" Pilate begged.
"He simply purged the place of commercialism. If you’ll pardon my opinion, sir, I think: he had the right idea. The temple was getting to look like a Persian market."
"I dare say, or a zoo." Pilate responded. "But Tribune didn’t you or your men try to interfere?"
"Well no sir. I didn’t want to infringe on the authority of the temple guard.
"Why didn’t they act?"
"They wouldn’t have dared arrest Jesus at that time and place. He’s too popular with the pilgrims." The tribune explained.
Pilate rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Suppose there were no crowds and no temple guard. Then would you have tried to stop the prophet?"
"I’d have been awfully slow about it."
"You’re a good man. Tribune," Pilate clapped him on the shoulder. Then he grinned. "I just recalled that most of the concessions in the temple courts are owned by the family of Annas and Caiaphas the high priest. What I wouldn’t give to have seen the look’s on their faces when they learned the news!"
Procula arrived home from Jerusalem and rushed to tell Pilate of an interesting conversation she had overheard that day between Jesus and the Pharisees, she carefully repeated the events to her enraptured husband.
"They started by asking him "Master, what is you opinion: Is it lawful to pay the tribute money to Caesar or not?" He said "You hypocrites! Trying to trap me in my words are you? Show me a piece of tribute money." The Pharisees handed Jesus a silver coin. Jesus held it up and asked, "Whose image is this, and whose inscription?" "Caesars!" they replied, and Jesus said, "Well then, pay Caesars what is Caesars, and pay God what belongs to God."" Procula finished her tale and looked at her husband.
"Ingenious," he responded, "ingenious. Even Cicero would have been proud of that line. I mean, look how sharp the horns of that dilemma were. If he’d said it was wrong to pay the tribute, he’d have been a hero to the people, but I’d have had to arrest him for treason. If he’s simply answered that it was right to pay tax, the crowds would have called him a Roman lackey."
On Wednesday, Pilate set up his court. The first two days in Jerusalem had been spent as the imperial tax agent. For the rest of this week and part of the next he would be the provincial judge. Any and all local disputes between Jew and Gentile or any political offences involving a threat to the Roman administration would come before his tribunal. Because it was so long since Pilate had been to Jerusalem, there was a huge back-log of cases to be heard.
Wednesday had been a taxing day for Pilate; it included two pardons, one imprisonment and one capital sentence. These were merely routine cases; the more important trials would come in the following week, culminating in the case of Rome versus the notorious Barrabas, a case in which Pilate felt that HE himself was on trial.
Late that evening the high priest Caiaphas’ servant Malchus delivered a note to Pilate. The essence of his note requested that Pilate send some of his guards to apprehend Christ. Caiaphas was becoming anxious with Christs’ influence on the people, and although the Sanhedrin had issued warrants for his arrest, he dared not doing anything himself because of the influence that Jesus had on the people. It advised Pilate that one of Jesus’ close associates had defected and was prepared to inform them of Jesus’ whereabouts. Caiaphas had decided that a nocturnal arrest would be the only time to proceed without a loud public outcry.
Pilate was resentful toward this intrusion, but knew that he had to reply. In his response he mentioned that he sympathised with their concern and would be ready to arrest him if he preached rebellion. "As it appears, so far he has not preached rebellion and therefore I do not feel justified in committing Roman auxiliaries to apprehend Jesus even if your temple guard would make the actual arrest" he wrote.
Pilate was up early the next morning, it was going to be a busy day in Court. There were many cases to try. The gallery was quite empty today as preparations for the Passover were about to come into full swing at sundown. Due to the backlog of cases, Pilate held an afternoon session of the court. That night Pilate was exhausted and ready for a peaceful night.
As Pilate and Procula were prepared for bed that evening Malchus arrived with another message from Caiaphas; the note said that they had arrested Jesus. It said that they had received little resistance, and requested that Pilate keep his armies on full alert in case riots began to break out. Caiaphas stated that in the meantime Jesus would receive a fair trial by the great Sanhedrin.
Procula said to Pilate, "Do you think: there’s any chance that he will get a fair trial?" "Perhaps" replied Pilate, "they’re only trying to head off a possible rebellion." With that Pilate dispatched orders to put his armies on full alert until further notice, and then turned in for the night.
On Friday morning Pilate got up early, probably about 6am. After a quick breakfast Pilate went down to the courts and started the day’s proceedings. First up he gave sentence to two highway men whose sentence had been postponed. He judged them guilty, and sentenced them to crucifixion, a standard punishment for their crime.
Just then Malchus barged into the court. Pilate called out, “What do you think you’re doing?” They replied "We have judged Jesus guilty; all we request is a simple confirmation of the sentence." Pilate was furious, one his court had been barged into and secondly, how the Sanhedrin could have given Jesus a fair trial. A case such as Jesus’ was a complex case, and there was no way that could have happened since he received the note last night. What made things worse is that they had sentenced the death penalty. Pilate knew that if they killed the prophet riots WOULD break out. He was also angry with the implications involved in the way the hearing had been conducted. They had not wanted Pilate to bother judging him. They were just looking for a rubber stamp, trying to bypass the Roman Leader. It seemed all they wanted from him was for him to countersign the order for execution like a good little prefect. Pilate was incensed and declared, "I will judge this case myself and I will do it thoroughly.”
As Pilate scanned the crowd he noticed the man Jesus standing there directly in front of him surrounded by members of the Sanhedrin. These men, the Sanhedrin, the Religious leaders of the people, they would become the accusers in this trial under the Roman law. Pilate was intrigued by just one face in the crowd. He stood there and scrutinised this man standing directly in front of him. Jesus had become larger than life after everything he had heard about him. Pilate stood there and looked at this bound, unkempt and evidently powerless man. As he looked into his eyes, he did not see the eyes of a guilty prisoner; instead he saw serenity, and just a trace of resignation.
Pilate inquired of the Chief Priests, "What charge do you bring against this man?" The Jewish leaders were thunderstruck. All of a sudden things had changed. Pilate had, with these words, announced the beginning of an official Roman trial. "If he were not a criminal we would not have brought him to you!" Annanias replied defiantly. Pilate retorted, "Very well then, take him and judge him according to your law."
"That is not possible according to Roman law." said Caiaphas, "We are not allowed to put anyone to death."
A smile played on Pilate’s lips, because he had won a round against the Sanhedrin. Again he asked, "What charge do you bring against this man?" They said, "We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding the payment of tribute money to Tiberius Caesar, and claiming that he is Messiah, a King!"
Pilate pondered these accusations, and realised that it was magnificently tailored to alarm a Roman prefect. The charges that were brought against Jesus were totally political.
Pilate reviewed these charges in his mind. Each of the accusations were of a more serious nature than the previous, Jesus could easily be put to death with these charges. Pilate was concerned, no one was prepared to defend Jesus, therefore he thought it fair to give him a brief, confidential hearing. Stepping back inside the palace he summoned Jesus to follow.
"ARE you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "How do you plead?"
Jesus looked up at him. "Do you ask this of your own accord, or did others tell it to you concerning me?"
"What? Am I a Jew? What have you done? It is your own actions and that of the chief priests that have brought you before me.”
Jesus replied, "My kingship is not of this world. If it were, my followers would fight to defend me. But my authority as king comes from elsewhere."
"So? You ARE a king, then?"
"It is as you say; that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world: to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."
"A kingship of TRUTH, you say?" Pilate asked quizzically. "What IS truth?"
Upon pondering Jesus’ words Pilate was convinced that his claims for kingship, his visionary "kingship of truth," had no political implications, so it would hardly be possible to construct a case against him on this charge. But he thought that Jesus might do well to avoid using the dangerous term “king” in the future.
Pilate led Jesus back to his outdoor tribunal and announced, "I find no guilt in him." Typically, this meant that the trial was over, and the conviction quashed. But, this was not an ordinary case. Pilate then declared again, "What evidence do you have to substantiate your charges?"
Caiaphas was organised. He began to bring forward his witnesses. A scribe told of hearing Jesus attack the Jerusalem authorities on three different occasions and inciting the masses. A grey-bearded priest spoke eloquently of his violence at the temple. An elder member of the Sanhedrin, his story well-corroborated by colleagues, reported Jesus’ claim to be Messiah-king in front of the entire Sanhedrin. Pilate watched all of this carefully, even he knew that some of these accusations were false.
After the prosecution rested its case, Pilate turned to Jesus, who had been totally silent and asked, "Have you nothing to say in your defence?" Jesus still remained silent. Pilate was astonished! In seven years he had never seen anything like this.
Once again Pilate addressed the crowd. "Can anyone offer evidence favouring the defendant, Jesus?" No one stepped forward. Whenever a lone voice protested, "He is innocent!" a great chorus responded, "He is guilty!"
This was enough to steer Pilate’s sympathy towards the defenceless accused, although he was getting impatient with the silent Jesus. Once again he cried out, "Will anyone testify on behalf of Jesus?" At that moment Rabbi Jonathan interrupted, "The man is a born troublemaker!" And in his summary Jonathan mentioned that Jesus was from Galilee. Pilate picked up on this and said, "Galilee is not my jurisdiction, this belongs to Herod Antipas, he should try this case!" With this Caiaphas objected. Pilate took-no notice, and officially announced, "This court takes no action against Jesus of Nazareth; the tribunal is adjourned."
The mob then set off to see Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at the time. They charged over to Herod’s palace. In Herod’s hearing he waived his jurisdiction over the subject, and referred it back to Pilate claiming that, "My Galileans are judiciable in Judea if they break Judean laws." Caiaphas responded, "Worthy Tetrarch, you have defended our cause admirably."
As the mob headed back to Pilate a tribune raced ahead and warned Pilate of their imminent arrival. Pilate was not surprised; he had expected this to happen. Pilate, groped in his mind for a solution, as the crowd arrived. Now they were crying out, "Away with him, condemn him, crucify him!" Pilate went out to meet the crowd, and ordered his guards to untie Jesus and escort him under imperial safe conduct as far as Galilee. The dumbfounded multitude cried out, "Crucify him!" With that cry a lynch mob stormed up to the tribunal and blocked any efforts to take Jesus away.
Pilate, feeling very apprehensive, welcomed a note from his wife Procula. It read, ’Keep your guard close about you, have nothing to do with that innocent man for I have suffered much today in a dream because of him.’ With that Pilate announced to the crowd, "Whom do you want me to release Barrabas or Jesus of Nazareth?" The crowd went quiet for a moment. Pilate announced once more, "Which of these men shall I release for you, Jesus or Barrabas?" A great cry came forth, "BARRABAS!" A few lone cries were made for Jesus, but they were swallowed up in the crowd. Bewildered, Pilate cried out, "Then what am I to do with Jesus of Nazareth?" Again the crowd cried out, "Let him be crucified’"
Pilate commanded Jesus to be brought into the courts to be beaten hoping that it would bring him to his senses, and encourage him to make a better defence of himself. Again Pilate brought Jesus before the people. The chief priests and elders cried out "Crucify him, crucify him!" Finally Pilate lost his patience. "You crucify him!" he snarled, "take him and crucify him yourselves, for I found no case against him." At this point Pilate released him to be crucified and the people replied, "Let his blood be on us and our children." This was a formula from the Old Testament meaning that they would assume responsibility for his death. Pilate washed his hands of the incident and exclaimed, "My hands are clean of this mans blood."
Pontius Pilate had the power but not the courage or the conviction. Pilate had the power to give him a fair and just trial. Pilate’s word was the final word. He could have released Jesus, His conscience was telling him to let Jesus go, he is innocent, but his fear of the crowd overwhelmed him. Pilate just turned his back on Jesus, a man whom He believed to be innocent in order to save his earthly kingdom. He turned his back on the man that he recognised to be the son of God, in order to have worldly prosperity. We may not be in the position of allowing Jesus to be crucified today, but we have the choice between living a life that builds our earthly kingdom, or a life that builds our heavenly kingdom. My prayer today is that you do not do the same as Pilate. Don’t turn your back on Jesus Christ for just a few years of worldly prosperity. Jesus has more than this to offer us, he offers us peace, he offers us a richer and better life now, in the future and forever more. Consider it for yourselves. When the chips are down, will you wash your hand of Jesus?
