"The Trial Before Pilate"

 

" 'You are a King, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, '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, the Roman governor of Judea, was a man stuck in indecision. He could not accept the charges that the Jewish leaders brought against Jesus, but he was also not willing to listen to the truth of Jesus. He wanted to release Jesus, but he ended up crucifying him. Raymond Brown writes about Pilate, "Having failed to listen to the truth and decide in its favor, he and all who would imitate him inevitably finish in the service of the world. "

            Pilate, the governor of Judea from 26 to 36 A.D. , is the one who is responsible for the death of Jesus. The Jewish writings of the time depict him as one who was characterized by robbery, murder and inhumanity.  As the governor of Judea, the voice of Rome in that area of the world, he should have been strong and authoritative, and yet in the Gospels he comes across as being weak, compromised, and indecisive. He could have silenced the crowd's cry to crucify Jesus. He could have set him free. He strikes us as someone who knew what was right to do, and yet failed to do it.

             When the Romans took over regions, they respected the laws and customs of the conquered people. Most disputes and criminal proceedings continued to be handled by the local courts. But important cases, and especially those that  involved capital punishment, were handled by the Roman governor. The governors were free to make up their own rules for a trial and to judge guilt or innocence however they wished. Pilate is acting legally and appropriately here in holding a private trial for Jesus.

            The question of whether Jewish courts had the authority to impose the death penalty is difficult to resolve. There were times when someone was stoned to death after a trial. Stephen would be an example of that. But they probably did not have authority to carry out an execution, and the Romans most likely would not have allowed it in the case of Jesus. What seems clear is that the Jewish leaders, the Jerusalem priests and Pharisees who wanted to kill Jesus, actually wanted him to be crucified. There is a passage in Deuteronomy 21 that says, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse." They may have felt that crucifixion would completely discredit Jesus and his memory. Leon Morris writes, "Caiaphas would see crucifixion as a way of discrediting Jesus, and John saw it as the way Jesus took away the sin of the world. "

            So Jesus comes to stand before Pilate. The Jewish authorities stood outside the house where Pilate stayed in Jerusalem. There was a rule, they felt, about not entering the house of a Gentile, lest they become defiled, and then they would miss the Passover meal. They were worrying about keeping ritual purity at the same time they were demanding the execution of an innocent man by crucifixion. Pilate spoke to Jesus inside the house, and then he came outside to speak to the leaders. Back and forth he went several times, each time trying to find a solution to his problem of what to do with Jesus.

            The other Gospels portray Jesus as nearly silent throughout his trial, but John records a conversation between Jesus and Pilate. It reminds us of Jesus speaking to Nicodemus or the woman at the well. He tries to bring Pilate into the truth. First Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews. That is a title that Herod the Great gave himself. It was also used by the Hasmonean kings many years earlier during a brief time of independence. So it came to mean an expected liberator, someone who would rescue Israel from Rome. The King of the Jews would be a great warrior with power to match Rome. Pilate is incredulous as he asks Jesus, "Are YOU the King of the Jews?" Jesus does not answer him directly, but points out that he has no army, no one to fight. Indeed his kingdom is from another place. Augustine wrote of his answer, "His Kingdom is here till the end of time, but it does not belong here because it is in the world only as a pilgrim." Pilate understood that Jesus was innocent of a charge of treason against Rome.

            Then they talked about truth. Jesus says that the reason he was born was to testify to the truth, and that all who listen to him are on the side of truth. This is the invitation of Jesus to Pilate. Jesus is the truth, and just as the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd, so all who listen to Jesus and believe belong to the truth and have life in his name.

            This is where we see the soul of Pilate. Rather than to listen to Jesus and open his heart to Jesus, he abruptly cuts off the conversation by asking "What is truth?" Brown states, "Pilate does not accept the charges of 'the Jews' but neither will he listen to the voice of Jesus. He does not recognize the truth." We see that Pilate does not know what truth is, but he does know what is expedient. He has no truth in him to stop him from doing what is evil. He has no anchor in his life.

            Now Pilate tries to release Jesus, but he does not acquit him. He tries to find a solution that will make it unnecessary for him to decide in favor of Jesus. First he tells the leaders to judge Jesus by their own law. They will not accept that solution.

Then he offers to release one prisoner for the festival. This amnesty would allow him to release Jesus without making any judgment. But they choose Barabbas instead.

He then sends Jesus out to be flogged and mocked by the soldiers. Surely such stern punishment will convince the leaders to let him release Jesus. But that does not meet their demands.

            Finally he tries to make them ask for crucifixion in a way that denies all hope of a Messiah and instead proclaims the Emperor as their only king. But they are willing to do even that. The chief priests respond, "We have no king but Caesar" (19:15).

All his solutions fail. He must make a decision. So he crucifies Jesus. He puts to a horrible death one that he knows to be innocent.

            Raymond Brown writes, "Pilate's decision is typical of people who would try to adopt a middle position in a struggle that is total. A person who refuses decisions is led to tragedy. The would-be neutral man serves the world and crucifies Jesus."

            There is a myth in our world that says you can live in a safe, neutral space, never committing to Christ but not turning against him either. The myth says you should keep your options open; don't give your life fully to the Lordship of Christ. It says you are safe when you sit on the fence; you are most secure when you live for yourself.

            There is a popular way of living that says the nourishment of your soul is best done in a kind of buffet line. You choose from all the choices that are offered what looks best to you at any time. When Jesus suits you best, then choose his words. When the world seems to offer more then go that way. Pilate shows us where such a life leads. If you do not choose to follow Christ and serve him only, you will serve the world. If you have no anchor, you will drift. If you only know what is expedient, you will do what is evil.

            You may be one who is drifting today. You have held back from committing your life to Jesus, thinking you could live in a safe neutral place, not risking too much, waiting to see what is most to your advantage. It is the way of Pilate. Today Jesus invites you to make a true commitment of your life to him. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Salvation is found in him. Life is found through commitment to him. "I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back."

            You may feel led to make a re-commitment of your life to Christ. Maybe as a child or a young person you made that commitment to Christ. But in recent years your commitment to Christ has lacked practice. You have not been doing the will of God. You believe, but you don't really follow. Your commitment, without exercise, has lost the controlling place it once had in your life. Paul writes that the mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but he mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. You need to recommit your life to Christ. You need to let him renew your thinking, your attitude and your will. Don't follow the way of Pilate. He is not your guide in life. Remember the call of Christ in your life. Let him once again truly be Lord of all you do.

            Amen.