Series: “Encounters With Christ”
“Jesus and Pilate”

The Jewish leaders had given Jesus a hurry-up trial and had decided He should die. But as a country occupied by the Romans, they weren’t permitted to carry out the death sentence. To do that they needed a Roman trial, and so they turned to Pontius Pilate for help.

Pilate was Procurator of Judea. A “procurator” was a sub-governor, serving under the governor who ruled all of Syria. It wasn’t that high a position, but it was looked on as a stepping stone up the political ladder.

Being a ruler of the Jews in Judea wasn’t easy. Jews resented their defeat by Rome and their loss of independence. They still maintained a fierce nationalism as Israelites. And on top of that was their sometime fanatical Hebrew religion: they still believed they were God’s special people.

Judea was a volatile area. At any moment some zealous Jew could come out of nowhere and spark an insurrection against the Romans. Pilate had his hands full.

Secular historians of that period don’t present a very flattering portrait of Pilate. From day one he antagonized the Jews. Previous procurators seemed to respect Jewish religion and Jewish scruples; Pilate tended to ignore them. Several times he used unnecessary violence when Jews protested his ill-advised policies. Hate for him escalated when he raided the temple treasury to pay for the building of an aqueduct in Jerusalem. The Emperor Tiberius had received complaints about Pilate, and once Tiberius even had to intervene and order Pilate to alter his policies against the Jews. So the Pilate Jesus confronted was on shaky ground with the Emperor, and resented by the Jews.

It was the Feast of Passover. Jerusalem was packed with visitors. The noisy crowds, the religious fervor, the intense nationalistic spirit always made Passover time a setting ripe for revolution. It no doubt made Pilate nervous and extra cautious. And now, perhaps awakened from sleep during the wee hours of the morning, a problem was dumped on his doorstep: a prisoner named Jesus. “Sir, I’m sorry to have to bother you at this hour, but some of the chief priests are here to see you. They say it’s urgent.” Still half-asleep, Pilate groans: "Oh no. Not them. Not now!”

The Gospel of John describes the encounter between Jesus and Pilate in chapters 18 and 19. Turn to John 18. First, the chief priests won’t come into the governor’s palace, for this home of a Gentile was off limits. John writes with irony, “they themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover” (John 18:28). Those plotting to execute God’s Son were worried about being ritually impure!

“So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?'”
(John 18:29). "They answered, 'If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you'" (John 18:30). In other words, if he hadn't done something wrong we wouldn't be here!

"Pilate said to them, 'Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law'" (verse 31). Apparently he thinks Jesus has merely violated one of their religious laws, and hoping to pass the buck he says, “Take care of it yourselves!” "The Jews answered, 'We are not permitted to put anyone to death'" (verse 32). When they mention the death sentence, Pilate realizes that a more serious charge is being leveled.

Pilate goes back inside the palace to Jesus – it’s probably the first time they’ve met. He asks Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Jesus answered, 'Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?'" (verse 34). Are you asking this because you want to know, or because someone else told you about me? Listen, Pilate says, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”

"Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here'" (verse 36). “So you are a king?” Pilate asks. Jesus responds: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

“What is truth?” Pilate asks (verse 38). Is this a serious question on Pilate’s mind? A deep longing in his soul? Or merely a cynical, "whatever" response? “What is truth, anyway!"

I can’t help but wonder if Pilate must not have felt a growing uneasiness about this man Jesus…an air of superiority about him that was unsettling. Pilate walks out to the Jews: I find no case against him. But you have a custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover. How about if I release the King of the Jews? "No! No!" they shout. "Release the other prisoner, Barrabbas". Pilate is attempting to free Jesus, but they won't stand for it.

An idea comes to Pilate’s mind. He scourges Jesus. The soldiers take a whip laced with pieces of metal and bone and crack it over Jesus’ back (at this point some prisoners lose consciousness or even succumb to the torture). Part of a thorn bush is shaped into a crown and pushed and twisted onto Jesus’ head. Then they throw a robe over Him and begin to call Him “king!” and slap Him in the face and make fun of Him. Pilate has Him dragged out to the chief priests and their guards – maybe they’ll pity Him and be satisfied that this is enough punishment. “Look at this man. I don’t find him guilty of any crime.” But they are more hostile: Crucify Him! Crucify Him! He claimed to be the Son of God, and our law says because of that, He must die!

Pilate takes Jesus back inside, and by now Pilate is wide awake! Getting more edgy and unglued, he doesn’t know what to do. He wants to appease the Jews (as much as he hates them). He doesn’t want a riot to break out. But there’s just something so unearthly about this man, that he’s actually afraid of Him. In Matthew’s gospel it says that Pilate’s wife has a dream about Jesus and warns her husband not to have anything to do with this innocent man (Matthew 27:19).

“Where are you from?” Pilate asks. But Jesus is silent (John 19:9). "Pilate therefore says to him, 'Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?'" (verse 10). Jesus’ reply makes Pilate’s heart thump even more: "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

Tense and sweating, Pilate goes back out to the Jews. “I’m going to let this man go.”
“You do that and you’re not Caesar’s friend! Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against Caesar” (John 19:12). That remark stabbed Pilate like a knife! Pilate’s career aspirations were already teetering and tottering. If word got back to Emperor Tiberias that Pilate had released a prisoner accused of treason, it was curtains for his career. Still torn, Pilate almost pleads: “Here’s your king! Shall I execute your King?”
Then one of the strangest sentences to ever come from the mouth of a Jew – let alone the chief priests: “We have no king but the emperor!” (John 19:15). The Hebrews? Israel? No king but the Roman emperor? Then those fateful words recorded by John: "Then he handed him over to them to be crucified" (verse 16).

Pontius Pilate’s name has been etched into history because of his encounter with Jesus. In one sense he was a one-of-a-kind figure – thrust upon the spotlight of history by having to decide the earthly fate of the Son of God. But in another way, Pilate is no different from us as we encounter Jesus.

Like Pilate, we have to decide whether the claims of Jesus are true. Pilate was confronted with the claims of Jesus! Is He really a king? Is he the “truth” He talks about?

Every one of us who has ever heard the message Jesus has to decide whether what He claims about Himself is true or not. Is He God? Is He the way, the truth, the life, as He said? Does He forgive sins? Is He the bread of life that nourishes our soul? Is He the resurrection and the life?

There are many people who regard Jesus as a great teacher, a moral example, a prophet or a wise man, but don’t believe He is God or the world’s only Savior. C.S. Lewis, in his classic, Mere Christianity, wrote: A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he’s a poached egg – or else he would be the devil of hell; you must make your choice. Either this was, and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But don’t come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He hasn’t left that alternative to us.”

Like Pontius Pilate, you and I have to decide whether what Jesus claimed about Himself is true or not. Is Jesus the King He claimed to be? You've got to decide whether or not He is King - Lord…Master. The Bible claims that Jesus is the King of all creation. King of
kings. Lord of lords.

Because of that, we have to decide whether or not we will make Jesus Lord and Master of our life. Much of life is lived around that question of whether I myself am going to be at the center of life and in the driver’s seat, or whether Christ will hold that position. A World War II pilot wrote a book called, God is My Copilot. He described how he felt God was with him during those days of battle. For a while that became a popular saying, “God is my copilot”. More recently someone has quipped, “If God is your copilot, you better change seats!”

I want Jesus to be the Pilot of my life! To guide me and direct me. To be my boss. Frankly, sometimes it’s a struggle. I want my own way. But growing spiritually means I come more and more to that place where I can say in every situation, “Your will be done!” Not mine, but yours! Will you let this Jesus who is King of all creation be the King of your life?

Pilate also had to make a moral choice whether to do the thing that was convenient, or the thing that was right. Can we not appreciate the spot Pilate was in? He felt pressure from the Jews to sentence Jesus to death. He felt pressure from his wife to let Jesus go. He felt in his own conscience that Jesus was an innocent man. But his career was on the line. What moral choice was he to make? Unfortunately for him, he chose the route of self-interest. Of protecting his career. Of trying to save his own hide.

All of us have to make moral choices. Every day we have to make choices that determine the course and destiny of our life. And these choices can be difficult. I talked once with a person having a lot of stress at work. This person did not agree with company policy, but to go against it, might mean losing his job – creating a major upheaval for his family (including a probable relocation). This person was struggling with that moral issue.

For teenagers, it might mean having to decide, should I drink or do drugs when I’m at this party and some of friends are doing it? For married people it might mean should I remain faithful to my spouse when I could easily give in to an attraction I’m feeling towards someone else? Or in another instance, should I give in to the temptation to buy something I don’t need, when I could give that money to someone who really needs help?

While sometimes we have to make a moral choice that is weighty and immediately alters the course of our life, most of the time we are made or broken by the little moral choices that confront us every day. Oscar Wilde was a playwright in the 19th century, something of a cynic and a hedonist. He once said, “The gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease…tired of being on the heights, I deliberately went to the depths in search for new sensation…I grew careless of the lives of others. I took pleasure where it pleased me, and passed on. I forgot that every
little action of the common day makes or unmakes character, and that therefore what one has done in the secret chamber, one has some day to cry aloud from the house-top…I allowed pleasure to dominate me. I ended in horrible disgrace.” Reading that, I can’t help but think of Eliot Spitzer, deposed governor of New York State, who just resigned in disgrace, because of foolish moral choices.

Yes, there are those times when, just like Pilate, we are faced with a huge moral choice that becomes a defining moment of life. But most of the time the moral choices that come to us day-by-day are what determine the direction and destiny of our lives. Will we have the courage to take a stand for what is right? Or will we take the coward's way out and do what is convenient, or self-serving?

Whatever happened to Pontius Pilate? We don’t know for sure. All kinds of traditions and legends abound. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, in 36 A.D. (perhaps 3 years after sentencing Jesus), Pilate was called to Rome to answer complaints against him, and his governorship ended. The early church historian Eusebius says Pilate was banished to the city of Vienne in Gaul (modern France), where he eventually committed suicide.

I guess one has to ask: What did Pilate’s compromise gain him? He took the easy way out, the moral low road, but what did it do for his soul.

Harry L. Kaufhold, Jr.
Preached at Lititz United Methodist Church
March 16, 2008

Back to Archive Listing