People of the Passion: Pontius Pilate, the Thinker

John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."


We do not regularly recite a list of the people of the passion. But we do regularly speak the name of one of the villains. Every time we say the Apostles’ Creed, we point out that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.”

So, Pontius Pilate, ironically, lives in infamy. I say ironically because Pilates’ goal was to achieve political greatness in the Roman Empire. He wanted nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth.

When Pontius Pilate first took his position as governor of Judea, his political star was on the rise. The governorship was to be but one step toward a place in the Roman Senate or better for this brilliant, young Roman nobleman. But the shifting political winds changed all of that, and today we know him primarily as the man who ordered Christ’s crucifixion.

Pilate’s road to success in the Roman government depended on his success in Judea. Assuming that Pilate was inclined to logically plan each move toward his ambitious goal, we will think of him today as Pontius Pilate, the Thinker.

Because of their religion, the Jews were some of the hardest people for the Romans to rule. Pilate had to keep his finger on the pulse of things. He no doubt did some serious thinking about Jesus of Nazareth long before the Jews brought Jesus to trial. Any movement among the Jews that attracted such large crowds of people around a leader posed a potential threat to Roman rule. Pilate would have been informed and advised about Jesus and his followers.

But during the three years of Jesus’ ministry, Pilate found no reason to move against him. This Jesus held no particular danger for Pilate. Much of Jesus’ activity was in Galilee, outside of Pilate’s jurisdiction. When in Judea, Jesus appeared to cause more concern for the Jewish leaders, the priests and Pharisees, than for Rome. Pilate had to like that. Whatever Pilate had heard of Jesus’ teachings, he dismissed them as harmless to the state. The Jesus movement was only of passing interest, because it did not threaten Rome’s security in the region.

Opposition to Jesus came from the Jews, not from the Romans. Pilate had things under control. He had thought it all out; but he did not reckon with the events to come during the Jewish Passover festival. The fanatical Jews would defy logic and reason in what ensued.

Quite unexpectedly, to Pilate’s thinking, the Jewish leaders arrested Jesus during the festival. They ran Jesus through a speedy trial on trumped-up charges and finally sentenced him to death for religious, not civil or political, reasons.

The next step was to bring Jesus to Pilate, because only the Roman leader could execute a death sentence. Knowing that Pilate would not support their religious notions, the Jews offered Pilate political reasons for Jesus’ death. They accused Jesus of subversion to the government, of refusing to pay taxes, of claiming to be a king.

The charges were serious, but Pilate was not going to let the Jews slip anything over on him. Instead of simply confirming the sentence and ordering the execution, Pilate decided to retry the case.

We may wonder why he did so. Quite possibly he thought about how Herod a couple of years earlier had executed John the Baptist, and public sentiment turned against him for killing a prophet. Pilate did not want to be known as a “prophet killer.”

More important, Pilate did not trust the Jews. The Jews hated Rome, but now they came accusing one of their own of being a traitor to Rome? Jesus, standing there in dignified silence, did not appear to him as the picture of a dangerous leader. Besides, Pilate couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear Jesus’ story in this unique case. He might even overturn the verdict of the Jewish leaders and gain popularity with the common people.

So Pilate spoke with Jesus, expecting to dismiss the case in short order. But Jesus remained strangely silent. Most prisoners could hardly wait to make an impassioned plea to Pilate in their own defense. But not Jesus.

Jesus finally answered the question whether he was a king. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He said that he came as a king “to testify to the truth” (Jn 18:36,37).

“What is truth?” Pilate scoffed (v. 38), not believing in any absolute truth. But he also concluded that the claims Jesus made as a king were innocent and harmless.

Pilate went out and told the Jews that he found no guilt in Jesus. Ordinarily that would have ended the matter right there. But the Jews resisted. They would not be satisfied with any less than the death sentence on Jesus. They would force Pilate’s hand.

Pilate hesitated. He was strangely conflicted. He had no particular compunctions against condemning an innocent man. Yet he found himself alone in defending Jesus. He had the power to declare Jesus innocent and free him on the spot. But he needed to get him released without a backlash from the Jews.

Pilate tried all the angles he could think of to get Jesus released without incident. He repeated that he found no fault in Jesus. But the crowd—stirred up by the leaders—insisted that he condemn Jesus. He browbeat Jesus to speak up in his own defense and give him something to go on. But Jesus kept silent.

He learned that Jesus was a native of Galilee. So in a masterstroke he put him in custody of Herod, the ruler over Galilee. But Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.

He had Jesus whipped and mocked to satisfy the bloodthirsty mob and evoke sympathy for Jesus. But the mood only grew worse.

Pilate had yet another ploy: Invoking the custom of releasing one prisoner during the Passover, he paired Jesus with a hardened criminal and murderer named Barabbas. But the fanatical Jews took Barabbas rather than let Jesus go.

Finally, Pilate washed his hands of the innocent blood of Jesus. But the mob cried for his blood to be on them and their children. To the last, he presented Jesus, though cruelly tortured and abused, as innocent. But there was no one there to sympathize or to listen. So, he confirmed the verdict: “Stauretheto!” he declared. “Let him be crucified.”

We may wonder why Pilate gave in as he did. But we need to know that his political standing with Rome was shaky at this time. During the trial he had to weigh his actions against his own political welfare. In fact, what clinched the matter and made it impossible for Pilate to act independently and free Jesus was the threat by the Jews to appeal to Caesar. “If you let Jesus go,” they said, “you are not Caesar’s friend.”

That was a damning charge. Pilate, you see, wore a gold ring with the image of Caesar on it that marked him as a member of the inner circle of friends of Caesar. He was part of an elite fraternity of high-ranking officials of Rome who enjoyed the favor of the emperor. If the Jews went over Pilate’s head to Caesar, they might convince him that Pilate was not a friend. They would tell him that Pilate let a man who claimed to be king go free. Pilate’s position was on the line. In his mind it came down to a choice between Jesus or him. He made his choice.

So, what became of Pilate? His political career faltered and failed. His wife, Procula, reportedly became a Christian. And most surely, he thought long and often about the trial and execution—and rumored resurrection—of Jesus.

What do you suppose this thinking man would think of Christians and Christianity today? Might he express surprise at how much like him we can be? We find ourselves doing something wrong, and we make excuses for it. How many times do we Christians say, “I know it’s wrong, but . . .”?

“I know it’s wrong to steal or cheat, but in business it’s expected. It’s the only way to get ahead.” “I know it’s wrong to indulge myself in some kinds of entertainment, but I don’t want to be a ‘stick in the mud.’ ” “I know I should be strong and say what I believe, but I can’t. People will think I am a fanatic and I’ll lose my friends.” “I know it’s wrong, but . . .” That’s all that Pilate said at Jesus’ trial.

And might Pilate also think of why his wife stayed and others like us stay with Jesus? Did Pilate learn, for example, how Jesus had predicted his own death and resurrection? How he forgave all people’s sins by his death, even the sins we still commit? How he rose from the dead?

He certainly heard about the boundless love of God and that Jesus was the Son of God and that he will return one day. But did he ever believe? Or did this “man of reason” only wish at times that he could believe?

We do not know, but we can thank God that by his Spirit we believe and are saved. Amen.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Justified in Jesus

Water into blood and water into wine

Believe It or Not