I’ve been thinking about Pilate.
Mostly because a friend and I talked yesterday and she mentioned some decisions she regrets in her younger years in following the crowd. Wanting to fit in. Being mean to others for that to happen.
The list of things I’ve done to please the crowd is…well…long.
Anyway, I looked up the other 3 accounts of Pilate this morning. It makes for an interesting character sketch. And he makes me sad.
When [Jesus] was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him,
“Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”
But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge – to the great amazement of the governor…
When Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message:
“Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him…”
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere [with the crowd], but instead that an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.
“I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
…Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified… (Matt. 27:12-26)
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him,
“Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed…
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder,
“Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Mark 15:2-15)
Pilate…summoned Jesus and asked him,
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king then!” asked Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” Pilate asked…
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and purple robe, Pilate said to them,
“Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted,
“Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered,
“You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace.
“Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered,
“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
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 Ceasar…”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Ceasar,” the chief priests answered. {Incidentally, Hmmmm…}
Finally, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. (John 18:33-19:16)
I wash my hands of this man’s blood…
Wanting to satisfy the crowd…
What is truth?
He was even more afraid…
From them on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free…
Finally, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Do you think Pilate thought of Jesus often after this? What do you think was going through his mind when later the sun went dark, the earth quaked, and curtain in the temple was torn in two?
Do you think, like the Roman centurion, he exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Do you think he fell on his face in fear before the Most High?
What about later when he heard the stone had been rolled away and the Body had disappeared?
This same friend yesterday mentioned someone she knows who is saying no to many things so she can make sure the people most important in her life feel the most important. That is hard to pull off. There is so much pressure to please the crowd. It takes focus on Him and what He is asking us to do just to overcome the pull.
What have you done to please the crowd?
Do you agree we “become a bond slave to whomever we try to please”?
There is no condemnation here. Only a deep desire to no longer regret hurting Him or others in my desire to fit in.