Pilate for ever stands as infamous – the man who sentenced the Lord Jesus to the cross. Jesus stood before him on trial yet really he was on trial before Jesus. The searchlight of Christ played on Pilate’s soul and revealed his inmost nature.
The paradox of this fateful encounter is that the Roman judge was convinced of the innocence of the prisoner he condemned. The governor grasped that envy lay behind the charges of the priests. Our Lord’s unique bearing and silent nobility astounded him. The few words He spoke haunted Pilate. His deliberations were interrupted by a message from his wife, declaring the righteousness of the accused. No wonder that Pilate, three times, publicly declared the innocence of Christ.
Yet he condemned Him to death. Pilate was inconsistent. He was trying both to release Jesus and to placate the people. He sought to avoid a definite decision. He sent Jesus off to Herod and when that failed, he came up with a dastardly expedient. Jesus would be scourged and then released. This was illogical and worse, unjust. Pilate was hoping the flogging would either sate the blood-lust of the mob or perhaps evoke their pity. The attempt was in vain. Pilate then clung to the passover amnesty. He thought the people would prefer Jesus to Barabbas. Alas, Barabbas was their choice. Pilate’s wriggling had to come to an end – he was cornered. Mob rule won, over principle. In his final evasion, Pilate washes his hands but goes on to pronounce the death sentence. What an utterly futile gesture!
The attempt both to do right and to please the crowd had failed. It is always doomed. The raucous voices swept the vacillating will of Pilate before them. One cry swayed him above all, ‘If you let this man go you are not Caesar’s friend’. The menace was implicit – a complaint to Rome. That clinched the issue. ‘It was his career against Jesus. Well, Jesus would have to go’ (J S STEWART). Pilate could not risk impeachment. Fear of the mob, fear of consequences, counted for more than Christ. Craven weakness and cowardly self-interest ruled Pilate’s soul and sent Jesus to His cross. May God deliver us from such ungodly characteristics.
