Pilate was a man’s man, as far as Roman leaders went. But he couldn’t hold a candle to the real Man (19:5), the King of Kings. It’s easy to command others to flog another man with a lead-tipped whip - quite another thing to take such a punishment for the crimes of others.
By worldly standards, Pilate was a success; his mom was proud. A warrior. Like a lot of us, a Type A - maybe even an ENTJ. Authoritative. Decisive. Cunning. Bold. Ambitious. He met his mission’s objectives. The Bible shows us that Pilate was a wicked man. Arrogant. Prideful. Spiritually blind. Ruthless. Unjust. And ultimately he was weak, pathetic, cruel, and foolish. In the end, Pilate, like us all, will be judged by God.
Everything rises and falls on leadership; leadership rises and falls on character. Pilate sat face to face with the Son of God - a critical part in the epic story of all time. And he failed the test of character. He proved himself to be a prideful mocker of truth, one who abused authority, and knew nothing of truth, due process, and justice.
(Believe it or not, each of us will have an opportunity today to show our character. God willing, we will be ready, willing, and able to give glory to our Father by what we say and do.)
Jesus made it clear that power and authority are from the Father. This Roman “judgement” on the Son of God, like many things, was allowed by God because of His plan of salvation. God orchestrates. Men act. But God never tempts, never sins, and never does evil. Temptation and sin are from our own sinful nature. You see what Jesus says about Judas in comparison to Pilate. Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin” (19:11). Here is the damning truth: it is what we do with our volition for which we will be judged by Jesus. True for Pilate and Judas. True for you, and me.
Jesus saw right through Pilate’s charade as he did the Jewish leaders. We learn in this passage just how hard the wicked tenant farmers worked to persuade the Roman commander to have the Son of God crucified. Jesus explained what would happen to the Jewish leaders in Matthew 21:44. The Jews and the Romans both had well known standards and systems of justice. The Bible makes plain God’s standards of justice, His principles of due process, evidence, civil procedure, and just judgment - these too are the principles that our justice system. Likewise, the Bible tells us a lot about the Roman rules of citizenship, process for indictment, trial, judgment (penalties including execution), and appeal rights. There is little new under the sun.
The Jewish leaders in this passage showed no fidelity to Scripture and no fear of God or His justice. To his credit, Pilate knew something was up (his wife, too, warned him not to mess with God). He was fearful but ultimately of too weak of character to do right. Because of their deeds God judged the Jews (within a generation their city was destroyed, their Temple, and their nation). Likewise, the Romans, great and powerful empire (so self-aggrandizing, so vast, so powerful) was itself paid the wages for its contempt for Jesus Christ and His people. Psalm 37:10 says, “Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.” Amen, thank you, Jesus!
What about us, our churches, our courts, and our nations? Do we honor God, or mock Him and His ways? Do we produce real men, disciples of the King of Kings. The answer to that will be our great honor or our great shame.
Dear Jesus, in this time of Lent help your people to repent of sin and to grow in You. Help us to abstain from anything that hinders us and to grow in anything that draws us closer to You. Amen.
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