THE COWARDICE OF PILATE
Opening Prayer
Sovereign God, you deserve my praise as you rule over your creation with care and you watch over your children with loving compassion. I thankfully offer it up to you now.
Read LUKE 23:1–12
23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.’1
Think Further
When the religious leaders brought Jesus to him, Pilate was not convinced that their charges were political in nature such that they required a death sentence. He probably suspected that the matter stemmed from their envy of Jesus. Nonetheless, he allowed himself to be swayed by them. When the religious leaders tried to corner him by saying that Jesus was a populist teacher throughout Judea, Galilee, and even in Jerusalem, Pilate weighed his political options and realized that he could send Jesus to Herod, his enemy (v. 12), whose jurisdiction included Galilee. Pilate hoped to wash his hands from the final decision.
Pilate is an example of a selfish person who preferred to hold on to his own position, status, and power. He knew he was doing the wrong thing by bowing to the pressure of the religious leaders and the crowd by sentencing Jesus, who was innocent, to the cross. His conscience was seared when he made the biggest compromise of his life. In contrast, Jesus was firm and steadfast. He refused to answer any questions thrown at him except those related to his identity as the Messiah, the Son of God, and the King of the Jews (v. 3).2 Jesus never swayed from affirming his identity when he was under various trials by the religious and Roman authorities.
How simple it is for us to cave in to pressure from our peers, society, and workplace. How easy it is to do something that we know is ethically and morally wrong, or to remain silent when we see injustice around us. Do we compromise on what is right because it may jeopardize our reputation and status? Let us be people of courage and resolve to stand up and speak for the truth, and be a voice for the voiceless and marginalized.
Apply
Are there places where you need God to give you greater courage to speak his truth?
Closing prayer
Father God, I confess that there are times when I knowingly do what is wrong, or I fail to do what is right, even when there are opportunities to stand for Christ. Forgive me. Help me to be faithful.
1 Prov 12:17 2 See also Luke 22:67–70
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