The Pilate Problem

line


Text: Matthew 27:11-26

Good morning again to all who have gathered this day with us at the West Side Church of Christ where we are praising our Heavenly Father for above all things the hope He has given us in the fact that His Son Jesus Christ died on a cross approximately 2000 years ago for the sins of the world and rose again on the third day assuring us all life after death.

The title of this morning's lesson is the Pilate Problem and let me re-assure you it has nothing to do with my furnace. Rather it is a problem that all of us here this morning share in common with.
We did not contract it from contact with others, but it is something that no matter how you got it, you're stuck with it.

Let me get a little clearer, under the system of government in the United states, when someone is on death row, eventually an 11th hour decision is laid at the feet of one man- the governor.
Despite the fact that trial after trial has been held, and appeal after appeal has been heard, the final decision of whether someone lives or dies comes to one man. Let me just say, if the man has any conscience at all concerning this, this is probably the one part of his job he hates the most and he wishes he could avoid.
That in a 21st century way is the Pilate problem.

Read with me Matthew 27:11-26.
You and I have been made beings of choice. Throughout our existence on this planet the one thing God has given us is the freedom to choose.
Even in the great debate of society concerning the right to choose, it's not a matter if you can choose, but if it's the right choice. God from Adam down to us allows us to choose for ourselves.
A lot of times even for conscientious people, the choices we face are hard choices in which it appears we don't which way to turn. Our hearts may say one thing, our heads say another and still a third force says another. Such is the anatomy of the Pilate problem.

Pilate is a fascinating character of the Bible.
With all of my heart I hope that after all this was done and the reports of Jesus started circulating that Pilate became a Christian.
There is something about that man that many of us who follow Jesus hope for the best. Perhaps it's the fact that despite his final choice, he was the only voice speaking anything positive about Jesus those final hours.

What decision did Pilate have to make?
When we focus on the cross we usually think of the many choices that were made. We think of the choice of:
  1. Jesus!
    His choice to go straight to Jerusalem and take on the cross despising the shame and pain. We admire this choice.
  2. The 11 apostles!
    Their choice when the dust had settled and Jesus said don't fight they fled and denied.
  3. Judas!
    His choice was clear- Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
  4. The Jewish mob.
    'crucify him', 'kill him'.
  5. The Roman soldiers.
    They made choices- to mock him and beat him.
  6. But Pilate's is the one we want to focus on this morning. Like the others he made a choice though it may not seem as definitive as the others.
He had to answer the question, what will I do with Jesus?
Notice vs.19- he was sitting in the judgment seat, Pilate is in the hot seat if you will.
There were three options for Pilate to choose from and this was his dilemma:
  1. Stand up for Jesus!
    This is something he could have done.
  2. Oppose Jesus!
    Pronounce guilty from his judgment seat and nobody in power would question him.
  3. Walk away from it!
    Wash his hands of it, to coin the term.
What would Pilate do, and how does his decision mirror us today?
  1. Pilate had the decision!
    Before we excuse Pilate from any responsibility, let us not forget that it was his decision!
    He was in the judgment seat.
    John 19:10,11- I have the power to release or crucify. Pilate admits that the decision concerning Jesus is his and no one else's. He could ask for advice, he could listen to the people, but at the end of the day the decision is Pilate's!
    Jesus admits the same but also adds that Pilate has this decision because God gave it to him!
    Listen to this, Pilate you have been brought to this decision because God brought you here! You can't escape this day without making some form of decision.
  2. Pilate examined Jesus and came to some startling revelations!
    John 19:4,7,8- why was Pilate afraid?
    Notice he asks Jesus his origin- maybe there is some truth to Jesus' claim. Listen to what his wife said in Matthew 27:19!
    There has never been a more truthful statement issued from a non-biased witness than Pilate's- nothing deserving of death done by him!
    What was Pilate admitting so far- he had to power to decide life or death and Jesus did not deserve death!
  3. Pilate knew his responsibility.
    Luke 23:13-15. Pilate knew what was the right choice, and yet somehow he couldn't make it. Instead he washed his hands of it all.
Friends, what we have here is this:
here is the war between the head and the heart. Pilate's conscience was strong enough to protest- John 19:12,13, Matthew 27:22,23, but not strong enough to resist -John 19:16

Why did Jesus go to the cross?
This is a question that is really important-
  1. God's will - Matthew 26:42, Colossians 1:19-21- God was pleased in the fact that sin was being wiped out.
  2. The Jewish mob - Acts 2:22,23,36. They are the ones who cried out 'crucify him'.
  3. Our own sins - Revelation 1:5, John 3:16. If I had never sinned, Jesus would not have had to die.
  4. The Roman soldiers - they are the one's who nailed his hands and feet, mocked him, hung him on the cross and pierced his side.
  5. Pilate! He had the power to release him, and while not personally condemning him with his lips, he did with the washing of his hands!
What about us?
Jesus is standing before us today on trial. We for ourselves must answer the question of what to do with him?
We can oppose him, declare him a fake.
We can wash our hands and not seek to do anything.
If we truly believe the story, if we truly see a gentle, peace-loving and wonderful worker who did nothing wrong but willingly died on the cross and then rose again. If we believe that this man was more than a man but also the Son of God or Divine - He's asking us not to save Him from death, but to allow Him to save us from death.

Just like Pilate, we are forced with this choice today.
We have the power to oppose, neglect or accept Him.
Somehow, God has brought us before Jesus to decide.

Pilate washed his hands to erase his guilt for killing an innocent man, but that didn't do it. Can you imagine what he thought when he heard the news afterwards?
Only by being washed in the blood can our guilt be done away and our lives be rescued from death and brought to life.
Romans 6:3,4- we must be baptized into his death and then we will be raised with him.
What will you do with Jesus?

line

Back to lessons page.
Back to home page.