Tag Archives: crucify

They Made Their Choice!

THEY MADE THEIR CHOICE!

“When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. ‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, ‘Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!’ ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered.

“Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.” John 19:13-16 NIV.

Was Pilate playacting or was he stalling for time?

He knew he was beaten but he still acted as though he were in charge. Perhaps he made a show of taking the judge’s seat, ready to give them his verdict and pass sentence on the prisoner. Instead of announcing, ‘I find the accused, Jesus of Nazareth, guilty of treason. I sentence Him to death by crucifixion,’ …or…’I find the accused, Jesus of Nazareth, not guilty of the crime of treason against Caesar. The prisoner is free to leave,’ he made a statement, weak but intended to be dramatic! ‘Here is your king!’

What was that supposed to achieve? Did he really think that this militant mob would be moved with pity when they saw the swollen face and bloodied body of their enemy being paraded before them? It was the sight of Jesus, weak and stumbling, with flesh hanging in shreds from His mangled body, that spurred them on to begin to chant, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ rising to a deafening crescendo until Pilate silenced them with an upraised hand.

‘Do you really want me to crucify your king?’ he asked. So significant was this question that it could have come from the mouth of the Lord God Himself. Just as Pilate stood before the representatives of God’s people and gave them the choice; ‘Who do you want to rule over you; to set the standards by which you are governed; to decide what is right and wrong; to decide the course of your lives and your destiny as a nation; and to exercise justice over you,’ so God was asking them, ‘Who will be your chosen king, Caesar or God?’

They made their choice. In the heat and fury of their demented minds, the chief priests yelled, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ What a choice! This was their final decision against the God who had loved them, wooed them and stood by them through centuries of rebellion, spiritual adultery and unbridled wickedness. Again and again He had forgiven and restored them. His love would not let them go.

He sent His Messiah, He beloved and only-begotten Son to rescue them from the consequences of their terrible choices and now they had thrown Him away like filthy garbage and chosen Caesar as their king. Who was this Caesar they were so enamoured with?

“Tiberius Julius Caesar ruled from 14 AD to 37 AD. He was one of Rome’s greatest generals but he came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive and sombre ruler.” (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/tiberius)

“It is not known whether Tiberius had heard of Jesus, or knew about the crucifixion of Jesus. Word about Jesus and his miracles spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire, even to the Imperial Palace o Palatine Hill but Tiberius had retired to his palace on the Island of Capri in 26 AD, while all sorts of corruption was happening in Rome…There were many rumours about Tiberius on Capri involving homosexuality, and sexual perversity with young boys, which included all sorts of inhumane cruelty.”

(www.bible-history.com/sketches/ancient/tiberius-caesar.html)

God took them at their word, “His blood be upon us and upon our children” and in AD 70 the Roman army under General Titus, destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, slaughtered the people and Israel ceased to exist as a nation until 1948.

And God has not finished with the Jews yet!

Pilate’s Dilemma

PILATE’S DILEMMA 

“But Pilate answered, ‘You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him.’ The Jewish leaders 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.” John 19:6b-9 NIV.

What a horrible position to be in!

Inside Pilate’s head was a raging conscience; outside the palace was a raging mob led by a persistent, insistent religious hierarchy who were beginning to show their true colours. Although they presented Him to Pilate as a rabble-rousing, trouble-making challenge to Caesar, that was not the real issue. This was a smoke screen for a religious conflict between men who felt threatened because Jesus had exposed their wicked hearts and a man who challenged them examine the evidence, which they refused to do.

It was easier to charge Him with blasphemy and get rid of Him than to be honest enough to check out His credentials against the Scriptures to find out the truth. It was not their religion as much as it was their position and power over the people that was at stake. Jesus had made God too nice, and that did not suit them because they wanted to retain their hold over the people by their rigid insistence on obedience to their rules.

Pilate’s close encounter with Jesus had unnerved him. He was honest enough to admit that he could find no reason to charge Him with any criminal activity. Treason? Rabble-rousing? Inciting the mob to violence? Jesus didn’t even have any supporters heckling Pilate. He stood there alone and unresisting and Pilate did not know what to make of Him. Questioning Him got him nowhere. Jesus admitted to being a king, but He did not act like a typical usurper nor did He lay claim to the throne of Israel. He said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ What was Pilate supposed to make of that?

Now he was faced with another even more frightening possibility. Two charges Pilate did not understand. He was a pagan Roman. What did he know about these Jews and their strange and complicated religion? King, but not of this world? Son of God? Pilate would rather have been a million miles away, even on another planet if that were possible, rather than have to deal with this man and His howling accusers. He was scared. Jesus was a hot potato but the buck stopped with him. He had to make a decision.

Back he went into the palace to face Jesus again. Desperate to get to the bottom of this matter, he questioned Him again. ‘Who are you? Where do you come from? Come on, Jesus, give me some answers. I’m trying my best to save your skin.’ But Jesus said nothing. It was almost as though He wanted to die. That was even more unnerving and Pilate was thoroughly shaken by his encounter with this unusual man.

What were Pilate’s options? Condemn an innocent man to death to appease a fanatical crowd and live with an accusing conscience, or release Him and risk a Jewish uprising and the inevitable bloodshed that would follow? These Jews were volatile. He knew what would happen if he insisted on releasing Jesus. They would probably lynch Him before He got beyond the palace grounds. He would have to face Rome no matter what his choice.

Pilate was a cruel and ruthless governor. He was guilty of having Galilean worshippers murdered while they were offering sacrifices at the temple (Luke 13:1). He was recalled to Rome after brutally quelling a Samaritan up rising. Tradition had it that he was exiled to Pontus and finally took his own life.

Pilate was caught up in circumstances that were not of his own making. Can we judge him? What would we have done?