“From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.””
John 19:12 NIV
The wrangle between Pilate and the Jewish leaders continued. Pilate, the one who had the final say in the matters of justice and execution, tried to win the argument over the guilt or innocence of Jesus. Of one thing he was sure. Jesus was innocent of the charge of treason. So, why should he sentence an innocent man to death?
The Jews would have none of it. In their book, Jesus was guilty…but guilty of what? Definitely not treason! Back went Pilate to continue the argument. He had to have a legitimate reason for inflicting the death sentence on this man. Questioning Jesus got him nowhere.
“Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
John 19:16NIV
Why did Pilate lose in this battle of wills? Was he finally convinced of Jesus’ guilt according to their charge? No! His heart told him that Jesus was innocent but his mind told him that to refuse their demand was to put him on dangerous ground. Did Pilate eventually cave in, still protesting that Jesus was innocent, because he was afraid of an uprising?
Pilate, as governor of Judea, was responsible to keep these unruly Jews in check.
This was Passover, a most significant Jewish festival, when Jerusalem was flooded with expats from all over the Roman Empire. Passover was a celebration of God’s intervention that delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
The Jews were once again under foreign oppression. They would do anything to throw off the Roman yoke. The city of Jerusalem was electric with an undercurrent of hope…was this an opportunity to riot and drive the Romans out of Israel?
Pilate was loathe to light the fuse because he would have to answer to Rome. Better to sacrifice one man to save his skin than to stand up for justice and lose his own life….which could well be his fate if the situation got out of hand.
Try as he might, Pilate could not shake off responsibility for the final decision. He even tried to shrug off his own guilt by a symbolic gesture.
“When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
Matthew 27:24 NIV
So, the Jews got their way. Jesus was crucified by order of Pilate and in keeping with Roman method of execution.
Pilate, however, in a strange twist of events, had the last word.
“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
John 10:19-22 NIV
Does this final, desperate measure to justify Jesus give us a final glimmer of hope for Pilate? Is it possible that Pilate had a tiny seed of faith planted and growing in his heart. Whatever his fate, no one can encounter Jesus and come away unchanged.
To be continued…