Closing In On The Cross Of Jesus Christ - Part 9: God On Trial Before The Governor Series

*Pilate gave in to the evil influences on his life, and made the worst decision he ever made in his life. That is the power of influence. May God help us to follow the good influences in our lives. And may God help us to be good influences in our world.

4. BUT HERE GOD ALSO SHOWS US THE INDIFFERENCE OF THE UNBELIEVERS.

*We can see the indifference starting in vs. 24. "When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.'''

*The reality is that Pilate didn't really care that much one way or another what happened to Jesus. Mostly what he selfishly cared about was his own political career. And the more we know about Pilate, the more we can see how indifferent he was to an innocent man's death.

*Philo was a famous Jewish scholar in Alexandria. And he wrote that the Jews had threatened to report Pilate to the Emperor for his misdeeds. The list of charges included: "His corruption, his acts of insolence, his violent seizure of people's property, his habit of insulting people, his cruelty, his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending, gratuitous, and most grievous inhumanity." (5)

*Pilate was guilty of all that and more. He was indifferent to the Lord's death. So was the mob of unbelieving Jews on the verge of a riot that day. Verses 24-25 tell us that "When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.'' And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children.''

*Pilate didn't care on that day. The unbelieving Jews didn't care. They were all indifferent to the death of our Lord. But that doesn't mean they stayed indifferent. There is no biblical evidence that Pilate and his wife later turned to the risen Christ and received Him as their Lord and Savior. But the ancient historian Eusebius reported that Pilate converted after seeing the many wonders that occurred after Jesus’ death, even reporting it to Tiberius. And many Eastern Churches including the Coptic and Ethiopian churches honor Pilate and his wife as saints to this day. (6)

*What about the Jewish mob before Pilate screaming "His blood be on us and on our children''? There is strong biblical evidence that some of them were among the 3,000 that got saved on the Day of Pentecost. I say this because that's exactly who Peter confronted in his sermon.

*In Acts 2:22-24 we hear Peter say, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it."