Introductory Remarks…
Over the past three weeks we’ve met three characters who were present during the final hours in the life of Jesus Christ. We began this unique series of sermons with a visit from a man who purportedly owned the house in which the Last Supper took place. Two weeks ago we met that man’s son who one tradition suggests was Mark the author of the Gospel by the same name who may have been present in the Garden of Gethsemane. And last week we were introduced to Caiaphas, the high priest responsible for the illegal trial in which Jesus was decided to be deserving of death.
In case you haven’t been with us, so as not to frighten you by a form of preaching with which you may not be familiar, this series is a unique series in that it is done from the first person perspective of the character.
I want to warn you ahead of time that material that will be covered in the next two weeks may not necessarily be appropriate for young ears. We will be looking intently at both the persecution endured by Jesus from the perspective of the centurion and at the actual crucifixion from the perspective of one of the thieves who died with Jesus.
I also want to invite you to be present on Easter Sunday. You may be aware that a documentary has recently been released entitled claiming to have located the tomb of Jesus. My Easter message will be entitled “Tomb Raiders” and will use that documentary as a spring board for exploring some of the evidence for the resurrection and more importantly the power of the resurrection in our lives today. Please don’t miss that Easter Sunday, and perhaps even more importantly, invite someone to come and hear the life changing message of Easter!
Remarks about Pilate…
This morning we will be exploring the life of Pontius Pilate, a man who has become somewhat of a legend. Apart from the words of Scripture which we believe to be the inspired Word of God, the historical accounts and traditions that describe his life and character vary greatly. His story has undergone growth and development.
An early Jewish historian ascribes to him rape, insult, murder and inhumanity. The earliest Christian literature holds him to be dire and evil. But later literature assesses him more favorably even to the point that one church made a saint of him. The early church father Tertullian described him as a Christian at heart and the “Acts of Pilate” a gospel that was written in the fourth century notes that the crime he committed was forced upon him by the Jews, that the soldiers he commanded paid respect for Jesus even bowing the knee, and that he showed the deepest contrition upon Jesus’ death.
The difficulty in understanding the life of Pilate is further compounded by the reality of four different Gospels. Compare the story of Pilate in the four different books and you will essentially find two different stories. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar in content and it is believed shared a similar source when they were written. The Gospel of John however is fresh and has a ring of truth to its delivery especially as it deals with topography and the interrogation of Jesus. For that reason I want to turn with you this morning to John to hear the story.
Would you turn with me in your Bibles to John 18:28…
Let us pray…
Reputation
I’ve gone down in history as a villain. While the Jewish people often get blamed for the wrongful execution of Jesus Christ, there’s only one non-Jew, one Gentile, who has the finger pointed at him – me. My name is Pontius Pilate, Pontius being my Roman family name, and Pilate a name which means “pikeman” or “one armed with a javelin.” People have for centuries speculated as to where I came from, but you can guess from my name that my parents had certain ambitions for me from the time I was born. And I grew to live up to those expectations.
Position
I was the Roman procurator, the governor of Judea, which by the way was not a very desirable appointment. It was my job to see that the Jewish people didn’t get out of line. Little did I know that the Jewish people would ultimately be my demise.
My Headache: The Jews
From the day I arrived in Jerusalem there were problems. These Jewish people were unlike anyone I had ever seen before. Their religious customs and laws were extreme and unusual. They were hard to get along with.
Let me give you a couple of examples:
In every other capital city throughout the provinces that the Roman Empire controlled there were statues of the emperor that the people were forced to bow down to. It was a way of showing respect. And it was a way of demanding loyalty. It wasn’t a problem in other places. But when I arrived I discovered that Jerusalem had no such statues. I’ll fix that, I thought, and so I had my soldiers bring images of the emperor in and place them on the walls that faced down into the Temple.
I knew this would probably cause an uproar so I left for my home in Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea some 70 miles away to stay until things calmed down. My soldiers were there in case of a riot and they could take care of things.
You won’t believe what these Jews did. A couple of days later Caiaphas, their High Priest, together with 7,000 other Jews show up at my house in Caesarea on foot – they walked the entire way and they surround my house and started praying. But they’re weren’t just praying for anything – they were praying for my soul!
It didn’t take long before I got really tired of this – I couldn’t go out. So finally I gave them the order to gather in the market place so I could address them – what I was really planning on doing was making an example out of them – my soldiers surrounded them but before I could give the command to slaughter them, they all knelt down as if to say, “go ahead, we’re not going to put up a fight, everyone will know that you killed unarmed non-resistant people.” I couldn’t go through with it so finally I gave in. I agreed to take the images down.
Unfortunately that was just the beginning.
We had some problems with water in the southern part of the nation and so I put together plans to build a massive aqueduct that would take care of the need that existed south of Bethlehem. I thought the people would be happy about this and supportive of the project. It was for their own good. The only problem was we didn’t have the money. There just wasn’t enough to do the project. Then I got to thinking; this massive ornate Temple of the Jews had a treasury, one that the High Priest took care of, and it was doing very well. I’ll just take some money from there. The people caught on and they showed up to protest. Chaos broke out and thousands of people were trodden to death that day.
My ten years as governor of the region were characterized by one violent event after another. These Jews had to be shown who was in charge, even if it meant killing some of them to teach a lesson. Most of the time, mind you, they were the ones who instigated the problems. I was just trying to keep the peace.
My View of “Religious” People…
As you may have guessed, I wasn’t much of a religious man. I bowed to the emperor as I was required, and I was aware of the deities that existed to meet different needs. But these Jewish people made me sick! The guys that I had to work with on a regular basis claimed to be the “chosen ones.” They claimed that their God was “the only God.” But even beyond their outlandish beliefs, what disgusted me most about the guys that I worked with is that they claimed to be different and yet they weren’t. Caiaphas was every bit as much caught up in wanting the things of this world as I was. The members of the Sanhedrin were all very wealthy individuals and while they fulfilled their “financial obligations” to the temple they were by no means generous with others. And the way they treated other Jews. At least we Romans had the decency to respect other Roman citizens. There was something about how the leaders of their religion who I bumped heads with on a regular basis lived their lives that seemed anything but different, anything but authentic. Something that just screamed “hypocrites!”
“Hypocrite” was a word I would have used to describe all religious people until I met Jesus.
The Antonia…
It was the night before the Jewish high feast of Passover. While I lived 70 miles out of Jerusalem, because riots were frequent during these feasts, I would travel to Jerusalem to be on guard with my troops during their festivals.
My residence in Jerusalem was within a fort that has since been destroyed. It was a massive structure that once stood to the west of the Temple called the “Antonia” named after the Roman conqueror Mark Antony. The Jewish historian Josephus would later say, that “Jerusalem was dominated by the Temple and the Temple by the Antonia.” It had been erected by our Roman troops for the purpose of suppressing riots and preserving order within the Temple and Jerusalem in general.
It was a massive structure some 500 feet wide and 260 feet deep. Surrounded by large walls and towers on each corner the entrance to the fortress was a double gate with a moat and scarp and was located on the external northern wall of the city – quite on purpose – we were more concerned about attacks from within the city than outside of the city.
My quarters were in a small tower looking down on the 8,200 square foot paved courtyard.
The Trial…
The Setting & Arrival
It was early in the morning when they showed up. My wife Claudia and I were still resting when one of my soldiers came to get me. “The Jewish High Priest is here and has a prisoner that he wants you to see.” “Bring them in,” I said.
“Sir, they won’t come in, they say they can’t or else they won’t be clean for their Passover.”
I had forgotten, they didn’t think the way we dealt with people who died was good enough for them. We weren’t supposed touch them. And because of that they weren’t allowed to enter the places we lived.
I was disgusted but wanted to get this over so I got up entered the courtyard and walked out to the gate where the crowd of Jews were crowded in between the two gates of the entrance.
There in front of them was an innocent enough looking man who was chained and being escorted by their temple police.
Initial Conversation
“What charges are you bringing against him?” I asked.
“If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t hand him to you.” I didn’t ask if he were a criminal – I ask them what charges they were bringing against him. Didn’t they at least owe me the courtesy and the respect of being upfront with me?
Fine. Be that way. I thought. “You take him,” I said, “And judge him by your own law.”
Caiaphas was quick to respond, “We don’t have the right to execute anyone.” Ah, so that’s why they brought him to me. Their Sanhedrin, their court could deem that someone deserved to die, but they couldn’t carry it out. I was the only one who had that power.
“I’m going to have to hear this case for myself,” I said, “Jesus, you come with me.” My soldiers brought him into my quarters where things were more quiet and comfortable away from the chaos outside.
Conversation with Jesus
“Are you the King of the Jews?” I asked him. That’s what the word on the street was. The report I received was that Caiaphas was afraid that Jesus would claim to be the new king and try to overthrow us and take back the throne.
His response took me by surprise – “Is this your own idea or did others talk to you about me?”
Your kidding right, Jesus? “Am I a Jew? Your people brought you here – your chief priests handed you over to me.” I’m not the one on trial here, you are. Tell me, “What have you done?”
I had questioned many people. I had acquitted and convicted hundreds. I had sentenced murders to death. But never before had I had anyone come before me who was quite like this.
There was something strange about him. He didn’t strike me as dangerous and yet he had this quiet power that made me feel uncomfortable. As if he was in control and not I. Rather than pleading for his life or cursing violently as I had seen so many others do he simply stood there calmly. When he spoke he did so with clarity.
“My kingdom,” he said, “is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
Then you’re admitting it, I asked. “You are a king?”
“Yes. You’re right. I am. That’s why I was born. That’s why I came into this world to testify to the truth.”
“Truth. What’s truth?” That’s a whole other conversation.
I’d heard enough, this man may not have been entirely sane, but he wasn’t guilty of any crimes. And he certainly wasn’t dangerous.
These Jews were up to something. They obviously were trumping up some false charges against this guy. I’d try to convince them of his innocence one last time and if that didn’t work I’d remind them of their own custom at Passover of offering amnesty to one prisoner. They’d have to take me up on the offer.
My 1st Attempt to Acquit Him
I walked back out to the gates. “This man hasn’t done anything wrong. I find no reason to sentence him to death. But since it’s your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover, do you want me to release the ‘King of the Jews’?”
I barely got the words out before the shouted back at me – “No! Not him! Give us Barabbas.”
Barabbas? He had been involved in an uprising and had committed murder. How could they want Barabbas over this calm and quiet man who stood before me?
One more Attempt
There was one last thing I thought might work. I’d have him flogged right there in front of the people. I had him brought out onto the pavement in clear sight of his fellow Jews. The soldiers beat him with an instrument loaded with pellets of wood and bone that tore the flesh. This for sure I thought would awaken the sympathy of the people.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I presented him one last time they shouted “Crucify! Crucify!”
“You crucify him. I find no basis for a charge against him.” I knew they couldn’t carry out the sentence they wanted fulfilled. That wasn’t the point. I didn’t want to crucify him. I couldn’t believe what was going on inside my head or what I was saying. What was happening to me? Was I turning into a weakling. This man was a Jew. He had no rights. And what difference did it make if another Jew died. I couldn’t understand what was going on inside of me but for some reason this just seemed wrong to me. To me! I hadn’t much of a conscience to this point. But for whatever reason I found myself defending this man.
“We have a law,” the Jews insisted. I know all about your laws, I thought. “And that law says he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
This whole thing had already begun to frighten me a little, but the words for some reason really terrified me. Who was this man?
Another Attempt to Acquit Him
I approached the bloodied figure. “Where did you come from?”
But he wouldn’t respond.
“Don’t you realize I have the power to free you or crucify you?” I’m trying to help here, but you’ve got to cooperate.
Then as if to already accepting what the Jews had decided would be his fate, he completely rejected my authority over him and at the same time said I wasn’t the one who was ultimately responsible for this action.
“The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
I know you all think I’m terrible, but listen to me, even your own Gospel writers make this clear, I tried to set Jesus free! I didn’t want to see him die. But the Jews kept shouting at me.
My reputation with Rome was already threatened. I was already on the verge of being removed from my governorship. I didn’t need any more trouble.
One Last Presentation
I brought him out before the people and presented him once more.
“Take him away! Take him away!” they yelled. “Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?”
I’m not sure you’ll believe what they said next, “We have no King but Ceasar.”
The Great Paradox
You have no King, but Caesar? But isn’t that the whole point of your faith that your King is the Lord your God? The Psalms that you use to praise and worship say, “You are my King and my God.” That your God who you believe created the earth and everything in it is the “King of glory.” That’s the very reason you won’t bow to Ceasar in the first place! And now when it gets convenient you suddenly deny that very fundamental tenant of your faith? You have no other king?
They wouldn’t even enter my fortress because they insisted on ritual purity and attention to their precious laws – but when push came to shove, when they needed to find a way to get what they wanted – they denied the very claim of their faith! My suspicions about their hypocrisy were true.
My suspicions about his innocence were also true.
I was absolutely sickened by the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious institution of my day. They pretended to be one thing but were in fact something else entirely. They dressed up well. They made good appearances. They paid their tithes and offerings. They even obeyed their laws. I was no holy man and yet I could see straight through them. They were fakes. They could put on a good show when people were watching but their hearts didn’t match what their words and actions said.
From what your pastor tells me that same kind of behavior is rampant within the church today. I have no right to address you or to challenge you, look at my life! But I hope that what you claim to believe, that what you’re practicing here this morning is true of your entire life – that it’s not a farce.
If your culture is anything like mine was, non-believers like myself have seen enough religious hypocrisy. There’s nothing that turns the stomach more than one who claims one thing but practices another.
But even beyond the hypocrisy I encountered what I was ultimately taken back by was the genuine faith of the man they brought before me. If I had been religious I would have wanted to have been like him.
I wish I hadn’t allowed Jesus to be crucified. But then again, we might not be here today if I hadn’t.
