Given at Glorious King Jesus (Christian Church)
Apex, NC
January 9, 2011
Man's Responsibility and God's Sovereignty: A Portrait of Pilate
Scripture Reading: John 19
I. Man's Responsibility - Portrait of Pilate
Pilate was governor or 'prefect' of Judea during the time of Jesus' ministry. Prefect is Roman terminology for 'Governor,' with an emphasis on military governance. Many scholars believed that Pilate was a fictional character used as literary license to tell the story of the Crucifixion, but in 1961, there was an inscription on part of an excavated Roman Amphitheater that cites his rulership as well as Tiberius Caesar. (Interestingly, the secular historian Tacitus also reports Pontius Pilate) The inscription reads:
[DIS AUGUSTI]S TIBERIEUM
[PO]NTIUS PILATUS
[PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E
[FECIT D]E[DICAVIT]
(Pilate Stone)
Translated, if my Latin is okay enough, this is roughly, "Given to Tiberius Augustus [Caesar], Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, this dedication is given." This stone was excavated in Caesarea Maritima, which was the capital of the region during Pilate's stead. Interestingly, much of Roman history is either buried under ashes or burned to ashes, so a great deal of Roman history and its direct accounts have been lost.
Pilate likely means, 'Skilled with the Javelin,' which could mean that he was either from a line of skilled warriors or even athletes. It's more likely that he was a warrior -- he was a prefect, and they were typically in charge of military matters first, though politics were definitely a large factor. Pilate was not a warrior, however, when it came to standing firm under the pressure of other people.
Pilate was, to a very real extent, a people-pleaser. In living life, and especially partaking in the Christian Walk, you can't get caught up in trying to make everybody happy. If you do, you end up compromising what is certain, and softening what is firm. Many today wink at sin, tolerate injustice, and compromise truth, and what a detriment it is to those who need to hear about Jesus!
Is Jesus the only way to God? Yes. Do we need to repent from sin and live in holiness? Yes. Yet many compromise today in order to make others feel better about their current situation. Can we put a band-aid on a bleeding artery, or do we need a more permanent situation? We have the root cause of our problems -- sin. The penalty of sin is death and eternal separation from God in a place of torment. We see the curse here. Things degrade, people suffer, we mourn and exist through pain. Yet we can have hope through Jesus, who as we discussed last week, makes all things new!
When Pilate had the chance to release Jesus by his own authority, he wanted to make the crowd happy and folded against his own conscience. He sensed some weight of what he was getting involved in --
Matthew 27:24 - 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."
...But is 'Washing your hands' enough? We can see that Pilate's was dealing with a guilty conscience, and his act of washing his own hands was, in his own mind, a way of proclaiming that he was not guilty. Pilate saw the zeal of the religious leaders and was intimidated away from pursuing any other action in releasing Jesus, even though his wife warned him not to have any part in His Death (cf. Matthew 27:19). He had the, 'Do whatever you want' type of mentality. Even when the Pharisees asked him to seal the tomb extremely tight, Pilate let them do as they wished --
Matthew 27:65 - Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."
In the end, Pilate did not release Jesus due to the will of the people, and due to his desire to keep them happy --
Mark 15:12-15
12 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
13 So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"
14 Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"
15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
Pilate's actions were not justified by the fact that God brought about infinite good through the situation. In fact, as we will explore later, this event shows both the wickedness of those involved in Jesus' death as well as the ultimate Sovereignty of God in allowing these people to reign at the time planned for the sacrifice of Jesus.
What are some other key Scripture passages about Pilate?
We know that Pilate was governor (prefect) over Judea -- Luke had this written in the First Century AD, yet it took some scholars until 1961 to believe it.
Luke 3:1 - Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Scripture marks Pilate as being against Jesus and against some God-fearing people --
Acts 4:27 - "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together"
Luke 13:1 - There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Nothing is explored further in Luke about this incident, though Josephus records account of what happened in his Antiquities (Antiquities, XVIII, iv., 1-2). Apparently Pilate is recorded as having set up a false trip to find items belonging to Moses under a religious actor, only ending up slaughtering many who were accused of being potential dissenters to his reign. Pilate also did things to boost his image such as taking Temple funds and putting them to making an aqueduct.
But the rule of Pilate is rooted in the Sovereignty of God. We know from various passages, notably Romans 13 in the New Testament, that God allows various rulers to reign during key times in history.
Acts 3:13 - "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go."
Even Jesus recognized the Father's sovereignty in this situation --
John 19:11 - Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
II. God's Sovereignty
Key idea: God put the right people in the right place at the right time in order to carry out His plan.
He had many corrupt priests in power, many corrupt and egotistical officials who cared more about their reputation to the people than the consequences of their actions.
All these factors came together nicely to bring about God's promise of hope to all people.
Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Even since the first sin, God proclaimed hope. About 740 years before Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah declared --
Isaiah 53:3-11
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked -- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
Note the language here:
Verse 4: Smitten by God
Verse 6: The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Verse 10: It pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.
God was sovereign over all of this. God put the right people in power in order to carry out our Way to restoration --
Acts 2:22-24
22 " 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 --
23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
Look again at Isaiah 53, and notice the reasons and results for this sacrifice --
Verse 6: Chastised for our peace
Verse 6: By His stripes we are healed
Verse 8: For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
Verse 11: Many will be justified because He bore our iniquities.
Is this passage just about the people of Israel? Note that this is about a single person who is being sacrificed for the sins of the people to bring them back to peace with God. This passage is about Jesus. Acts 8 records the encounter that Philip had with the Ethiopian Eunuch. The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading through Isaiah 53, and Philip explained to him very evangelistically that the chapter was discussing the promised Messiah, Jesus.
III. Celebrating Provision
Though the Crucifixion was an act of treachery in the killing of an innocent Man, God in a very real way had the priests sacrifice Jesus. Yet the message isn't, 'What a poor Man.' The message is, 'Jesus, the Son of God, has given His life for us so that we can be forgiven and free!'
Remember last week, we discussed 2 Corinthians 5. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that we could be made the righteousness of God through Him…
Illustration: Poisonous cups
(Needed: Three transparent/translucent cups or bottles half full of water, and Food Coloring)
Each sin = 1 drop of poison in our cup of water (life). No matter whether we have sinned a little or a lot, we still have poison in our cups that we can't drink and live.
Will we live with lives filled with sin (poison) that lead to destruction, or will we trade for the pure sinless cup that Jesus offers us? (Explanation: Romans 5 - we were 'enemies of God', we can be reconciled through Christ, and 2 Corinthians 5 - imputed righteousness through His Sacrifice)
We will reflect on this provision of Jesus, and thank Him for the pain He endured to lay down His life for us by partaking in Communion.
Communion
Benediction
2 Thessalonians 3:16 - Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
Bibliography
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews. Book XVIII.
Pilate Stone, Wikipedia.
