Message
John 19:1-16a
The Non-Decision.
Have you ever been in one of those situations where you don’t really make a decision – but by not making a decision you actually make a decision?
It might happen to a person who gets asked to join in on a Fun Run. You have to run 10km. You are not sure if you will, or won’t, but in the meantime you don’t do any training. Soon the event comes and you haven’t trained, so you do not have the fitness to make the 10km run.
Your non-decision is still a decision.
In our text we are going to find another example – this time it is Pilate.
He knows what the right decision is to make. But he doesn’t follow-through on that decision … it was a non-decision which was still a decision.
Read John 19:1-16a
In the previous section we saw that Pilate was faced with a whole heap of competing voices.
The voice of the Jewish authorities who are saying, “He is a criminal”.
The voice of Jesus which is saying, “I am King”.
The internal voice which causes him to ask, “What is truth?”
The voice of the crowd calling for Barabbas.
Pilate has been placed in a situation that he doesn’t want to be in.
Because, in the middle of all the mess, Pilate knows exactly what needs to be done.
Pilate knows the right decision is to set Jesus free.
You see it really clearly when you put all the decisions of Pilate from the different Gospels together
17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
Matthew 27:17-18
Pilate knows the politics and he knows how the Jewish leaders operate.
He has called it in two words … “self interest” … not justice.
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no basis for a charge against this man.’
Luke 23:3-4
Everyone hears the verdict. There is no reason why this man should have been arrested and charged. Jesus should have been released at that point.
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.’
Luke 23:13-16
Now we even have the regional ruler, Herod, also proclaiming the innocence of Jesus. Between them Herod and Pilate represent the highest Roman authority in Jerusalem at the time. And their decision is the same. He is innocent.
22 For the third time he spoke to them: ‘Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.’
Luke 23:22
Pilate knows, according to the law of the land, Jesus must be released. He keeps going back to the crowds and asking them to give him some sort of evidence that Jesus is worthy of death. They just keep shouting him down.
24 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!’
25 All the people answered, ‘His blood is on us and on our children!’
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Matthew 27:24-26
In the end this is Pilate’s solution.
I’m not going to let Him go.
But I’m not going to take responsibility for what is happening either.
It is a non-decision … which is still a decision.
When you put all of this together it gives a powerful testimony of what is going on here.
Pilate knows and declares that Jesus is innocent.
Jesus should be set free. But Pilate does not want to make that decision.
In Australia we have a name for this … it is called sitting on the fence.
Pilate is sitting on the fence trying to avoid a difficult situation by not making a decision.
Which sounds really terrible … but let me show you something just as terrible.
The leaders and the crowd make a very decisive decision.
John gives us a behind the scenes look – and what we discover is that Jesus is brutally treated.
He has a crown of thorns pressed onto his head.
He is mock, and slapped and ridiculed.
He is dressed in purple – a robe for a king but hardly treated like royalty.
When the crowd see him again this is what they see.
A man dressed in purple beaten and bloody.
A man who has been declared innocent by the law of Rome.
Did any of them have compassion?
Were any of them sickened by the situation which was unfolding?
It doesn’t seem so.
For at the end of our reading we get an amazing turn of events.
‘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.
John 19:14-15
The highest spiritual leaders in the land pledge their allegiance to Caesar.
If we had more time we could really explore the ramifications of this statement.
But you start to get an idea of what this means when you look at the coins of the time.
This is a picture of a denarius – it represented a day’s pay for a day’s work.
A very common coin in Jesus’ Day. (picture located at http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1763.html)
It has an inscription written in Latin – the translation is …
Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, the Emperor
We have no king but Caesar.
The same Caesar who calls himself the son of a god.
We won’t acknowledge … in fact we want to crucify … the one who has proven Himself to be the true Son of the One and Only God.
But, for the sake of “self-interest” … we will pledge ourselves to a human who claims divinity.
This same Caesar represents those who have come into the nation and applied all their “ungodly” rules and laws and use force to make sure everyone complies.
They are the invaders.
This same Caesar has, on many occasions, stopped the temple worship, and set up idols and false sacrifices, and stood against true worship in Jerusalem.
This same Caesar takes significant amounts of money in taxes while giving very little in return.
And here is the spiritual leaders, on behalf of the crowd, making a declaration – Caesar is our king.
We choose against Jesus.
We choose for a false son of a false god.
In the process Barabbas gets set free.
The guilty one goes free.
The innocent one pays the price.
It is a snapshot of the work of Christ.
There is no sitting on the fence. The decision is very clear.
Think about what we have seen so far.
Pilate makes a non-decision.
The leaders make a decisive decision.
Which decision is worse?
The fact is the decisions are exactly the same.
Jesus says in Matthew 12:30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Pilate thought he could avoid making a choice. He climbed on the fence and sat down. But in not making a choice, Pilate displayed his decision.
Rather than hear the voice of Christ … he listened to the voice of the people.
Rather than ask for God’s grace, he asked for a bowl of water.
I will wash my hands of the whole affair and pass the buck to the crowd. It was a non-decision which he thought was the safe decision.
There is nothing safe in a non-decision about Jesus.
Some people think the biggest question in life is this …
Does God exist, or does God not exist.
That is not the biggest question.
The real question we all face is, “Which God will we serve”.
You see, every one of us has a God. Every one of us has something in our life to which we say, "This will be the life which controls me”. For Pilate his “god” is compromise and political safety. For others it may be something different.
It can be a job or a career.
It can be our family or building a relationship.
It can be the search for wealth and recognition.
It can be money, alcohol or lust.
I’m not going to make a decision about Jesus … but I will still live my life my way.
It seems like a non-decision.
But it is the decision which clearly demonstrates who the “god” of your life is.
That’s the crux of the matter isn’t it. When it comes to Jesus neutrality is impossible.
This is the man who speaks and the winds obey Him.
This same man lives in full obedience to God.
Take a look and you won’t find any silly words spoken, or cruel words, or hard words.
He’s a man with a ministry … a ministry of reconciliation, hope and renewal … but also a ministry that asks for committed disciples. It asks for people to give up everything for His sake. When it comes to Jesus neutrality is impossible.
This man is willing to take the punishment of God which was never His to take. He hangs cursed … beaten … declared to be the scum of society. And He is all alone.
His religious community has turned their back on Him.
Most of His disciples have fled and abandoned Him.
His heavenly Father has forsaken Him.
Yet He still stays on the cross willing to take the shame and guilt. When it comes to Jesus neutrality is impossible.
Which means that our focus on the person and work of Jesus on the cross has very real application for us today.
Because I think it is true to say that, when it comes to following the Lordship of Jesus, it is very easy to fall into “non-decision” habits.
We don’t choose not to read our Bible … but just let all the digital distractions get in the way.
We don’t choose to not join Christian fellowship … we just say “yes” to too many invitations.
We don’t choose to allow our daily routine to consume us … we just fit too much into a limited time.
We don’t choose to have ungodly characters … we are just don’t have the time to change.
We don’t choose to say to Jesus, “I’m not listening” … we are just not hearing.
We don’t choose to be materialistic … we just don’t think about the impact of our spending.
We don’t choose to …
I don’t choose to …
You don’t choose to …
How do you …
How do I …
… end those sentences.
Because, in our lives, there are all the voices
The voice of compromise.
The voice of expedience.
The voice of conscience.
The voice of obedience.
When it comes to these voices we can’t just sit on the fence.
Jesus calls us to trust in Him as our Saviour – and a non-decision is still a decision
Jesus also calls us to trust Him as our Lord – and a non-decision is still a decision.
So here is the challenge as you go into this week.
Reflect on what you are doing and keep asking yourself.
Am I making a non-decision?
Am I just letting my spiritual life be dictated by inaction and a lack of a specific response to Jesus.
Am I just sitting on the fence?
Or are we with Jesus?
Prayer
