A Cowardly Ruler

A Cowardly Ruler

“ ‘Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?’ asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.”

Mark 15:9-10

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus dead. They could not kill Jesus so they dragged Him to the Roman ruler Pilate. Luke 23:2 says of the leaders “And they began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.’ ”

Pilate said he found no basis of a charge against Jesus. Although Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, he didn’t have the courage or the character to release Him. He knew that Jesus was no revolutionary leader or Zealot. He knew that the Rabbi before him was unlikely to lead a revolt. He knew the Sanhedrin’s charges were weak.

However, the religious leaders insisted by saying in verse 5, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here." They pressured him with a threat of riot. A riot might have him removed from his post. Or they could file a formal complaint against him which would also jeopardize his leadership position. He already had been discarded to this outpost. He could be recalled to Rome, removed from his position, or even be put to death for inept leadership. So he delayed the decision and sent Jesus to Herod to handle this Galilean.

Herod was in Jerusalem for Passover. This is the same Herod who had killed John the Baptist for his dear wife’s party entertainment. Since Herod had refused to hear the truth of John’s message, the window of opportunity was closed for him to hear Jesus. Jesus’ ability to see into Herod’s hard heart was not weakened by His pain. He knew that Herod merely wanted a miracle as one would desire a circus performance. Herod was interested only in a magic exhibition and had no interest in the things of God. Since Jesus would not do what he wanted, Herod let his men taunt, mock, and beat Him.

Both Herod and Pilate were cowards who could not make a tough decision. Neither man had the courage to do the right thing.

When Jesus returned, Pilate asked Him some questions inside his palace - twice. He asked Him, “What have You done?”, “Are you King of the Jews?”, and “What is truth?” Jesus answered them, but it was not enough for Pilate to release Him although it intrigued him. In between the questionings, Pilate let his soldiers flog Jesus and place a crown of thorns on His head that scraped His skull. They stripped Him and beat His bare upper body while He was bound. Pilate thought this was a humane alternative to crucifixion. The questioning and even the flogging are filled with signs that Pilate looked for every reason and every chance to release Jesus. He wanted Jesus to speak up and defend Himself. He said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize that I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?” My paraphrase of Jesus’ answer, “Actually no, you don’t. God has only given you limited power.”

I wonder if the heavenly hosts turned to the Father at this point looking for a signal to swoop in and save the Son of God. They knew Jesus was the One with the real power, and Pilate had limited power. Jesus could command that He be set free any time. However, they didn’t know exactly what the Father and the Son were doing.

Pilate was convinced that Jesus should be freed. He tried to speak to the Jews again. In Mark 15:9-10, the Jews who despised Roman rule were filled with so much envy of Jesus that if Pilate let Him go, then he would be recognized as no friend to Caesar. Their final appeal was to declare allegiance to Rome.

Matthew 27:19 says that Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat known as the Stone Pavement to proclaim judgment on Christ. How interesting! The human judge condemns the Ultimate Final Judge. Someday the roles will be reversed as Christ sits on His judgment seat, and God sits in judgment at His great white throne.

Matthew 27:19 tells us, “While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.’ " His wife warned him to not hurt Jesus, but Pilate was not strong enough to listen to her warning.

In order to prevent this powder keg from exploding, Pilate gave in to the mob. Since he did not know truth, he couldn’t do what was right. He had no courage in his moment of crisis. He declared that he was innocent of Jesus’ blood. The Jews replied, “Let His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25) How tragic that the Jews as a nation never accepted their Messiah. However, we know from reading Zechariah 12:10 that ultimately they will accept Him as their Messiah. If only they had let Christ’s blood cover their sins instead of accepting responsibility for His blood being shed.

Barabbas was on death row for his rebellion against Rome. Barabbas was a murderer and insurrectionist. He deserved to die. Jesus, who had done nothing, died in his place just as He died in your place and my place. We were destined to die in our sins, but Jesus took our punishment for us, and we are redeemed!

Pray with me: Oh, God, thank You! We were on death row and deserved to die. Then Jesus who had done NOTHING wrong stepped into Barabbas’ place and our place and died for every person. Praise You, Jesus! Thank You for allowing Pilate to sit in judgment of You when You had every right to judge him. Thank You for not showing Pilate that You were the one with the power that night and letting everything go as You and Your Father planned. It’s in Your mighty Name we pray, Amen.

Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study, Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels