Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death. Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor. [Matthew 27:1-2 (NLT)]
Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect (or governor) of Judea from 26 to 36 AD. He was responsible for the collection of taxes, managed construction projects, and had the sole authority to order a criminal’s execution. His most important duty, however, was to maintain law and order and, if he couldn’t do it through negotiation, he did it by any means necessary.
Around 50 AD, Philo of Alexandria wrote about Pilate’s “briberies, insults, robberies, outrages and wanton injuries, executions without trial, constantly repeated, ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty.” Ancient historian Flavius Josephus reported that after Pilate exhausted the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct, the Jews gathered in protest at his use of sacred funds. After sending soldiers dressed as Jews into the crowd of protesters, at his signal, they removed clubs hidden in their cloaks and beat many of the protesters to death. According to Josephus, Pilate eventually was removed from office and sent back to Rome after using excessive force to prevent a suspected Samaritan insurrection. Both historians described Pilate as exceedingly loyal to the emperor, stubborn, and insensitive to the Jews.
Pilate died in 39 AD and some traditions hold that he was executed while others that he committed suicide. The early Christian author Tertullian claimed that Pilate became a follower of Jesus and tried to convert the emperor to Christianity. These claims, however, are mere speculation. That Pilate existed, however, is not. In 1961, while excavating an ancient Roman theatre in Caesarea, a piece of limestone was found that was inscribed with both the emperor’s and Pilate’s names and the words “Prefect of Judea.”
Unable to sentence Jesus to death, the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to the governor. Pilate and the Sanhedrin shared a common interest in maintaining the status quo. Although he knew Jesus had been arrested on trumped up charges, Pilate also knew of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem when people had hailed Him as the long-awaited king. Rome wouldn’t welcome the news of an unauthorized king and, if Pilate allowed Jesus to remain in Judea, the governor would be accused of disloyalty to Rome. Pilate knew Jesus’ death was the expedient political solution for all and, yet, he appeared to be hesitant to take action.
Based on the gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial, some commentators find Pilate indecisive, easily manipulated by Sanhedrin, and weak in his capitulation to the mob. Others, however, disagree with that assessment. That Pilate managed to serve ten years as prefect when the typical term was three tells us he was a man of political acumen and ancient historians described him as headstrong and authoritarian. As governor, Pilate held the power—only he could pronounce capital punishment and he was the one who appointed (or dismissed) the head priest. Since Pilate knew that he would appear weak if he yielded too quickly to the Sanhedrin’s wishes, some scholars suggest that what seemed like hesitation on Pilate’s part was just the governor making the Sanhedrin sweat a little and beg. In the end, Pilate did exactly what he wanted but he’d put the Sanhedrin in his debt by seeming to do them a favor.
We’ll never know whether Pilate was manipulated by the Sanhedrin or he shrewdly manipulated them. Whatever his motives, Pilate knew Jesus was innocent of all charges when he ordered the crucifixion of the Son of God. Putting the blame on the Sanhedrin and the angry mob that shouted “Crucify him!” Pilate disclaimed any responsibility for shedding innocent blood and literally washed his hands of the matter. Whether he voluntarily put Jesus to death or was pressured into his decision, Pilate was a political and moral coward and washing his hands couldn’t absolve him of his guilt.
Being compelled or pressured never releases us of our responsibility to do the right thing. Regardless of circumstance, we must take ownership of our actions. Remember: while we can be tempted to sin, we never can be forced to do it!
Sin is a brat that nobody is willing to own; and many deceive themselves with this, that they shall bear no blame if they can but find any to lay the blame upon; but it is not so easy a thing to transfer the guilt of sin as many think it is. [Matthew Henry]
Yesterday, when writing about the lack of physical descriptions of Jesus, I realized how rarely Scripture describes anyone. Granted, we know that Goliath was huge, Saul was tall, Ehud was left-handed, Samson had long hair, Esau was hairy, Zacchaeus was short, that Sarah, Esther, and Rachel were beautiful, and that Leah was not. Those brief descriptions, however, were necessary to explain the narrative. Other than their ages, for example, we know nothing about the appearance of Noah, Abraham, or Moses and we don’t even know the ages of any of the disciples! Appearance, however, isn’t important to God.
While writing about lies these last few days, I recalled Mark Twain’s Was it Heaven? or Hell?, a short story in which the principle of absolute truth is challenged by that of Christian love. The widowed Margaret and her 16-year old daughter Helen live with their two elderly maiden aunts, Hannah and Hester. The aunts are uncompromisingly strict in their moral code and any sort of lie is inexcusable. When Helen admits having told a small and harmless lie, the aunts demand that she confess to her mother who is ill in bed.
Yesterday, when writing about notable liars in Scripture, I thought of other less commendable circumstances when people lied. When David was on the run from Saul, he arrived in the town of Nob and visited Ahimelech, the high priest. Although his purpose was to obtain food for his men and a weapon for himself, David blatantly lied and said he was there on a private matter for the king and lied again to explain being weaponless. Ahimelech, who didn’t know of the rift between Saul and David, gave David bread for his men along with Goliath’s sword.
A 2010 study on “Human Communication Research,” found that people average 1.65 lies per day. I suspect the 1,000 they people surveyed were not completely truthful and the number is probably higher! We’re all liars but are all lies equal? Is a POW’s lie to his interrogator about his platoon’s position the same as a thief’s lie to a detective? Is an undercover policeman’s lie to a drug dealer the same as not reporting all your income on your 1040? Is deceiving someone so you can give him a surprise party the same as saying the check’s in the mail when it isn’t?
Devotions of the Heart 