Jesus Before Pilate
Matthew 27:11-26
11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19While 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."
20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they answered.
22"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify him!"
23"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
24When 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!"
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"
26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
In another one of the gospels, it also says that he tried to convince the crowd to just let him punish Him and let Him go, but they said that wouldn't do.
Anyway, basically, the teacher asked if when Pilate washed his hands, did it really absolve him of the responsibility for having Jesus put to death and everyone said no, really emphatically and she talked about how that was a mistake that would cost him eternity. The other thing the teacher said was that Pilate didn't have the Holy Spirit, but he had a conscience and that's what made him know what he was doing was wrong.
So my comments/questions are:
1. Was Pilate really any more to blame than the crowd and you and I? (I'm reminded of the song
How Deep the Father's Love for Us) I mean, yes, he handed him over to people knowing that they would kill him, but he had to. He had to fulfill the prophecy (even if he didn't know that's what he was doing). It's not as if the crucifixion wouldn't have happened if he had taken a stand. Someone would have nailed Jesus to a cross anyway because it had to happen.2. If Pilate would have had the Holy Spirit (and I know he wouldn't have, but just hang with me for a minute), would the Holy Spirit have told him not to do it? Obviously, the Holy Spirit would probably be grieved by what was about to happen, but at the same time, the Holy Spirit would have known that God's will had to be done.
What do you think?
9 comments:
No, I definitely don't think he is any more to blame than us. I love the line of that song, "Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers." How true. I think we often look at the crucifixion and compare ourselves with the "good guys," when in essence, we are ALL the "bad guys." In all honesty, I am more like Judas, Peter, Barabbas, the crowd, and the soldiers than anyone else. Pointing a finger at Pilate is, IMHO, the pot calling the kettle black. In the end, it really comes down to the fact that we are all guilty of crucifying Him because of our sin.
I've always wondered about the other things you've mentioned. It'll be interesting to read people's responses on that.
Mandy - I feel the same way. I even feel like if I had been living in that time period, who knows, I might have even been in the crowd yelling for him to be crucified. I'd like to think not, but hindsight is 20/20 and if I hadn't seen "the whole picture" I don't know if I would believe.
I also want to know what happened to Pilate after he handed him over. I haven't done any research on this, so I don't know if the Bible gives any clues. I wonder if it haunted him. I wonder if he fell on his face and cried out for forgiveness or if he just went on with his life.
I agree, and this is part of the "big picture" that I really struggle with. I don't expect to ever have an answer because a lot of people that are a lot smarter than me still haven't answered it... but here's the deal.
To me, this is another example of the argument over free will vs. pre-determination. I'm with you - if it was to be that Pilate gave Jesus up to the crowd's demands, then why be mad at him? If it was all happening as it was supposed to, then he was powerless. According to the overall plan, everything happens as it was intended to.
After years of trying, I'm still unable to tell the difference between what is to be accepted as God's Will, and what should instead be a good project for intercessory prayer. If everything that happens is God's Will, and it's going to happen anyway, what good is it for me to pray about the outcome of some situation ? You can't counter the plan of God, and why would you even want to ? If I'm unable, as a human, to understand the overall scheme, then how am I to know what is or isn't predetermined and necessary to move the overall plan forward ?
No, I haven't been smoking... it just sounds like it. This sort of topic really gets me wound up.
I get what you're saying, My Dear.
And I don't know how to know what things are "worth" praying about. But I know that praying doesn't hurt. I don't think God is mad at us for asking him for things unless maybe the things we're asking him for are things that we know are wrong...like praying that your enemies die or something. :)
I know that God wants us to ask for the desires of our heart. Despite how people misuse the verse "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart", he does not always say yes. Our desires aren't always the right desires.
I don't believe in pre-destination, really. I mean, I believe that God knows before we're even born if we will accept him. But I don't think he picks out certain people and makes them accept him. We always have a choice. He just happens to know what our answer will be. Maybe that carries over into other areas besides salvation.
I've seen instances of God healing people from what seemed like very dire circustances (spiritually and physically). I don't know if he did that directly because of the prayers of his people or if he did it just because he wanted to. But I believe that he loves to lavish us with the desires of our hearts when it will further his kingdom, but his first priority is always to bring himself glory.
I will study up on examples in the Bible of God hearing the prayers of his people. Maybe something can be gleaned from that.
Why can't people accept both free will and predestination - evidence for "both" are in the Scriptures, therefore they both are important. They also work together, and cannot detract from each other. I heard a fellow (Dr. Bob Utley, ETBU) talk about how both are present, and there's a "tension" in them, works kinda like a rubber band, there has to be tension on it for it to work.
Now, as to HOW it works, simple three step process:
1: I've got
2: absolutely
3: no idea
I agree with you. I mean God's Will had to be done like you said. I think it worked just like it was supposed to. I also , like you, don't think he is anymore to blame than we are. I mean I think it is harsh that Judas was pretty much damned to hell to fulfill the prophecy as well but God has a much bigger plan for the world than our human minds can fathom. I believe that some things are just not for us to understand fully. I don't think we are capable. I think it would overwhelm us in our human state.
I don't know if Judas was damned to hell (I'm not in the "suicide automatically = hell" camp), but I agree that it is harsh that he suffered so much emotionally from his actions that he felt there was no other option than suicide--especially when he had to do what he did.
Very interesting thoughts. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
I just nominated you for The Thinking Blogger Award!
http://3mreviews.blogspot.com/2007/04/thank-you.html
This is a subject of debate all right...I think from the theological point of you your first thought is correct. In that Pilate was an instrument of God's will. Taken into account that he was not Jewish but Roman, he was approaching the subject of Jesus' punishement from the Ancient world's point of view, which is law and logic. He could see this wasn't "just" and "right".
His wife, on the other hand, being mosre sensitive as it is apt to the female nature, approached the subject from a more intuitive point of view: "This is a holy man, you just might not do it!". The Holy Spirit reached her soul in her dream (just as it did with Joseph and Mary.
I cannot say whether Pilate and his wife entered Heaven or not. But his story also shows us the choices we are all presented with every day. And it reminds us that God does not favor "lukewarm" responses to the challenges and decisions we have to make. Nor does life, after all...
Easter blessings to you and yours.
And Thank You for bringing up this subject and offering me (us) some food for thought.
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