The Wisdom of Cowards.
I've been collecting perspectives on Pontius Pilate in the Gospels and real history for the past few weeks. Somewhere in all of this, I came across a truly wonderful post, which I reblogged with a few of my own thoughts put modestly. It's strange that I share something from my Tumblr here. To be fair, I do share excerpts from the podcast on Tumblr :D
So, just a random person on Tumblr (that's why I love this hybrid social media platform):
To which I, while reposting, added the following:
You've done such an insightful analysis of Pilate! I couldn't agree more. THAT'S BRILLIANT. It has touched something buried very deep inside me. A thousand thanks for your words, which are no longer just a post on the Internet, but truly great and powerful preaching.
May I put my two cents' worth in here?
At first Pilate feared them, the people; that's true. He worried what they might do if he refused to execute Jesus. He knew they would be in open rebellion if he said them 'no'. Everything is veering from bad to worse when we look at the previous verse in the Gospel of John. From this point on, Pilate feared not the Jewish people themselves, but what they said to him:
“The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” — John 19:7.
Pilate felt bewildered and then awed before Him being the Son of God. Thus, the stakes for Pilate were getting higher; his senses told him that Jesus is not just some random Jew, even one who has created considerable excitement, but the true Son of God, the Lord, and to kill the Lord God is terrifying. From that moment we see Pilate searching for ways to release Jesus. I mean, legal ones. He tried to change their minds. He offered to release Jesus at the passover according to their custom. He finally ordered Jesus Christ to be scourged, because no one can be punished twice for the same crime; in this way, Pilate hoped to save His life.
He really tried to do his best as a ruler and as a person. He attempted to make the correct decision for a very dangerous situation. If Pilate refused to crucify an innocent man, the crowd would rebel and far too many people would have died — on both sides. If he did as they wanted, he would put an innocent man to death. It is a kind of hell to be forced to choose one of those things over another in this particular situation.
Pilate wanted to do the right thing, to get a fair shake to Jesus. That must inspire respect. He obviously was a man of high morality and pure intentions. But:
“And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” — John 19:12.
However, the fact that Pilate, if he were to release Him, might therefore prove to be 'no friend of Caesar' ultimately outweighs everything, and in fear of Caesar — of the ruler of the earth (when one should only fear the King of Heaven) — he became fainthearted. He was so frightened for his own skin and career. That was a critical moment for him as a person and he cracked. He failed.
Thus, Pilate is known to history as one being not brave enough to follow the truth.
Not in vain did Jesus say: “Fear not.” — Luke 12:32.
One should remember: the kind of person I am is on my conscience. Anybody can become a coward like Pilate. Or a traitor like Judas. And anybody can become like that disciple, whom He loves, standing by the cross.
Glory be to Thy long-suffering, O Lord!
christianity
jesus christ
pontius pilate
john the apostle
judas iscariot
analysis
cowardice
faith
truth
some thoughts
