Articles
Pilate Chooses Wrong
Pilate Chooses Wrong
The Jews brought Jesus before Pilate. Pilate was the fifth Roman governor of the province of Judea. He began his rule in a.d. 26 so had been dealing with the Jewish community for a few years. The history of the Roman rule in Judea had seen many uprisings and rebellions against Rome. Pilate was just another in a long line of governors that had to deal with the Jews.
Roman law was not established to uphold Jewish law. As Pilate examines the political / legal accusations, he constantly came to the same conclusion: "I find not guilt in him" (18:38; 19:4,6). Having declared His innocence, Pilate sought to release Jesus (19:12). He had already declared that he had the authority to release Him or have Him crucified.
What hindered Pilate was the resolve of the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified. "If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar" (19:12). Trying to avoid another uprising among the Jewish people, he caved in and had an innocent man put to death. He knew he was innocent. He knew that what he was doing to Jesus was wrong. He did it anyway.
Such is the power of social pressure. It can and does cause people to do wrong even when they know it is wrong. God warns us:
"You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice" (Ex. 23:2).
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1Cor. 15:33).
James teaches: "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin" (James 4:17).
While most of us are not in positions of power as Pilate was, yet we daily face the decision of acting according to our knowledge of right and wrong. We also face the pressure of the crowd. Are we of more character than Pilate?
Hugh DeLong
