How to Avoid a "Pilate"

I am writing this Good Friday, March 29, 2024.  Six trials, three religious in which Jesus was found guilty, and three Roman in which He was found innocent, lead to His crucifixion over 2000 years ago today.

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus dead so found Him guilty of blasphemy since He claimed that He was the son of God.  The Roman leaders, Herod and Pontius Pilate agreed with each other that Jesus did not deserve death.  Luke 23:13-15 Now Pilate summoned to himself the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and he said to them, "You brought this Man to me on the ground that He is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this Man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.  No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.  Therefore I will punish Him and release Him."  Both Herod and Pilate were ruthless men who seemed to bond over Jesus' persecution by the Jews.   Luke 23:11-12  And Herod, together with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressing Him in a brightly shining robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  And so Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.  They both hoped that by humiliating and "roughing him up" the nuisance Jewish leaders would be happy enough and go away.

But that was not God's plan.  

It is not specifically stated, but I would guess that disciple John was at the last trial Jesus had in front of Pilate as he provided some very specific dialogue between Pilate and Jesus.  John 18:33-38  Therefore Pilate entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, "You are the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on you own or did others tell you about Me?"  Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?  Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."  Therefore, Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?"  Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king.  For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world:  to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And after saying this, he came out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no grounds at all for charges in His case. 

Every human being faces the exact choices Pilate faced when confonting Jesus.

1.  Are you going to choose to ask questions of Jesus so that you know what He says and means? (For us 2000 years later - Are you going to read and study the Bible?)

2.  Are you going to listen to Jesus' answers? (For us 2000 years later -Are you going to call on the Holy Spirit for understanding?)

3.  Are you going to learn from what He says? (For us 2000 years later -Are you going to call on the Holy Spirit for wisdom?)

4.  Are you going to trust Him as the truth? 

5.  And finally.....are you going to believe Him and who He says He is? (Ironically Pilate thought he was judging Jesus when actually he was determining his own final judgement.)

Pilate appeared to at least half heartedly do 1-3.  He asked 5 questions:  You are King of the Jews?  I am not a Jew am I?  What have you done?  So you are a King?  What is truth?  He listened and learned enough to ask the next question.  But His questions seem more "gotcha", not probing for understanding.  He was going through the motions of his job, checking off the boxes, not seeking to understand Jesus' position.  Did Pilate get that Jesus claimed to be the son of God, sent by God the Father to offer salvation and eternal life?  This is what had the Jewish leaders all fired up!

Jesus did not even answer Pilate's last question, "What is truth?", as it was evident that Pilate was not interested in pursuing the truth. He seemed to literally wash his hands of the problem in Matthew 27:24-26  Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; you yourselves shall see." And all the people replied, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"  Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified. 

This was God's plan. Jesus was a willing sacrifice for our sins offered by God.  The hardened hearts of the Jewish leaders and Pilate were the human instruments used to accomplish this.  God did not do this hardening. He allowed each of them to make the choice to harden on their own at either the asking, listening or learning stages.

Jesus, "the truth", was literally standing in front of him, yet Pilate did not recognize it, overwhelmed by the pressures of keeping order.  We have bills to pay, difficult relationships to maintain, health issues and so many other uncertainties.  Ask, listen, learn, trust and believe in Jesus.  When we have more God presence in our lives, we are not as likely to do "a Pilate" and succumb to the pressures of life itself.

Garden Do's and Don'ts

 

After the Last Supper, Jesus and 11 of the disciples (minus betrayer Judas) head to the Garden of Gethsemane where He is later joined by said betrayer and a multitude of Jewish leaders.  Jesus continues to show Godly character, the character we are to emulate, as the humiliating part of His final hours begin. Jesus was Jesus, even in this dark time.  He continued to live out the "do's and don'ts" of righteous Godly behavior.

The Do's

1.  Jesus prayed.  Mark 14: 32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said (to His disciples), "Sit here while I go and pray." Praying is how we communicate with God the Father.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7 to turn to God as soon as anxiety hits.  Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  

2.  Jesus obeyed.  Luke 22:42-43  "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."  Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.  He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.  Jesus knew God the Father was in charge, and He knew the plan He was to follow.  God sent an angel to comfort Jesus in His hour of need.

The Don'ts

1.  Jesus was not afraid and did not hide.  Knowing his fate, Jesus carried on without fear.  John 18:4-9  Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them.(the Jewish leaders)  "Who are you looking for?" he asked.  "Jesus the Nazarene," they replied.  "I Am He," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said "I Am He," they all drew back and fell to the ground!  It appeared that the multitude of Jewish priests, officers and elders are the ones who had a moment of fear (or maybe awe?)!  Jesus could have performed another miracle and removed Himself from the garden, but He did not hide from the plan God the Father had asked of Him.  

In contrast the disciples were very afraid!  In Matthew and Mark, the disciples all flee after Jesus' arrest.  Matthew 26:56 (Jesus speaking) "But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures."  At that point, all the disciples deserted Him and fled.  According to John, he and Peter did not flee.  John 18:15  Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of disciples.  That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest's courtyard with Jesus.  Scholars agree that this "other disciple" is John.  Simon Peter and John may not have fled, but it is likely they were following from a safe distance.  Despite all the prep and the love they had for and from Jesus, the human disciples could not help but freak out when Jesus was arrested.  But Jesus remained cool, calm, and truthful.

An aside...John was the only gospel who did not mention that all the disciples had a hard time staying awake in the garden with Jesus.  The other three gospels were written before his and no doubt he had read them and didn't feel the need to harp on this flaw. LOL! 

2.  Jesus was not angry or rude.  All four gospels mention that a disciple cut an ear off one of the high priest's slave.  John is most specific identifying the disciple as Simon Peter, the ear as the right one, and the slave as Malchus.  John could provide this detail as he was actually in the garden with Jesus.

But Jesus never lost His cool.  It was recorded in three of the four gospels that He scolded the disciple (Simon Peter) for the ear cutting incident.  Matthew 26:52  "Put away your sword," Jesus told him. "Those who use the sword will die by the sword." He could have yelled all kinds of truthful obscenities at the hypocritical Jewish leaders and used his miracle powers to disappear.  But instead He stuck to God the Father's plan to save humankind from it's sins

In our dark times we are to follow these do's and don'ts and behave the same way Jesus did in the Garden.  Always pray first.  Be familiar with scripture and invite in the Holy Spirit so that you know how to obey God.  Knowing that He loves us and has His plan, we should not be afraid of any situation we encounter.  Seek to understand the plan.  There is no need to hide, or deny.  We are always to speak truth, avoiding anger and rude behavior.  We are God's people and He is on our side.  It may not look like things are going His way, but trust that He always has a plan for our eternal life.  In this instance, the plan was for Jesus to take on all our sin since we are simple incapable of avoiding it ourselves, and that is exactly why Jesus found Himself in the Garden. 

What is Faith and Do I Have It?

Faith does not completely depend on bible knowledge, but knowing who God is greatly strengthens our faith. When we believe in God and act (obey) based on that belief, that is faith.  You can believe in God and not have faith.  Even demons believe in God, they just don’t act (obey) based on God.  Matthew 8:28, “When He (Jesus) arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met them.  They were so violet that no one could pass that way. ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?’”

I have always believed in God, but like most Christians, I have doubted and questioned different aspects of Christianity.  It took me several years to discover that the reason for my doubt was because I didn’t know that much about my proclaimed faith.  Faith involves three elements – truth that leads to conviction that leads to action.  How could I live my faith if I did not understand it to the point where I could explain it (truth – intimate knowledge of the bible)?   And once I understood and could explain it, would I believe it (conviction/belief in Jesus) and hand over control to God by being more obedient (action)? 

Unlike other religions, you are not born into the Christian faith.  If you believe in the whole “Jesus is my Lord and Savior “thing”, nothing else matters.  You are a Christian.  But how do you get to the point of total belief that Jesus is the resurrected King?  Some Christians have a cataclysmic or “born again” experience where they instantaneously know there is a God and their faith is born.  

But most Christians are like me.  We want to believe, actually dust off the bible and open it up, entertain the possibility of God’s gift of grace and unconditional love, begin to pray, and try to start living a life closer to Jesus’ example, by obeying what He has asked us to do in said bible.  Slowly we come to realize that yes, indeed, there is a God and Jesus is real.

We come to faith in different ways like the shepherds and the Magi when they learned the news of the birth of Jesus.  The shepherds were awoken by an angel and told of the birth of our Savior.  It was sudden and frightening.  They got up and set out immediately for Bethlehem.  They didn’t wait for the markets to open, stock up on travel supplies or get a good night’s sleep before the big trip. The shepherds heard the angel bring good news of a new born Savior, saw the field of heavenly hosts (angels) and instantly fled to the city of David, Bethlehem, to see the prophesized infant Savior.

The Magi were pagans familiar with the Jewish scripture.  When they saw the star, they remembered Daniel’s prophecy of a promised king and were curious.  A part of them probably wanted to believe that the prophecy had been fulfilled, but they were not going to believe that their Savior had been born until they saw Him with their own eyes. 

It took them two years (your manger depiction is technically incorrect unless you have the wisemen in your garage at Christmas time), but they made it to toddler Jesus and bowed down.  Still following the star, the Magi did not find Jesus in a stable, but in a house.  Matthew 2: 10-11, When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and bowed down and worshiped Him.  Were they still in Bethlehem?  Since Mary and Joseph were still betrothed (engaged) only at this time, if they wanted to avoid the stares and gossip they would encounter upon returning home with a new born perhaps they remained in Bethlehem.  But this house could also be back in Nazareth, scripture does not specify.

The fact that the Gentile magi performed the same adoration as the Jewish shepherds symbolized the universal outreach for future Christianity.  I am a Magi, and although I was never blessed with an awe inspiring heavenly host shepherd moment, I have traveled a long path, asked the questions, and invited Jesus into my life.

When we invite Him into our lives, we see and feel him working through us.  Skeptics may call this a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, but for those of us who become believers, we have done enough questioning, and seen enough instances of God’s grace in our own lives to know we have found the Truth.  

We trust even if we don’t understand “why”.  Creator God has spoken into existence 200 sextillion stars into the universe.  His largest is UY Scuti, a red hypergiant that could hold about 5 billion of our suns.  For better perspective, more than a million earths could fit into our sun.  I cannot wrap my head around how big UY Scuti is (let alone, how God spoke it into existence), so how am I to understand all the things God is doing in my one human life.  As a believer, my ineptness in understanding gives me peace.  I have turned control over to Him with my obedience to his ways, which gives me this peace (and also blows my mind).  And the more I am out of obedience compliance, the less peace I have.  Isn't this so counter to our culture?  We think if we have control, we will have peace.  Well, do you?  

Having this peace in the midst of some really sad/bad things in my life is what strengthens my faith. I have free will to obey or not, and I fail at being 100% in obedience compliance every single day.  And if I were somehow able to be 100% obedience compliant (which there is a 0% chance of), this world of evil would still impact me, still requiring my reliance on Jesus.  My faith has brought about a significant increase in obedience, making me less of a worrying, selfish, prideful sinner. I still worry, am selfish and a daily sinner, but I am a believer who can sleep at night in peace.  And knowing my love for control and wanting to know all the "whys"/"why nots", I recognize this change as a far greater miracle than moving a mountain, parting the sea, or creating an impossible to imagine star. 

It is easy to get discouraged when you don’t understand some of the Bible text on your own, or even after a minister or teacher explains it. Even the disciples who had Jesus himself teaching eternal truths did not grasp it all.  In Matthew 16:18, Jesus called Peter a “rock” after confessing his faith.  And just four verses later in Matthew 16:22-23, Jesus called him a stumbling block because Peter was afraid of  what Jesus was saying and denied that it could ever happen.  Embrace what you do believe and continue to seek deeper meanings from scripture so that you advance in your faith.  This is one of the reasons Jesus asked God to send us the Holy Spirit, so that He could help us better understand God's word.  As you grow in your faith, you will sin less and it will hurt more. Welcome to spiritual maturity!

Eyewitness Spills on Jesus Pep Talk

In the last hours of Jesus before his trials and crucifixion, the gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke move quickly from the supper (where Judas is exposed as the betrayer and Peter as a future 3 time denier), to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is arrested.

But John, who was there with Jesus, shares four more chapters of additional information.  John 14-17 details what happened in the Upper Room after the Supper but before Jesus and the disciples headed down the hill to the garden.  

John 14

Jesus lovingly tried to prepare His disciples for His upcoming death.  He assured them He would come back for them and they would be with Him forever.  John 14:1-3  "Don't let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father's home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."

Jesus reminded the disciples that the only way to eternal life is by believing in Him.  John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me."

And Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to all who believed, loved, and obeyed.  John 14:15-17  "If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth."

John 15

Jesus used a grapevine to outline how things would work after He left.  John 15:5-8  "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.  Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father."  There would be some painful pruning so believers could produce even more fruit (John 15:2).  But the love that flowed between the vine (Jesus) and the branches (believers who obey His commandments) would produce beautiful fruit (new believers).

The disciples were to love each other, and understand that the world would never love them.  John 15: 17-25  "This is my command:  Love each other.  If the world hates you, remember it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.  I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you.  And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.  They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.  They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them.  But they have no excuse for their sin.  Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.  If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty.  But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father.  This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures. 'They hated me without cause.'"

John 16

Then things started to get real scary.  John 16:2-4  "For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.  This is because they have never known the Father or me.  Yes, I'm telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning."  Later in John16:31-33 "Do you finally believe?  But the time is coming - indeed it's here now - when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone.  Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  Only John escaped a violent death.  Judas killed himself over his betrayal, and the other 10 were martyrs, killed for spreading their faith in Jesus.  John was exiled and died of old age.

But Jesus followed up with two good pieces of news.  

1.  John 16:12-13  "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on His own but will tell you what he has heard (from me)."  God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all God, consistent and unchanging in Their truth.

2.  John 16:20-22  "I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice.  You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.  It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor.  When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world."  The disciples did not know specifics - but things would be very hard, followed by "the best news ever".  Jesus would die a horrible death, be placed in a tomb, and be resurrected 3 days later.  He would ascend 40 days later to be back in Heaven with God the Father. And 10 days after ascension, as promised, God the Father would send the Holy Spirit because Jesus asked Him to. The Holy Spirit would help all believers know God's truths and what to do with them.  

John 17

And then Jesus prayed.

He prayed for Himself.  John 17:1 "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you."

He prayed for His disciples.  John 17:11 "Now I am departing from the world, they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you.  Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are." John 17:15-17  I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.  They do not belong to this world any more than I do.  Make them holy by your truth.

And He prayed for all future believers.  John 17:20  "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.  I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one."  John 17:23-24  "I am in them and you are in me.  May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.  Father, I want these who you have given me to be with me where I am."  This last line says all you need to know about Jesus' love for us.

Parking in John for these four chapters, we see how Jesus comforted and encouraged His disciples hours before His human body would be whipped, poked with thorns, spat on, screamed at and crucified.  His focus was on obeying the Father and protecting His people. “Don't worry, you will see me again", "Always believe in me", "You will have a Helper, called the Holy Spirit",  "Love Me", "Love each other", "Tell others about Me even though it will get you in a lot of worldly trouble", "One day we will all be together again with God the Father".  

How much He must love us!  He thought only to comfort, encourage, and clarify instructions for His people as the hours ticked toward his brutal death for all of our sins. John 17:19 "And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth."

Thank you John for sharing.