Pontius Pilate appears in the gospels as a cowardly vacillator who was willing to sacrifice justice for political convenience. When the religious leaders of Israel brought Jesus to him, they were accusing him of blasphemy on religious grounds. Since they could not carry out a sentence of death, they wanted the Roman procurator to do it for them. So they based their demand for Jesus’ execution on a charge of treason against Rome.
Jesus’ trial before Pilate, as reported in John’s gospel, has Pilate asking Jesus seven questions. These reveal his conflicted mental state, his contempt for the Jews, his uneasy conscience, his fear of being reported to Caesar, and his amazement at the calm demeanor and other-worldly wisdom of Jesus. One gets the sense that for Pilate, this was the great personal crisis of his life. He was on trial before Jesus!
“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked this, with emphasis on the word “you,” as if to say, “you, a preacher from Galilee, you, a rival to Caesar? Really?” Jesus answered in the affirmative. But he added that his kingdom is not derived from this world or dependent on worldly power (John 18:33-38).
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate’s unabashed sarcasm reveals his hatred for the Jews. Here they were, clamoring for the death of an innocent man while at the same time scrupulously observing a religious rule (John 18:28). The religious authorities wanted Jesus to die by crucifixion. This meant that he would die under the curse of God (Deuteronomy 21:23). In fact, this is what happened. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'” (Galatians 3:13).
“What have you done?” Was Pilate asking this so that Jesus would admit to some criminal activity? He was not concerned about the fine points of Jesus’ theology. He was only interested in deeds and their consequences. If only he had pursued an answer to this question! John’s gospel is the record of Jesus’ powerful deeds as signs of his divine authority.
“What is truth?” It has been suggested that this may have been the cry of a tortured soul, that Pilate let slip a brief moment of vulnerability. Or was this question another sarcastic jeer? Or was it offered with a shrug of indifference? He did not know that the very embodiment of truth was standing before him.
“Where do you came from?” There may have been a vague hint of pagan superstition in this question. Jesus had often said that he had come from God, (John 5:37, 8:16-18). Now the religious leaders remind Pilate that Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God (John 19:7). Was there some dim awareness in Pilate that the person standing before him in dignified silence came from another world? Jesus did not answer.
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate is afraid (John 19:8). He is annoyed. He is offended. Jesus’s silence is his answer now. He has already declared his truth and his kingdom and Pilate has been dismissive. Jesus could see into Pilate’s heart. There was no use in answering.
“Don’t you realize that I have power?” He could say the word and Jesus would be crucified, or set free (John 19:10). He represented the most powerful government on earth. In his mind, there was no greater authority. In Jesus’s mind, however, there is the knowledge of the power of the living God, before whom all nations must bow. Jesus reminds Pilate that human government is a gift from almighty God (John 19:11) and is to be employed in the exercise of justice and righteousness.
Recognizing that Jesus was no threat to Roman civil authority, Pilate wanted to set him free (John 19:12). The fact that he did not is a cautionary tale. His capitulation to religious bigotry and the injustice of mob violence is a warning to us. Pilate killed an innocent man to try to preserve his own position. Pilate condemned himself.
As for those who turned Jesus over to Pilate, our Lord says they were “guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11). “‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered” (John 19:15). In saying this, the leaders of Israel renounced their Messiah and turned their back on their national heritage. They condemned themselves.
Pastor Randy Faulkner