Wednesday Bible Study: P is for Pontius Pilate

So today, I want to look at Pontius Pilate- specifically his interview with Jesus and what he SHOULD have learned.  Because it strikes me that Pilate saw him as (just) a good man- and like so many, never took that next step.  I want to look at what he asked of Jesus, what he said to Jesus, and how it can apply to us.


The first thing Pilate wants to know, in all four Gospels (Mt 27:11. Mk 15:2, Lk 23:3, and Jn 18:33), is, "Are you a king- are you King of the Jews?"  He is absolutely referring to the physical realm here- it's the only realm he cares about.  For him, he is looking for an actual claim or a statement of rights- something legal that he needs to address.  He's requesting proof.  This is the go-to question from atheists, really- "Why should I believe something you can't prove?"  But see, it depends on what you accept as proof.  Paul tells us that God has manifested Himself throughout creation, so He won't accept, 'prove it', as a defense (Romans 1:20).  Asking for a sign?  The Bible gives two responses to this.  One is in Isaiah 7, where he demands the faithless King Ahaz ask for a sign, and he refuses.  Isaiah then forces the sign on him- the prophecy of the Messiah's birth (Isa. 7:10-13).  The other is when they demanded a sign FROM Jesus- and since He Himself was the sign they should have been looking for, and the only other sign he would give was His own burial and resurrection (Mt. 12:40).

Pilate, however, isn't exactly looking for proof of His messiah-ship, just if He is a king by the standards of man.  So Jesus answers, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" (Jn 18:34).  Jesus is NOT going to give him something he is NOT seeking.


To which Pilate, snark-master that he is, responds, "Am I a Jew?" (v35).  A throwaway question for him, but not for us.  Too many people think they will never have access because they're not a "member of the club".  "I'm not a church person,", "You're not a Catholic," and so on.  The intellectual equivalent of, "I'm going to hell anyway," and how many times do you hear people who don't take God seriously say THAT?  He's not taking Jesus seriously.


He follows that up with, "What have you done?"- that your own people turned you over to me?  Pilate has asked a critical question here- though he doesn't know it.  The answer to why the Jews want Him dead is not one of what He has done- but who He IS.  The Jews will later explain this to Pilate, but for now, he's still asking in the physical realm.  What have you done, Jesus?  There are still wars being fought, children starving, women being raped, people getting sick and dying.  What have you DONE about it?  And Jesus explains the difference between God's perspective and man's:

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." 

Now, Pilate can go two ways with this.  He can accept there is a spiritual element here- in which case the whole thing is WAY above his pay-scale.  Or, he can think, "All right, this guy is off his bird."  And by his NEXT question, he shows which way he is leaning.

And that question, once again in snark-mode, is, "So, you ARE a king?" (Jn 18:37)  Basically saying to him, "I don't follow all this spiritual hogwash."  This is not Pilate trying to learn from Jesus; this is Pilate saying, "The whole thing is absurd."  This is not a 'then' thing:  Serene Jones, recently appointed head of New York's Union Theological Seminary, had this to say to the NYTimes:

“When you look in the Gospels, the stories are all over the place. There’s no resurrection story in Mark, just an empty tomb. Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves,” Jones said. “… Crucifixion is not something that God is orchestrating from upstairs. The pervasive idea of an abusive God-father who sends his own kid to the cross so God could forgive people is nuts. For me, the cross is an enactment of our human hatred. But what happens on Easter is the triumph of love in the midst of suffering. Isn’t that reason for hope?”

“I find the virgin birth a bizarre claim,” she said. “It has nothing to do with Jesus’ message. The virgin birth only becomes important if you have a theology in which sexuality is considered sinful. It also promotes this notion that the pure, untouched female body is the best body, and that idea has led to centuries of oppressing women.”

Asked what happens when people die, Jones responded, “I don’t know! There may be something, there may be nothing. My faith is not tied to some divine promise about the afterlife.”

Head of a Seminary.  Let that sink in.

Jesus again answers in a way Pilate can't accept:

 Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." 

To put in Pilate's own snark, Jesus answers, "This 'king' thing is important to you.  The TRUTH is what matters.  If you were really seeking it, you'd hear Me."

And Pilate finishes himself off with his famous next statement, "What is truth?" (v38).  This is Pilate thinking it's all about philosophy.  Philosophies are like opinions, they don't hurt anybody usually.  And with this, Pilate judges Jesus to be just another harmless philosopher, whose presence he can take or leave.  He then tells the Jews, "I find no guilt in this man," and tries to just walk away from the whole thing.

But what comes next can't just be walked away from.  He gets two pieces of information that blow his comfortable diagnosis of "harmless philosopher" away.  

The first comes from his wife:

Mat 27:19  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream." 

The second is provided by Jesus's accusers themselves:

Joh 19:7  The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God." 
Joh 19:8  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 

He might have been able to pass off what the Jews said, but when his wife added her voice, he had to change the very nature of his questioning, from seeking legal right to something far more powerful...

Joh 19:9  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. 

This was now Pilate asking, "who are you, really?" So why didn't Jesus answer him?  Because He HAD been answering him, all along, and Pilate didn't listen.  Perhaps, had Pilate asked this instead of smart-mouthing, "What is truth?" earlier, he might have gotten an answer.  But here's the thing.  He should have took that fear, looked for truth, and came humbly before Jesus.  Instead...

Joh 19:10  So Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?" 

How many people come demanding of God and get no answer; then turn and say, "Well if you're not going to talk to me, you must not be real."  They, like Pilate, choose to believe that they are in control, they are in charge of 'their relationship with God'.  But Jesus explains that it doesn't work that way...

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin." 

So at this point, Pilate COULD have realized that Jesus had taught him much:

-You have to SEEK God;

-You have to take it seriously;

-You have to accept that there is a spiritual dimension to creation, not just the 'evidence of your eyes';

- You have to see past the things that don't seem to make sense;

- You have to understand it's far more than philosophy and morality;

-You have to see Jesus for who He truly is;

- and you have to accept that there are bigger things than you.

All of which would have started him on the road to faith.  Instead, he decided it was a bit scary and something he didn't want to think about.  

Joh 19:12  From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." 

So Pilate just wanted to be done with it all- he didn't know for sure who or what Jesus was, and it was bad policy to push it.  However, there was one thing he was SURE of- he was more afraid of Caesar than he was of Jesus.

Acts 4:18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. 20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”…

So now, he was in a spot between two fears, and he saw but one way out- to pass the buck:

Mat 27:21  The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." 
Mat 27:22  Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" 

"Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  The Jews were trying to get out with their 'righteousness' intact by forcing Pilate; Pilate was returning the favor by making them choose.  This is Pilate going along with the crowd as his excuse for his choice.  But not only was he saying, "everybody does it', he was adding to that, "So it's not my fault..."

Mat 27:24  So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." 

Mat 27:25  And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" 

And here's the application- the second half of this story, Pilate demonstrates all the excuses that won't fly when you meet Christ after you die:

- "I didn't understand..."

- "I prayed and got no answer..."

- "This is all kinda scary..."

- "I wondered what people would say or do about me..."

-  "I did what everyone else was doing..."

What's your excuse?