Matthew 27:11-14, 24-26 - Pontius Pilate - March 16, 2022

Have you ever noticed that, apart from the persons of the Holy Trinity, there are only two other people mentioned by name in the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds – one famous, the other infamous; one whom we call blessed, the other cursed? We confess that Jesus “was born of the Virgin Mary” and we rightly call her blessed. Then we continue, “[Jesus] suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” A cursed legacy if there ever was one. What are we to make of this man?

Let’s start with what we know about him from history. His official title was “governor of the imperial province of Judea,” a position he held from roughly 26 to 36 AD. He had been appointed to maintain Roman rule over Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and other territories to the north. This was not exactly a dream posting. Palestine was an infamously difficult place to keep the peace because the Jews were so bitterly opposed to foreign rule. Being sent to govern Syria was like being sent to Afghanistan, and governors went there hoping for a swift promotion to somewhere better.

Pilate’s own term as governor was marred by near-continuous discontent and rioting among the Jews, and much of it was his own fault. No sooner had he arrived in Jerusalem than he tried to have the imperial symbol, which included the image of Caesar, mounted on the walls of the Temple. His attempt to “imperialize” the temple incited such backlash that he had it removed within five days. Later, he proposed to build a new 25-mile aqueduct to bring fresh water from the mountains to Jerusalem – which sounds like a noble cause. But when he tried to requisition funds from the temple treasury to build it, a bloody riot broke out. Stories like these characterized Pilate’s ten-year reign as governor: the Jews hated him – and he hated them. It's important to keep that political tension in mind as we consider Pilate’s role in the last hours of our Savior’s life.

Normally, the governor lived in Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. There, the climate was cool and calm – not only because the refreshing breeze from the Mediterranean beat back the sweltering Palestinian heat, but also because there the governor was somewhat removed from the focal point of Jewish contention: Jerusalem. However, whenever the Jews celebrated their annual religious festivals, the governor relocated to Jerusalem, because it was at those times that Jewish nationalism, patriotism and opposition to foreign rule tended to boil over into both peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests and riots.

The Passover festival of 30 AD held true to form. It was in the early hours, probably about 5a on Friday, when Pilate was roused out of bed by a delegation of the Jewish leaders, members of the Sanhedrin. Mark records it this way: as soon as it was morning, the chief priests, along with the elders, the experts in the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate (Mark 15:1). You can imagine Pilate’s reaction. He probably cursed the Jews under his breath for disturbing his sleep at such an early hour. And if that weren’t enough, the following interaction must have made his blood boil: what charge do you bring against this man?...If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you…Take him and judge him according to your law…It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death (John 18:29-31). Why did Jesus have to die, according to them? We found this fellow misleading our nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king (Luke 23:2).

Put yourself in Pilate’s shoes for a moment. Can you blame him for not wanting anything to do with this case? He discovers that they had been up all night prejudging the defendant. He also knew that all they wanted was for him to rubber-stamp their verdict. (If there’s one thing no judge likes, it’s presumption on the part of the prosecution.) He also knew that their bringing Jesus to him was pure hypocrisy. He knew that if Jesus had really been opposing the paying of taxes to Rome that they would have been cheering him on, not accusing him. But even though he knew that this man was brought to him on completely trumped-up charges, the trumped-up charge was treason, and if he refused to hear the case then, as the Jews accurately stated, if you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar (John 19:12). In other words, if word of this supposed treason got back to Caesar and it was discovered that Pilate ignored it, his own neck would be on the line.

So Pilate interrogated Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” Jesus had just pleaded guilty to the charge of being the King of the Jews and therefore the Son of God, the Christ – and what was Pilate’s verdict? I find no basis for a charge against him (John 18:38). Pilate knew that this whole thing was a sham; a devious scheme to get rid of someone who was a threat – not to Caesar – but to these Jewish leaders. Pilate’s declaration of innocence is official, historical proof that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

He did everything in his power to free Jesus. 1) He tried to refer the case to Herod, but Herod sent Jesus right back when Jesus wouldn’t entertain him with miracles (Luke 23:6-12). 2) Then Pilate gave them a choice between the notorious and violent criminal called Barabbas (whose name ironically means “son of the father”) and Jesus, whose only crime was that he was the Son of God. They chose Barabbas (Matthew 27:21). 3) Then he appealed to their sense of compassion. He ordered his soldiers to flog Jesus (Matthew 27:26). Flogging meant lashes with a whip, which consisted of leather strips that had bits of bone or metal tied to the tips. Each stroke would rip open the victim’s skin and tear into his flesh. And then, to top it off, they pressed a crown of thorns into our Savior’s head in mockery of his kingship (Mark 15:17). In this state, Pilate presented him to the crowd, hoping that this pathetic excuse for a man would arouse their pity and satisfy their desire for blood. 4) Finally, when that failed, he tried one last dramatic move to demonstrate his opposition to this whole situation: he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility. But when they shouted back, let his blood be on us and on our children he handed him over to be crucified.

It's a sad story, really, isn’t it? That Pilate is remembered not for any of the positive, beneficial things that he might have accomplished during his term as governor; that instead his name is recorded in history – in both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds – as the one under whom Jesus suffered, was crucified, died and was buried. What kind of man would do this? He knew Jesus was innocent and yet he condemned him to death anyway. What kind of man is this who knows what is right, yet violates his own conscience? How could anyone preside over such an obvious perversion of justice as this and live with himself?

What’s obvious is that Pilate was, in the end, a pragmatist. A pragmatist is someone who has no real principles, no real moral standards, no clear distinction between right and wrong. All that the pragmatist is worried about is finding what works best in any given situation. And Pilate, the pragmatic, ambitious politician, was most concerned about keeping the peace at all costs so that he would remain in position for a promotion. In that game, it isn’t possible to stick to absolute principles of right and wrong, but rather, to what is expedient. Caught in an impossible situation, Pilate reveals himself to be a weak, cowardly and compromising man – ready to sell his own soul for the sake of his career. The tragic irony of Pilate’s story is that all of his efforts at climbing the political ladder didn’t work out in the end. A few years after he had condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion, the emperor recalled Pilate to Rome. [1] There, his failures and his guilty conscience apparently caught up with him. According to the Roman historian Eusebius, Pilate died – not naturally or of old age, but by suicide. If this review of Pilate’s life proves anything – it’s that he was a spineless coward…both in life and in death.

It's understandable that history is not kind to Pilate. But isn’t the spirit of Pilate alive and well in our world today? Don’t we still have our share of pragmatists who are unprincipled, immoral and regularly blur the line between right and wrong? And I’m not talking about politicians, celebrities or used-car salesmen. How many times don’t we choose what is easy, pleasurable and expedient over what is right? It’s tax season. It’s really tempting to be less than honest on our tax returns in order to get a bigger refund. Parenting is hard. It’s really tempting to try to be your child’s friend rather than do the hard work of raising them in the fear and knowledge of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). A lot of people disagree with what God’s Word teaches regarding marriage and sexuality – maybe even a lot of your own friends and family. It’s really tempting, expedient even, to just go along with popular opinion. There is only one way to heaven (John 14:6) and only one way that this gift salvation is delivered to people – through the means of grace: the gospel in Word and Sacrament; and yet – as we talked about in Bible class on Sunday – it’s really tempting to keep quiet instead of making a friend or family member angry by bringing up their sin of neglecting the means of grace. Certainly we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), but that demands that we speak! Silence is tantamount to cowardly, spineless pragmatism. Pilate definitely isn’t alone in failing to do or say what is right in the name of expediency.

Thank God, then, that Jesus never compromised his principles or sacrificed his morality for a single moment for any reason – not even in the face of being unjustly put to death for honestly confessing his identity as the Son of God, the King of kings, Lord of lords, and Savior of the world. The Jews claimed that they wanted Jesus’ blood on them and their children…ironically, we agree with them. We want – we need – Jesus’ blood to be on us and our children, for only the blood of Jesus…[God’s] Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) – including our sins of sacrificing our principles, our morality, our integrity, most of all, our obligation the truth of God’s Word for the sake of temporary advancement or pleasure or gain. This is the good news from the sad story of Pilate: the times we have acted like Pilate in our own lives are forgiven by the death of Jesus, the Son of God. May this forgiveness strengthen us to stand firm in truth and honesty and integrity, no matter the pain or the cost. Amen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate#CITEREFSchwartz1992