Valerie Rae Hanneman
“Should’ve” Easter Series #2
Luke 23:4-5a "Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." But they insisted,........”
Matthew 27:22-24 (NIV)"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!”
When I came back to Jesus about 10 years ago, I really didn’t know how to live a life in Him. But I had made a commitment to Him, “If You will forgive me for leaving You, I will never leave You again.” It is a promise I intend to keep. I have had varying degrees of success in keeping my promise. I remember this one occasion when I had been in my renewed relationship with Jesus for less than a year. I was out with some friends from work. One of the people made a teasing remark about “one of staff has gotten religion - going to church every Sonday!” She was referring to me - but not by name. One of the attorneys went off on Christianity. He is a brilliant man and very articulate, so his comments were well-thought out, pointed and highly insulting to the God I serve. And I just sat there.
Pilate woke up that morning to just another day in this Hades he was assigned to. Governorship of Judea was not the plum assignment in the Roman empire - quite the opposite. It was the arm-pit assignment. These contentious people with their single God were a constant thorn in Rome’s side. Every time you turned around, there was another “messiah” and another plot to overthrow Rome. “Keep them quiet - keep them contained - don’t care how you do it - but keep them out of our hair!” was Rome’s edict. That was easy for them to say - they weren’t stuck here in this mess. Judea was the last stop on a downward slide for Pilate. He succeeded here - or else......... “Or else” was not an option that Pilate cared to consider. As he walked down a corridor a soldier approaches. “There’s a crowd from the Temple in the courtyard demanding to see you - they have a prisoner.”. “Oh for Zeus’ sake!” Pilate almost shouts, “Can’t a man even lie down to breakfast in peace without being bombarded by those bags of hot air and righteous fal-da-rah!” The soldier shrugs and rolls his eyes in sympathy. “Well, who have they got?” Pilate asks. “I think it is Jesus of Nazareth” the soldier answers. “Jesus of Nazareth? Isn’t He the one that they were all shouting about last week? I though the people loved Him - why do the priests have Him?” Again, the soldier shrugs, “What do I tell them?” “I should have you tell them to go take a long swim in the River Styx - but tell them I will be there.” A few minutes later Pilate walks into the courtyard. The soldier hadn’t been exaggerating - it was a crowd and they were not happy. Pilate glances over at Jesus and their eyes met. Startled, Pilate looks away then glances back. ‘What is it about this guy - He is not what I expected - there’s something about Him...’ As Pilate listens to the priest’s accusations, he looks at Jesus again. As their eyes meet, Pilate knows that what the priests are accusing Jesus of is a pile of manure. “I don’t find any fault in Him” Pilate says. The accusations get wilder, and in them Pilate sees a way out of this mess. “He’s a Galilean? Then take Him to Herod for judgement” He thought he had gotten himself out of that one - but in just a few hours they are back. Again Pilate listens to the crowd. Again he thinks he has a solution to the problem. He says, “I find no fault in Him. I am going to punish Him and release Him.” The crowd reacts violently to this news and Pilate was shocked. “Great Diana! What has this Man done to make them hate Him so?” Again Pilate looks at Jesus, knowing that this Man should not be crucified, knowing that he was caught in the middle of doing what was right or keeping the priests - and thereby the populace - happy. Again, Pilate comes up with a plan to get himself out of this mess. It’s Passover - tradition says he can pardon a prisoner. He will give these nutcakes a choice between Jesus and that cursed Barabbas. No way would they chose Barabbas to be set free. But they did. Pilate gave up and washed his hands of the whole thing. He had Jesus flogged then handed Him over to be crucified.
Pilate was the final authority in Judea. The priests, the religious leaders, could petition for the death sentence. Herod, the titular king of Judea, could concur with a death sentence. But only Pilate could impose it. The Gospels are clear that Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent of any crime Matthew states that Pilate knew that the priests hated Jesus out of envy. But as Pilate looked out that morning at the crowd screaming for Jesus’ death, when he thought about that “or else” hanging over his head, Pilate chose the easy way out and allowed Jesus to be crucified.
The attorney who was mocking my God and all who believed in Him had a reputation for being capricious and a vindictive towards those who disagreed with him. He could not fire me, but he could make me sorry that I had challenged what he was saying. So I took the easy way out - and I sat there. I was miserable, but I sat there and let him go on. At the very least, I should have gotten up and left - even if I didn’t say anything, But I didn’t even make that much of a stand for what was right. Just like Pilate, I knew what was right, but I chose what was easy.
We are faced with Pilate’s choice everyday. We have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy. Sometimes it is on our jobsite, sometimes it is when the cashier gives us too much change, sometimes it is our taxes, or it is the language we use. Whatever the choice is, it is usually made in front of a world that is watching to see if we, as Christians, are any different from anybody else.
Unfortunately what is right is never what is easy. When we chose what is right then, unlike Pilate, we chose Jesus over what is easy, and we make a stand in this world for Him that the world sees. If we are like Pilate, and chose what is easy over what is right, then we still make a stand, but it is not for Jesus. The attorney who spoke against my God did not know I was the Christian - but my friend did. What do you suppose that she thought of my witness - my stand for Christ?
LORD God, help me to be strong enough to chose what is right over what is easy. Remind me that when I chose what is right then before the world I declare that I chose You first before all else. I chose You first and only in my thoughts, my words and my actions.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at March 31, 2006 07:41 PM