April 25 – Pilate – John 18:28 thru 19:16
Pilate was appointed by Emperor Tiberius and served as governor of Judaea. After declaring Him guilty, the Sanhedrin (Jewish government) brought Jesus to Pilate. The Sanhedrin did not have the power of capital punishment, and their hatred of Jesus would accept nothing less than the death of Jesus. This is why the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate. Four times, Pilate tries to push off the responsibility of Christ’s conviction and execution back to the Jews. Pilate is unsure of exactly who Jesus really is. He questions Jesus about the claim the Jews are making that Jesus was the “King of the Jew.” In verse 38 Pilate asks Jesus “What is truth?” When Pilate found no fault in Jesus, he told the Jews to crucify Jesus themselves (19:6). The Jews replied that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. This worries the already extremely confused Pilate to the point where Pilate is afraid. We know the main reason that Jesus died on the cross was that it was God’s will for Him to do so. There are two human faults exposed in Pilate that caused Pilate to make the biggest mistake of his life when he condemned Jesus to be crucified. Pilate’s first fault was making a decision in a confused state. When we are in a confused state, not having all the facts or understanding the facts we do have, we are certain to make bad decisions. Pilate’s second fault was making a decision due to peer pressure. When we are under the pressure of our peer’s, family, work, or etc., that is the time to stop and go to the Lord for directions instead of following the pressure’s in our lives. Many times the pressures in our lives are the correct decision to make, but ultimately we must make sure the Holy Spirit is the guiding force behind our decision.
