Much has been made of Pilate's seeming reluctance to crucify Christ in the gospels. We know he
was a brutal military man who was not a very good politician and who
did not get on well with the people he was supposed to govern. Philo,
a contemporary Jewish writer, described Pilate as vindictive,
“inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness,” with a
“furious temper.” Some scholars figure he would have killed
Jesus, a potential revolutionary, without a second thought. Why the
hesitation we see in the gospels?
People
act differently in different circumstances. And Pilate's behavior was
influenced by his situation and by the people he interacted with. One
person that probably is most responsible for Pilate's behavior in
this case was Caiaphas, who was appointed High Priest by Pilate's
predecessor. When Pilate first entered Jerusalem, he did not do what
his predecessors did and remove the insignia and effigies from the
army's standards. The Jews saw these as idols and staged
demonstrations, asking they be removed. After 5 days' deliberation,
Pilate had the demonstrators surrounded by his troops and threatened
them with death. Which the Jews were willing to undergo rather than
violate the 2nd Commandment. Eventually Pilate stood down.
A similar incident later led to a reprimand from the Emperor
Tiberius. Pilate had no love for the religious leader of the Jewish people.
It
was quite likely, therefore, that when Caiaphas came early on the Day
of Preparation for the Passover with a man he wanted Pilate to
execute that very day, Pilate was suspicious. As High Priest, one
would expect Caiaphas to be, not at the Antonia fortress, but at the Temple. And the crowd of Jews
calling for Jesus' blood should have been there, too, having their
lambs sacrificed for the feast. Obviously it was not a random gathering of Jewish citizens; the mob was probably made up of
Caiaphas' supporters and his servants. So Pilate could see that Caiaphas wanted this execution badly. Since Caiaphas had never
done Pilate a favor, Pilate would be reluctant to help him. In fact,
if he could determine that Jesus was no insurrectionist, but merely a
religious rival to the High Priest, he might release him just to
serve as a thorn in Caiaphas' side. To him, Jesus was a pawn to use
against a man Pilate hated.
Joseph Caiaphas
was a consummate politician. He was High Priest before Pilate came and
he remained High Priest for most of Pilate's term. When he heard that
Jesus was growing popular and had raised Lazarus from the dead, his
reaction was not to wonder if the Galilean carpenter was indeed the
Messiah; he saw him as a potential threat. At Passover, Jerusalem
filled with Jews from all over. It was a feast celebrating God
liberating his people from Egypt. The parallel with the Roman Empire
wasn't hard to make. Jesus had said nothing political but he had
entered Jerusalem on a donkey, which could be seen as fulfillment of
a prophesy in Zechariah 9:9. Jesus had driven out of the Temple the
moneychangers, an easy target for discontent because of they enriched
themselves using unfair exchange rates. The Sanhedrin, the supreme
council of Jewish leaders, was already afraid of Jesus' popularity.
They said, “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in
him, and then the Romans will take away our place and our nation.”
(John 11:48) But Caiaphas had done the cold-blooded calculation. “You
do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the
people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:50) Caiaphas
didn't care that Jesus was performing the same signs as a prophet. To
him, Jesus was a problem to be eliminated.
In
his effort to not do Caiaphas a favor, Pilate sends Jesus across town
to Herod Antipas, who rules Galilee. After all, Jesus falls under his
jurisdiction. Earlier Herod had been afraid that Jesus was somehow
John the Baptist risen from the dead. Herod had arrested John for
calling his marriage to his sister-in-law incestuous. He couldn't
bring himself to kill John and listened to the captive prophet
despite the way he made Herod squirm. Then Herod had been tricked by
his spouse and adopted daughter into beheading John. Now he was
finally getting the chance to see and hear Jesus for himself. But
Jesus won't play along. Herod can see he is not John and has no
interest in killing another popular religious figure. He is however
grateful for the Roman governor recognizing his authority over
Galilee and they become friends. To Herod, Jesus is a curiosity and
more importantly, someone else's problem.
When
Jesus gets kicked back to Pilate, the governor has one more trick up
his sleeve. He has Jesus flogged as a punishment and shows the people
this bloody, beaten man. Then he offers to pardon one prisoner for
Passover. Who do they want—Barabbas, a real insurrectionist and
murderer, or Jesus, whose followers, the Nazarene astutely points
out, are not fighting to free him? To Pilate's surprise, the bogus
crowd requests Barabbas. And they shout that since Jesus claims to be
King of the Jews, if Pilate pardons him, he is no friend to Caesar.
And Pilate may not survive another Imperial reprimand. So he washes
his hands of the responsibility and lets Jesus be crucified.
Pilate
was a military man playing politics badly. Caiaphas was a religious
leader playing politics expertly. Herod was an unpopular puppet of
the Empire. And then we have Jesus. Jesus was a king but his kingdom
did not come from this world. You belong to one of the kingdoms from
this world by simply being born into it. Or because your kingdom was
conquered by another. But citizenship in the kingdom of God is
totally voluntary. No one is there against his will. You have to be
born again, born from above to be a part of it. You have to ask God
to enter your life in order to enter his kingdom.
The
kingdoms of the world were all established by spilling the blood of
the conquered. And that blood and the death of soldiers and citizens
benefited the king or emperor or premier or president.The kingdom of
God is established on the spilt blood of its king, Jesus. And
ultimately the death of Jesus benefited the lives of the citizens of
God's kingdom. He gives up his life that we might have life eternal.
The
kingdoms of this world all end. The pharaohs no longer rule Egypt.
Assyria and Babylon are history. The Roman Empire fragmented and fell
to barbarians. The kingdom of God is everlasting. The reigns of
leaders of the kingdoms of this earth also come to an end. Pilate's
patron, Sejanus, second in power only to the Emperor Tiberius, was
arrested and executed. Pilate was removed from office after the
Samaritans wrote to the Emperor protesting his violence against them.
Caiaphas was removed as High Priest a year before Pilate's downfall.
Herod Antipas was accused by his nephew of conspiracy against the
Emperor Caligula and died in exile in Gaul.
Jesus
was crucified, a punishment reserved for slaves and traitors. Yet God
raised him on the third day and his name and his movement has spread
throughout the world. These other 3 men are footnotes to history, known
primarily because of their interactions with Jesus.
To
Pilate, Caiaphas and Herod, Jesus was a problem to be dealt with.
None of them cared who he really was. Jesus said, “I am the way,
the truth and the life.” As Pilate cynically said, “What is
truth?” They didn't care. They only cared about the political
realities of the moment. The Son of God was not killed because of
who he was or what he preached. He was killed because of other
considerations.
What
about you? Do you in times of crucial decisions take into account
only what will benefit you and yours or do consider who Jesus is,
what he has done for you and what your response should be? Do you try
to sideline the Son of God so you can continue with business as usual
in your life? Do you treat Jesus as an inconvenience or as your Lord,
your Savior and your King now and forevermore?
Let
us pray:
Lord
God, Heavenly Father, King of the Universe, so often we confuse the
ephemeral with the eternal, the trivial with the important and the
important with the essential. Too often we put more emphasis on the things of this world than the matters of your kingdom. Change our
perspective, Lord. Help us to see all things through your eyes and
act accordingly, regardless of how it looks to the rest of the world.
May we never be ashamed to show our allegiance to you and your Son,
our Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray and who reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment