Monday, April 4

John 18:28-32

Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

While much of Pilate’s life remains shrouded in mystery, we can safely assume he was an ambitious man. There is evidence that both his father and grandfather were military men and that his name comes from a Latin word that suggests a meaning of “skilled with the javelin”. Perhaps his father always imagined that Pilate would grow up to be a solider of Rome – which, in fact, he did. Pilate was ambitious enough to marry the 15 year-old granddaughter of Caesar Augustus – one of the most powerful men the world had ever known. It would have been natural for Pilate to assume that he would eventually assume a significant role in the glory that was Rome. So when he was appointed as the Prefect of Judea – he had to be sorely disappointed. This was like growing up in Washington D.C. and being assigned a post in Podunk, Idaho – Judea was about as far from Rome as you could get and still be in the empire.

So we can imagine that Pilate may have arrived in Israel predisposed to dislike the Jewish people – and he did. Historians believe he hated their customs; he hated their religion; he hated their stubbornness – and even though Rome sent him there to keep the peace – he was in almost constant conflict with the Jewish population he sought to govern.

On several occasions the Jewish leadership sent formal complaints to Pilate’s superiors, claiming that he governed with unnecessary brutality and was insensitive to their religion and culture. On each occasion Pilate was reprimanded and was put on a kind of “probation.”

Notice that as this encounter that will define his life and legacy begins, Pilate is forced to come outside his palace to meet with the Jewish leaders because they refused to enter the home of an “unclean” Roman – even though they are the ones who have requested this special meeting with him. This would be like seeking an audience with the Governor of Illinois, then expecting him to meet you in the parking lot because you thought his office was dirty. Pilate had to be irritated – but he agreed to the meeting because he knew he could not afford to insult the Jewish leadership again. It was politically expedient to meet with the Jewish leaders on their terms because it was in his own self-interest to do so.

This, it turns out, is the driving force behind Pilate’s decision-making in this story. Pilate is a political creature who always, always acts in his own self-interest. Neither truth, nor evidence, nor personal conviction keep him from making the decision that he thinks will protect his own power and position. And, in the end, this is precisely why he is forever remembered as the man who allowed Jesus of Nazareth to be crucified.

I think we can learn from Pilate – because we all have a little “Pilate” in us. That is, we all have a deep inner tendency – when the heat is on – to look out for our own self-interest.

Perhaps that’s part of what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

Brian Coffey