A Troubled Pilate

Luke 23:4

“…I find nothing wrong with this man!”

John 18:38

…Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.”

Mark 15:13

…They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

So to pacify the crowd…

John 19:19, 21-22

“And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

“Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews’ Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written”

How much angst must Pilate have been filled with during this, I wonder…to be in the presence of God, knowing the Man before you is innocent but so troubled by what the people will think of you, how they will judge you, what they will say about you, if they will consider you a traitor…but KNOWING the man before you is innocent… Pilate sent Jesus to Herod because he was told He was Galilean, but Herod sent him back-also knowing of Jesus’ innocence. At one point Pilate pleads, “why don’t you talk to me? Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” It was almost like he just needed to hear Jesus defend himself, just once and he would’ve fought harder for His life, what he knew to be the truth.

When I think about Pilate I think about how easy it is to ignore truth in the workplace. Unless you work in a place dominated by Christians, it just seems like work is the place that is most filled with worldly virtue/value. It is where as a Christian, you have to stand apart or risk getting “dirty” or categorized as one of the group. What that also means is that you have to be the one to refuse gossip , stay honest, avoid the “stepping on others to get to the top” mentality, and be willing to be considered lame, a “goody”, not worthy of friendship to some and too weak for promotion to others.

I always want to stand firmly on the side of truth-regardless of how the crowd sways, regardless of how loud, threatening or angry that “crowd” may be. I want to be heaven-minded and not so eager to please those here in this life remembering that its eternity that matters most. So a couple of women now consider me a “friend” b/c I gossip with them, my boss thinks highly of me b/c of my “by any means” attitude and my dishonest means which make him/her look good…is it worth it to gain the world and lose my soul? I think not.