Pilate the Innocent

Pilate the Innocent

One thing that we as Americans seem to worship is success. We like to read about men who discover uranium and become fabulously rich. We like to read about poor boys who grow up in log cabins and become presidents. We like to say that I know the president of our bank. We like to say: “Yes, my boy has a good job. His company just promoted him to head engineer. We like to be able to say that we or some relative of ours has a high paying job.

We see the success image on T.V. Buy this house or this toothpaste or drink this whiskey because successful men do.

In our text for tonight we read about a successful man. Pontius Pilate is his name. Pilate was an influential and prosperous man. He had worked hard for years and had made his way up through the ranks. Pilate had received a high government post. Pilate’s position was somewhat similar to say the supreme Army general in Japan or Korea.

Palestine was a troubled spot, for the Jews were always rebelling against the Romans. Palestine needed a good, tough, able administrator. A Man who had been through the school of hard knocks and proved himself successful. Pilate may have been one of the boys to watch in the Roman Army. It could be that Caesar or some of the other big boys had their eyes on Pilate.

So, you see, Pilate wanted things nice and quiet. Pilate didn’t want any trouble. Pilate wanted to turn a good report sheet at the end of the week. Pilate had what you call a production sheet to fill in and it had better look good.

But one day those troublesome Jews dragged a man into Pilates’s court. You see, part of Pilate’s job was to hear complaints. Pilate was a type of judge.

These Jews came into Pilate’s court with confidence and poise. He neither seemed ruffled or afraid. Generally, men are said to be uneasy and nervous wen they are on trial. Pilate was a tough, battle-hardened soldier and somehow Jesus Christ shook up this tough soldier.

Pilate proceeded as would be usual in the case of a man trying someone who claimed to be an illegal ruler. Pilate simply asked Christ: “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus simply said: “You have said so” Pilate and the Jews then questioned Christ further, but Christ gave no answer, and our text says that Pilate “wondered greatly.”

It seems that Pilate recognized in Jesus and unusual man. Pilate seemed to sense that Jesus was no common rebel or rabble rouser. It seems that Pilate recognized that Jesus was a different man.

Pilate knew that the charges against Jesus were false Verse 18 states that “He knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” Besides all of this, Pilate was living in a superstitious age and verse 19 tells how Pilate’s wife was warned in a dream that Pilate should have nothing to do with Christ. Pilate it seems, was becoming shaky, nervous, and afraid.

But the Jews were applying the screws on Pilate. St Luke’s Gospel tells us that the Jews charged Christ with troubling the nation, urging the people not to pay tribute to Caesar and thirdly, with claiming to be King.

These three charges were of course scattered statements of Christ and taken out of context. But Pilate was on the spot. If Jews reported to Rome that Pilate refused to condemn a revolutionary, Pilate would lose his job. And after a man has risen as high on the social and political ladder as Pilate, it is hard to give up a job.

Well, Pilate must have stopped to think. This man is innocent, maybe I can trip the Jews up and let Christ go.

So, Pilate thought he wouldn’t try an escape. Surely the crowd would prefer to have Christ released. At the Passover feast it was custom to let one prisoner go. Pilate then brought Christ and Barabbas out to the crowd and said choose who should go free. There stood Barabbas, a rebel, tough and courageous, but a dangerous prisoner, a notorious prisoner. And there stood Christ, strong and courageous, but also loving and kind. A man above all men. And the crowd shouted release Barabbas. Pilate must have been amazed.

But then Pilate thought he could get Jesus off his hands by a side comment. Well, you want Barabbas free, what about Christ- it seems that Pilate wanted to release Christ, but the Jews would have none of this. They shouted all the more “Let him be crucified.”

Pilate then tried many ways to escape responsibility regarding Christ. He tried to get him released on the custom of releasing a prisoner. He tried to refuse to try the case as St. John reveals. He handed Him over to Herod as Luke reveals. But none of these worked and Pilate had to release Christ to be crucified.

But to reveal his innocence Pilate went and washed His hands before the crowd and said: “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”

The end of Pilate is not well known. He was recalled to Rome a few years later for needlessly killing many Jews. He was recalled to Rome and his story becomes legend. He is said to have committed suicide and his body was flung into the Tiber River. Evil spirits then troubled the water, and his body was taken to France and thrown in the Rhone. The same thing happened there, and finally he was buried in a pit of two mountains. Legend also has it that at time’s Pilate’s ghost emerges and goes through the act of washing its hands. All of this is superstition, but it does reveal one thing. People recognize that Pilate was not innocent. Pilate could not wash His hands of Christ. Pilate could not escape Christ by doing nothing. Pilate did not take direct positive action regarding Christ, and Pilate was guilty. “Who crucified my Lord?” It was Judas, it was the Jews, and it was also the man who in reality did nothing to save Christ, Pontius Pilate.

But Pilate lived 2000 years ago, and we are bit so much interested in ancient history as we are in the problems of today and our past in these problems.

Have you ever wondered why you were born? Are you a mere accident” Did you simply come into this world by chance? Are you merely a product of reactions between genes? If so, if you believe you are merely and accident or merely a product of biological reactions and that you were not planned, you can take comfort in this. If we are merely accidents of birth, we might as well try to forget about things like truth, justice, kindness, humility, and faith. If we are merely accident of birth, if there is no hereafter, if there is no supreme judge of all of us and all men, we might as well be Pontius Pilates. And how can we be Pilates? Well, we can be Pilates by following an American philosophy called “Me First!”

We can be Pilates by mercilessly trying to get ahead of the next fellow at work. We can be Pilates by always putting our jobs, our financial position, our social status and other things in life before Christ and His teachings. And if there is no hereafter or if God is a Kind, forgiving, soft hearted judge who will wink at sin, we might as well be Pilates.

The Surprising thing is that so many people must believe that God is soft hearted and winks at sin, or they must believe there is no hereafter. Because it seems that a large percentage of people say, me first, or customer beware, or honesty can’t be expected in all phases of life. But I am quite certain that none of us here believes we are accidents of birth. I think we all realize and instinctively believe that we are born for a purpose. There seems to be more than chance to our lives.

We are the unique handwork of God. None of us hasn’t the same fingerprints or personality, or emotional makeup. We do not feel that we are exactly like anybody else. We prize our individuality. We prize our own sacred personalities.

If we are more than accidents, if there is plan purpose for our lives, what is it? I think it is expressed in a word Paul uses in many of his introductions to his Epistles. This word is the word, “Saint.”

You see, New Testament theology holds that all Christians are saints. Colossians, Romans, Corinthians, and many of Paul’s other epistles begin with this word Saint. Christians in the churches were not sinless. There were not perfect. They were probably no better than you and I. But they were saints. Saints are simply called out people, people set apart for God’s work.

Thus, you purpose in life is to be a Saint, a person called out for God’s work or purpose, and more than that we are also, all priests. Protestant theology and the Bible hold the universal priesthood of believers.

Elton Trueblood, in his book, The Yoke of Christ, has an interesting chapter called, “The Abolition of the Laity.” His thesis is that misconception has arisen in people’s minds and people have forgotten that all Christians are to be ministers or priests. His idea is that the great new movement of the church is the movement whereby laymen are beginning to see that they are ministers and saints, just as much as the professional minister.

What are some functions that can be carried on as a lay minister? As a saint?

One thing I have found rather interesting is the informal study of the Bible during lunch hours in offices of factories. Perhaps you are in the position of doing something of this nature at your place of employment. There are many good books that could give you help on how to do this. Or do you feel that the men at work would criticize and make fun of you? Do you feel like Pilate that the sage thing to do is to wash your hands of this type of thing.

Another thing that you can do as saints, called out people, and lay minsters is to practice the ministry of books. Sometimes it may not seem wise to try to do too much religious talking to people, but perhaps you could hand them a Christian pocketbook, free. Use this as your ministry. Of course, this means time will have to be spent in some reading, which we should do as Christians. How many of you have read “Here I Stand” or “Pilgrims Progress the Greatest Story Ever Told.” “Screwtape Letters” The Predicament of Modern Man” Or any other good piece of modern Christian literature? I think that one of the big ills of our day is the deplorable lack of any type of reading that has any meat to it! Throw that T.V. Out the window and meet God! I think that one of the most valuable things this church could get is a church library that people use. Or again we might find that we do not feel responsibility to our brother. We may feel that we can wash our hands in this area of life also.

Some areas of being a saint do not seem very glamorous or interesting. Ladies Guild or Brotherhood may not seem like a very earth-shaking areas to work in. But there is much to do here. One simple area is telephone calling. Guild and Brotherhood do not reach over 1/6 to 1/5 of the membership of our church. On Guild night, or brotherhood night, get on the telephone and say hello Bill, or Mary, or Jane, or Jim. Let’s go down to Guild or Brotherhood tonight. Call up 10, 15, or 20 people. You, as a saint, a called-out person, a person set aside for God’s work, are in the position to reach your brothers and sisters here in the church. Christ stands before you and challenges you. But as Christ stands before you, you may feel nervous or lazy with Pilate of old and wash your hands.

The story is told of the famous East Indian Missionary, Sadhu Sundar Singh. One afternoon the missionary was climbing a mountain road in Tibet. With him traveled a bronzed Buddhist Monk. A storm was rising, and they were hurrying to get to the nearest monastery. Suddenly in the bitter cold night they heard a cry at the bottom of the precipice. A man ay down there badly injured from a fall and unable to move.

The Tibetan then said: “This man is the victim of fate. It is his doom to die. Bud Sadhu Sundar Singh said, “In my belief I must go to my brothers aid.” The monk then left, and Sadhu climbed down the slope, administered first aid, and pushed the man up to the slope. Finally, after much sweat and at near exhaustion. Sadhu with the injured man on his back sighted the monastery lights. Then he stumbled on an object. It was the monk huddled together and froze to death. The sweat and hard work kept Sadhu alive and free from freezing. This is supposed to be a true story. Sadhu had not washed his hands of the matter. He had saved his life in giving his life.

I can tell you another true story. The setting is downtown Minneapolis in a rather tough area of town. There was a Lutheran Church in this area, and there as a boy Scout Troop in this church. The Scoutmaster was a dedicated born-again Christian. He gave an average one to two nights a week of his time to Scout work and several of his weekends. Most of the boys he worked with didn’t belong to the troop as their parents often did not go to church. This Scoutmaster was a man who had been around. He grew up in a tough environment; he had been a truck driver, and he is now a tool and die maker. Well, during every Scout meeting this Scoutmaster set aside a time for devotions and he would tell the Scouts about Jesus Christ as Savior and the need for personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior. I cannot tell you how many boys were brought to the church through the work of this man, but I can tell you of one who was very much influenced for Christ through the work of this Scoutmaster, and He stands in front of you right now. Partly because this Scoutmaster did not wash his hands of Christ and his responsibility to Christ, I stand in front of you tonight.

We may not carry men up Tibetan roads; we may not all be Scoutmaster, we may not all be Guild or Brotherhood presidents, but each of us is to lose our lives for Christ. Each of us is called out to be a Saint, a called person our person. We are not biological accidents. We do have a purpose for existence. There is supposed to be a meaning for our lives, and this meaning is to be a lay minister, a saint, a person set aside for God’s work. And each of us can serve God in many different ways each day.

Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ – Pilate thought he could wash his hands of this men called Christ. Pilate was a big man, an important government official. This tough soldier, Pontius Pilate could not afford to run the risk of losing his job and position on a rabble-rousing, so-called Messiah. Pilate had to make a living. Pilate had his reputation to keep. He had his report sheet to turn in, and thus Pilate said to his soldiers, “Let him be crucified.” And then Pilate washed his hands saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

Jesus Christ eternally stands before us and challenges us in our calling as saints. Perhaps we may be successful businessmen with good jobs, or we may be well paid engineers, or we may be housewives, or we may be teenagers, or we may be schoolteachers or salesmen, or plumbers, or electricians or lawyers. Whatever your occupation, whatever our position, we are called out to witness and to work for Christ. We can wash our hands of Christ and say his work is none of our business, but then the eternal ages will condemn us as surely as Pilate stands condemned by the test of time.

You have heard the song “Sinner or Saint?” The choice stands before you. You can go down in history as a condemned creature who did nothing positive for Christ. Or you can go down in history as a modern saint serving God in factory, or home, in the marketplace or in church. God has a purpose for your life. We, in this Lenten season, as we draw before the eternal cross, see our purpose in life.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.