PILATE AND ME
Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
John 18:37-38
Poor Pilate. He knows the man standing before him is innocent. He can see that this man is far from crazy. But who is he?
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Did you figure this out for yourself, or did somebody tell you?"
"Hey, am I a Jew? The chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"
Pilate can see that something weird is going on here. They're trying to frame this man. But why? Who is he?
"So you are a king?"
"You say that I am a king. For this I was born. For this I have come into the world; to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice."
"Truth? I don't know what you're talking about. What's truth?"
Truth, Mr. Pilate, is a trap. And you have already fallen into it. Pilate doesn't know it, but he has already been caught in this trap. He is going to have to deal with Jesus whether he wants to or not.
What Pilate does with Jesus depends on what Pilate believes --- who he believes that this man is. "His words have the ring of authority. He speaks like a king. But he stands before me a bound prisoner."
Pilate decides to do the right thing and release Jesus, when suddenly the mob begins to riot. Pilate's career is threatened. So he takes the easy way out.
"Okay, okay, here he is. You can have him. You want him crucified? We'll crucify him. I wash my hands of this mess. It's your problem, not mine."
Most of us are like Pilate. We like Jesus --- as much as we know about him. He's a good man. We may even believe that he is God in the flesh --- until the day we fall into the trap, and we have to decide whether it's worth it to put our lives on the line for him. Or whether it's better just to back away from the whole deal.
Maybe you think you'll never fall into the trap. Perhaps you're thinking, "Why can't I just live a decent life, belong to the church, help out here and there, and not get too fanatical about Jesus one way or the other? I believe. I'm a Christian. We'll let it go at that, okay?"
Sorry, you can't let it go at that. God won't let you. Shortly before he was arrested Jesus spoke these words to a crowd of Jews and Greeks:
"Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what death he was to die. John 12:31-33
"Once I'm on the cross, that cross becomes a magnet. And everyone ever born on this earth, and every one who ever will be born on this earth, will be drawn to me. When that moment comes in a person's life --- and they're drawn to me, wherever they are in this world or beyond it --- they will be standing where Pilate stood. They will have to decide what they're going to do with me."
"Do they see me as a king? Do they see me as their king? Or do they take the easy way out?"
No one ever born on this planet will escape this trap. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will. It may be happening now.
Of course, Jesus stood before Pilate as a man in flesh and blood. Pilate could see Jesus, talk with him, reach out and touch him. Jesus was right there. When that moment comes for us, even though we see nothing, he is right there too --- and so is his cross.
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (on the cross) will draw all people to myself."
When it happens to you, you know it. You know that you are in the presence of the Holy. You have stumbled into your burning bush. You are in the presence, not of a celebrity or a prime minister or a president. You are in the presence of a king.
And you have to decide whether you are going to give him your life, or whether you are going to walk away and keep your life for yourself, as Pilate did.
And if you decide to give him your life, to abandon yourself to him, you can't just do it with your mouth. It's not enough to say "Lord, Lord." It's not enough to sing "Amazing Grace." You've got to go all the way.
"Not very one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me you evildoers.'"
Matthew 7:21-23
Pilate did not believe that the man standing before him with his hands bound was a king. Innocent man? Yes. Good man? No doubt. But a king. Sorry, can't buy it.
So here's the question: Who is Jesus of Nazareth for you? What place does he actually have in your life?
Jesus is many things to many people For many people, even "church people" Jesus is nothing at all. But for those of us who claim to believe, here are some examples of how we relate to Jesus in our actual living and thinking….
Some of us see Jesus as our Inspirational Friend. When I get depressed, all I have to do is turn to the words of Jesus. They pick me right up. "I will not leave your desolate, I will come to you." "Lo, I am with you always." Those words pick me right up. Jesus is my Inspirational Friend.
Some of us see Jesus as our Blessing Machine. You come to him for a blessing, and you get a blessing. "Ask an it will be given you." "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you." When I need a blessing, I know where to go. He's always there to bless me.
Some of us see Jesus as our Emergency Refuge. Sometimes life can get pretty hairy. Storms come up. Tragedy hits. And what does Jesus say? "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." When the storm hits, all I have to do is run to him. He's my Emergency Shelter.
Some of us see Jesus as our Grief Counselor. For any kind of grief. When we're in trouble and we're looking for a way out, there's no better place to go. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye." Or when we're mourning the loss of a loved one, he is there. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." And it's true. He is there. And he does comfort.
But whether we see Jesus as our Inspirational Friend, our Blessing Machine, our Emergency Refuge, or our Grief Counselor, we still haven't got down to who he really is. Because we're trying to use Jesus for our own ends --- for my inspiration, my blessing, my protection, my comfort. Jesus is more than that.
I haven't come to know Jesus until I see him, and submit to him as king. Because that's what he is. Until I turn myself over to him. That's where Pilate missed the boat.
Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice."
Let's suppose that that night, when Pilate went to bed, he couldn't sleep. He kept seeing the man who stood before him that morning, claiming to be a king --- of a kingdom not of this world. "Why can't I get this man out of my mind? Why does the image of his face still haunt me? What choice did I have? The mob was starting to riot."
No wonder Pilate can't sleep. The man whom he turned over to be killed is indeed a king --- of a kingdom that has no end.
If I'm writing these words about Jesus because that's my job --- I'm a clergyman, and clergymen are supposed to be talking about Jesus, it's our bread-and-butter --- if that's how it is, let's just play the game. It's a cultural thing. We're fulfilling our religious duties. You're doing your thing by reading these words. I'm doing my thing by writing them.
But if I'm writing these words about Jesus because he really is my king, because I belong to him, and I'm speaking to you in his name --- then the power of his kingship is going to show itself in some way to each of us. He's going to make his presence known to you through a word that your soul hears, a healing, an answer to some cry of your heart.
And then you're in the trap, and you're going to have to decide what you're going to do with him.
Am I going to give myself to him all the way? Or am I going to follow Pilate as he stumbles down the road, shaking his head, and asking "What is truth?"
"Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will. You will be standing where Pilate stood. And you will have to decide, as Pilate did, what you're going to do with him.
"Not very one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."