Pontius Pilate (John 19:1-16)
Rev. David French
04/06/22
âI saw a woman today who finally became hard as wood all over.â A French doctor named Guy Patin wrote these words in 1692. This is the first clinical description of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP, a disease that slowly and irreversibly turns people into solid bone. The disease imprisons the entire bodyâback to front, top to bottom. Ligaments, tendons, and muscles solidify as the body becomes as hard as cement. The rogue gene of FOP has one goalâslowly harden the body until itâs dead.
Weâre wrapping up a sermon series called Witnesses to Christ. Today, we meet Pontus Pilate. Pontius Pilate is one of the most notorious people in history. Heâs right up there with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Osama bin Laden. The Apostlesâ Creed includes these words: âsuffered under Pontius Pilate.â
Pontius Pilate had an acute case of spiritual FOP. Only in Pilateâs case, the gene went straight to his heartâback to front, top to bottom. And spiritual FOP has one goalâslowly harden our hearts until weâre spiritually dead.
We donât notice it at first, we never do. At first, our priorities are just a little mixed up. But then, very slowly, and before we know it, we stop reading Godâs Word, we stop praying, we stop repenting, and we stop trusting Jesus. Then the day comes when words such as Jesus, Holy Communion, Bible study, Baptism, worship, Easter, and salvation have no impact upon us at all. Thatâs because spiritual FOP has one goalâslowly harden our hearts until weâre spiritually dead. Pilate knows.
According to a Latin inscription found in 1961 on the Mediterranean coast, Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea for ten yearsâfrom AD 26 to 36. Pilate was from a middle-class family. Donât forget that, itâll be important later. Pilate was from a middle-class family.Â
History records that Pontius Pilate served in the Roman army in Germany. One year, while on leave in Rome, he married an upper-class Roman woman named Claudia Procula. Claudia was the granddaughter of Caesar Augustusâthe Roman emperor. So, Pilate was now a part of the royal family! Because of that connection, Pontius Pilate was given a position he would never have gotten in any other way. What position did Pilate get? You guessed it, Governor of Judea.
The posse, led by Judas, arrests Jesus on Thursday night. Jesus then stands trial before Annas, Caiaphas, and finally before the Sanhedrin which you can think of as the Jewish Supreme Court. They accuse Jesus of blasphemy because blasphemy was punishable by death. But still thereâs a problem.Â
The Jews can condemn a man to death, but theyâre not allowed to carry out the sentence. Before Jesus can be executed, the Jews must get permission from ⊠Pilate. Thatâs his part in all this. Thatâs what John records. âThen they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governorâs headquarters. It was early morningâ (John 18:28).
They brought Jesus to the Roman fortress Antonia. Itâs about 6:00 in the morning and theyâre all there. The chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, all of them. And they have Jesus right where they want Him. Soon theyâll have Pilate right where they want him.
Pilate asks a few routine questions like, âWhatâs this man done wrong?â The Jews donât answer directly. Why? Because thereâs no Roman law against blasphemy. The Jews canât say, âThis man claims to be the Messiah,â because Pilate would just wave his hand and that would be that. After all, Roman history tells us that Pilate didnât like the Jews. Pilate didnât understand the Jews. And Pilate didnât waste his time in religious debates with the Jews! Pilateâs heart was becoming harder by the minute.
Pilate questions Jesus. He asks, âAre you the King of the Jews?â (John 18:33). The all-important word here is king. King means one thing to the Jews, Messiah. It means something else to the Romans, military ruler. Jesus answers Pilate, âYou say that I am a kingâ (John 18:37). Which means, âYes, Iâm a king, but not the kind of king youâre thinking of.â
The chief priests want to guide Pilate into thinking that Jesus is a revolutionary leader, and so a threat to Rome. It doesnât work, because Jesus tells Pilate, âMy kingdom is not of this worldâ (John 18:36). Then He tells Pilate, âEveryone who is of the truth listens to my voiceâ (John 18:37). Pilate cynically says, âWhat is truth?â (John 18:38). Pilateâs heart is becoming as hard as cement. He has Jesus scourged, just short of death. But the crowd wants more. They want the Christ killed.Â
And so, the Jews play their trump card. They say to Pilate, âIf you release this man, you are not Caesarâs friendâ (John 19:12). Pilate knows exactly what they mean. The Caesar, the king, named Tiberius at the time, was sick. He was always suspicious and often violent.Â
Suetoniusâa Roman historianâtells us that Tiberius could turn on his underlings like a savage. Tiberius wouldnât like getting news about a riot in Judea, especially when Judeaâs governor was appointed only because of family connections. Besides Pilate was, after all, just middle class.
The Jews blackmail Pilate, pure and simple. And it works. If the choice had been between Jesus and the Jews, Pilate would let Jesus go. But thatâs not how the Jewish leaders frame the issue. Their blackmail makes it a choice between Jesus and Rome. Thatâs Pilateâs predicament.Â
People will do many things to save their job, their status, their reputation. People will do many things to save their skin, even having an innocent man put to death by crucifixion.
Pilate asks, âShall I crucify your King?â (John 19:15). But this King isnât the military type looking for a battle. No. This King is the suffering and bleeding type, looking for us. Heâs the King who cleanses sin-stained hearts. The King who heals deep brokenness. The King who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The King who triumphs over death. The King who knows the exact place and time of His execution and still goes there that He might save us.
The chief priests answer Pilate, âWe have no king but Caesarâ (John 19:15). Things are getting out of hand. A Jewish riot would end Pilateâs political career. So he caves in. Pilate has Jesus executed. Nailed to a cross by His hands and feet, lifted up and left to hang between heaven and earth. Why did Pilate do it? His heart was hard.
Do you see Pilateâs pattern? âWhatâs in it for me?â Thatâs what we see throughout John 18â19. âWhatâs in it for me?â Thatâs Pilateâs pattern. Pilate is climbing the ladder of success. Pilate cares only for himself and is discarding anyone who gets in his way.
Thatâs the same pattern we follow more often than we care to admit. Weâre all, finally, not that much different from Pilate. âWhatâs in it for me?â Itâs an essential ingredient for a hard heart. And a hard heart is like a wrecking ball. It mangles marriages, it kills kids, and it finishes off families and friends. Spiritual FOP is killing the human race.
Is your heart hard? Is it callous? insensitive? indifferent? dead? Itâs not too late! Our heavenly Father will create in you a new and clean heart, a heart that is spiritually alive. Thatâs His promise for you in Christ Jesus. In Ezekiel (11:19): â⊠I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.â God, our loving and merciful God, He will take away our cold stony, stubborn heart and give each of us a new warm, tender, and loving heart. Which means our hearts will beat again!Â
In His name, Amen.