2. Pilate’s confrontation. v. 15-16 He’s frantically looking for a solution, a way out. He knows Jesus is not really a threat, and is innocent of the charges. Pilate knew what was really going on here... v. 18 They were jealous and had personal problems with Jesus, and were trying to make it a legal matter. So right here is Pilate’s opportunity to bite the bullet and do the right thing, but he’s afraid of the crowd’s reaction. Suddenly it is Pilate on trial, and like today’s politicians, he has a finger in the air checking the wind’s direction, and instead of doing what is right, he does what is easy. v. 17 It was a custom in those days for the governor to release a convicted felon on the Passover in order to appear merciful and win the favor of the people. They would give a pardon to a criminal who didn’t deserve to be let free. v. 16 says Barabbas was a notorious criminal. His name struck fear in people, like if I said the name Charles Manson or Ted Bundy to you. So Pilate just knew that if he offered the people the choice between Jesus the healer and Barabbas the killer, they would want Jesus released. v. 21 What? Pilate stands astonished as they answer “Barabbas”. And 2,000 years later the same question is posed to all of mankind. Jesus or Barabbas? Sin or the Savior? Pilate hears 2 voices, his wife’s and the mob’s, and while he ponders it, look what happens... v. 20 The religious leaders persuade the people what to answer...to call for the release of the guilty! It snowballed. The crowd fell for it like dominoes. Ill.—our kids want to do something that is wrong, but their excuse is, “but dad...everyone is doing it!” The crowd is almost always wrong. If Moses had taken a vote at the Red Sea the children of Israel would have returned to Egypt and slavery! Moses stood alone again when the crowd wanted to make a golden calf. Joshua and Caleb stood alone when the crowd said, ‘we can’t’. Elijah, John the Baptist, Stephen, and many others took their stand, standing alone against the crowd. Pilate went with the crowd. v. 22 The same crowd that a few days earlier lined the streets in His honor saying “crown Him” are now chanting “crucify Him”. Don’t listen to the crowd. They will take you from hero to zero in nothing flat! It’s better to be right than to be popular. Pilate asked the most important question of this life: What shall I do with Jesus? Pilate’s conversation, confrontation... 3. Pilate’s Collapse. v. 24-25 · The neutrality he attempts—but you cannot be neutral about Jesus, you must make a decision, and to make no decision is to decide against Him. · The brutality he permits vv. 26-31 The Roman whipping post was worse than words can express, but let’s try: Many men died there. The ‘cat of nine tails’ was a whip w/ glass, bones, and sharp objects attached. They stripped Him naked, the greatest of indignities. They mocked and jeered, and drove the crown of thorns into His brow. And Pilate ordered it all, thinking of himself. We live our lives in the same way, we think of ourselves, but we need to consider the Savior. He is the innocent, we are the guilty. In this story, I am Barabbas! Call me Barabbas!! I’m guilty, but I was set free because someone who was totally innocent took my place.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 02:29:33 +0000
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