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THE VIA CRUCIS / STATION 5
JESUS IS JUDGED BY PILATE

Mark 15:1-20 (The Message) 1 At dawn’s first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate. 2-3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?” He answered, “If you say so.” The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations. 4-5 Pilate asked again, “Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.” Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed. 6-10 It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for. There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome. As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner, Pilate anticipated them: “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him. 11-12 But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas. Pilate came back, “So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?” 13 They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!” 14 Pilate objected, “But for what crime?” But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!” 15 Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.

There is more written about Pontius Pilate in other writings from antiquity than in the Bible. Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher and prolific writer of the early 1st Century A.D. had this description of Pilate, describing Pilate as a fearful man, afraid of being called to account to the Emperor for impeachment, “with respect to … particulars of his government, in respect of his corruption, and his acts of insolence, and his rapine, and his habit of insulting people, and his cruelty, and his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never ending, and gratuitous, and most grievous inhumanity.” (Gaius 1.298–308 PHILO-E)

Pilate was the last person you would want to hear your appeal, or to be in charge of your sentencing, and that is where we find Jesus after his sham trial before the Sanhedrin. Pilate was not one to administer justice, he was more apt to play to the crowd, take a bribe and do whatever made himself look good. We may look aghast at such callous treatment of the truth, just to retain power and privilege, but it pervades every newscast and every political party in our land today. We chose what truth we want to believe, about the world, about others, ourselves, even about God.

Jesus stood in the middle of this circus of abuse and said very little, leading up to Pilate’s famous retort in John 18:38, “What is Truth?”. Jesus did not answer that question, He did not have to, for He was the Answer in the flesh; the Way, the Truth and the Life. He has been and always will be the Answer.
Whenever we walk through these passages about Jesus’ trials and suffering, we should reflect and pray. As I paused and thought about the trials of Jesus, I was prompted to ask some questions about myself. In the Courts of my soul, I wonder how often I have put Jesus on trial as I have wrestled with a decision of right and wrong. I wonder even now what trials are going on in my soul and what lies I am listening to. Most troubling, is the question that came to me as I thought about me, standing in Pilate’s place:

How many times am I in the presence of Jesus, the Wisdom of God, demanding answers ? Yet, He remains silent, not because He doesn’t want me to know, but because He knows I will not listen.

God have mercy on me.

Peace. Phil Parsons

* * * * *

Pilate is the enigma we can’t quite figure out.  That a politically ambitious Roman procurator would end up playing a memorable part in Jesus’ passion is decidedly ironic.  (Especially so as a Roman played a part in bringing the crucifixion about, just as another Roman – Constantine – would play a part in making Christianity legitimate and “legal” with his vision before the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 313 AD.)

I didn’t start learning to play guitar until I was in 9th grade or so.  The summer after I first started playing, I spent about a month in Tampa, Florida at a great aunt’s home.  During that time her church had a youth camp that I was invited to.  One of the leaders was a musician and he and I kind of palled around playing guitar every chance we got.  He taught me a song that his girlfriend had written and we played it together at the last Sunday of the conference – the first time I’d ever played guitar in a public setting.  Here’s why that’s pertinent:

Pontius Pilate

Words by Wayne Cresent
Music by Pam McKee

The water splashes to marbled floors,  in the light of a bygone day,
I find no fault with this man at all, but you can kill him anyway.

Chorus:
Pilate, too smart to take a stand.  Pilate, too blind to see.
He was a lot like the world today; a lot like you and me.

Pilate, Pilate, wash your hands; wash them until you die.
Pilate, bow to their demands, and heed their hate-filled cries.
(Chorus)

Ask the man there, “What is truth?”  and leave before he tells you.
Listen to the words of the Chief Priest, and buy the line he sells you.
(Chorus)

Pilate, Pilate, the diplomat; you’ve not crucified this Jew.
(Spoken, not sung) So quietly Pilate, go your way,
Who could be mad at you?
(Chorus 2X)