Coming to Expediency -- John 18:28-19:16a

Introduction

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”—Proverbs 12:15

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”—Proverbs 14:12

Each of us likes to think we are wise, or at least we know what we’re doing. I like reading the editorial page in the Waco paper. I like writing for it, as well. A couple of years ago, I had an epiphany about these columnists and letter writers. Everyone one of us subconsciously is thinking that what we write will cause everyone who reads it to let the paper fall from their grasp, their face will light up in wonder, and they will say, “Of course! It all makes so much sense now. Why didn’t I see it before?”

The ways of foolish man seems right to him, the way seems right to a man, but if the decision is made without godly counsel, it is for nothing; it all leads to destruction.

Background

Of all the people in the Gospel that have a one-time encounter with Jesus, I think my favorite is Pilate. Pilate to me is a man who is at once interesting and tragic. He was a man of great authority, yet the one time we meet him, he is not the one in command. In his encounters with Jesus, Pilate is clearly not the one in charge, and when it comes time to make a wise judgment, Pilate instead acquiesces to the will of the Sanhedrin. His decision is one of the largest blunders in history, and yet it was the most necessary decision in history as well.

I have read that Pontius Pilate was on thin ice. He was appointed to his position by Caesar, and his primary role was to represent the Roman Empire to the locals. That meant he was to enforce the laws and keep the peace.

The problem was that the citizens of Jerusalem had rioted during Pilate’s reign, and the riots were put down rather harshly. There was bad blood between Pilate and the Jews, and Caesar was not happy with potential unrest in his empire. Pilate was having to look over his shoulder while also keeping a wary eye on the locals.

And so it happened that the Jewish leaders brought before him a man who was charged with an unspecified crime. It should have been a simple thing, but when that man is Jesus Christ, it’s never as simple as it seems.

Central Truth: When confronted with truth, Pilate turned his back and did what was expedient.

1. Pilate and the Sanhedrin (28-32)

John writes that Jesus is brought to Pilate early Friday morning, while it was still dark. The Sanhedrin was earnest in their observance of the Jewish festivals, and remained outside Pilate’s palace, lest they become unclean and unable to observe the Passover meal.

Pilate comes out. An interesting thing in this passage is that most of what we read of Pilate’s words is in the form of a question. Here, he asks the religious leaders to tell him the charges against Jesus. It’s a simple question, and a perfectly reasonable one. How can one judge a person if one doesn’t know the charges?

The response is vague and somewhat dismissive—“If He were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”

Pilate tells them to judge their criminal themselves. It’s early in the morning. Pilate doesn’t like or trust the Jewish leadership, he probably already knows that trouble occurred at Gethsemane, and he doesn’t want the headache.

But the leaders are adamant. They want Jesus executed, and not by stoning. He must hang from a cross in order that He will be deemed cursed by God and man. Only then can the religious leaders fully refute Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God.

1. Pilate and Jesus (33-38a)

Apparently, Pilate was aware of at least one of the charges against Jesus, because when Pilate brings Jesus before him, the first question he asks is, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

I don’t know if you’ve ever stood before a judge. Judges are intimidating figures. They sit on a bench raised above the room, dressed in robes and presiding over important issues that, in some cases, can mean the difference between life and death. They are imposing figures even in the best of circumstances.

Pilate was one of these judges in this instance. The stakes are very high, and Jesus is on trial. Pilate is supposed to be in charge, but Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question very quickly lets us know who is really in control of the situation.

Jesus responds, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to about Me?”

Pilate tries to regain control. I’m not sure he realizes yet what he has gotten himself into, but he responds with a dismissive jeer and asks Jesus more directly what Jesus has done to be brought before him.

Jesus then confirms Pilate’s initial question. Yes, Jesus is a king, but not the kind of king Pilate is familiar with. Jesus’ kingdom is the kingdom of God, not of man, and Jesus is preparing to return to his kingdom.

Pilate misunderstands. “Then you are a king?”

Jesus confirms Pilate’s statement. He is a king. He came to earth to establish His kingdom by testifying to the truth of God. Jesus’ tells Pilate that everyone on the side of truth listens to Him.

Pilate’s response reveals so much about him. “What is truth?” I hear the jaded words of a man who long ago quit thinking about true and false, right or wrong. The only thing Pilate recognizes is Roman might and rule, and the murky world of politics and intrigue. It has been too many years since Pilate even cared about truth, and now is not the time to start considering it.

1. Pilate and the Sanhedrin II (38b-19:7)

Pilate returns to the Sanhedrin standing out in his courtyard. He’s questioned Jesus, and his opinion as the judge in this matter is that Jesus is relatively harmless to him, and he wants to let Jesus go.

As governor, Pilate must have been aware of the events of the past week. Surely, he had received reports of Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city, how the people celebrated and rejoiced in Jesus’ coming. He must have heard about the crowds in the Temple area who followed Jesus and considered Him as a true authority on God and Scripture.

With this in mind, Pilate probably calculates that the people are far more sympathetic to Jesus than to the Sanhedrin. Here is a chance to knock them down a few pegs and rub their noses in their own hubris.

“It is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

I can imagine his surprise when the response from the crowd is no only to deny Jesus’ release but to demand the release of Barabbas. John tells us that Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. One of the main reasons the Sanhedrin has brought Jesus to Pilate is based upon the claim that He is the king of the Jews. Clearly, they seem to be saying to Pilate, Jesus is a troublemaker and a fomenter of sedition, and that’s something they don’t want to happen. And yet, they ask for the release of a known rebel, someone already found guilty of sedition and treason.

Pilate’s response is to have Jesus flogged.

Pilate had said he knew no basis for holding Jesus, yet now he believes it is in his best interest to have Jesus flogged. Perhaps if we could have spoken with Pilate at that time and asked him to explain his reasons, Pilate may have said he still wanted release Jesus, but the response had forced him to consider a different tack. Perhaps once he brings the bloodied and battered Jesus back to them, they would recoil from the horror of it all, and agree to release Jesus instead of Barabbas. It’s the expedient thing to do.

The Roman soldiers didn’t care much for the native population, and as far as they were concerned, Jesus was just another Jew that had found himself in the wrong place. Part of the flogging included ridicule and mockery. After Jesus had been flogged, after His back had been torn to shreds by the whips used by the Romans, after He had endured a savage beating, they then made a crown of thorns and put it on His head. The crown was not made out of rose bushes, but long piercing thorns, and the crown was not placed gently on His head, but was rammed down to make sure it stayed. Then upon Jesus’ bloodied back, they placed a robe.

Having appropriately adorned this so-called king, they then taunted Him, striking Him repeatedly in the face. By the time the Romans soldiers were through with Jesus, it is quite probable that He was virtually unrecognizable.

Pilate then parades the mutilated Jesus before the crowd now gathered in the courtyard. Again, Pilate states he sees no reason to keep Jesus, and then presents him with the simple statement, “Here is the man.”

If Pilate had believed the crowd would be mollified by the sight of the broken Jesus, he was sadly mistaken. Upon seeing Jesus, not only did the crowd not want Him released, now they begin to chant, “Crucify!”

Pilate at this point realizes that his plans are not going as assumed, so he tries once again to pass this off to the Jews. If you want Him crucified, do it yourself.

The response from the Jewish leadership is to present a new charge to Pilate: Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.

Heresy was a capital offense in Jerusalem, and the sentence is to be taken outside the city and stoned to death. Jewish law allowed for this, and Roman rule permitted local people to handle their local laws as they saw fit. But, again, stoning was not what the Sanhedrin had in mind. They wanted Jesus crucified, and only Rome could pronounce that sentence.

1. Pilate and Jesus II (8-11)

Shaken by the new charges—John tells us Pilate was even more afraid—Pilate asks Jesus another question, “Where do you come from?” When Jesus refuses to answer, Pilate tries to throw his weight around, tries to intimidate Jesus. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus’ answer again puts Pilate on the defensive. “You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above.”

Imagine what’s going through the mind of Pilate. What had started as a contest of power between himself and the Sanhedrin has now turned into something far more important. Pilate begins to realize that not only is Jesus not guilty of anything, but there may very well be some validity to His importance. I don’t think Pilate believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but only because Pilate by now had probably long ago given up any pretense of believing in gods. And yet, Jesus was different, and His words had a tendency to penetrate to the very heart of Pilate.

It’s easy to see why Pilate would be very afraid.

1. Pilate and the Sanhedrin III (13-16a)

Pilate goes back to the courtyard one last time in a desperate attempt to release Jesus. By now, it’s six o’clock in the morning, and the sun is rising. In the light of the new day, Jesus is once again paraded before the crowd. With the daylight, they can see the full extent of His wounds at the hands of the Roman soldiers. “Here is your king.”

In response to the crowd’s call to crucify Jesus, Pilate asks, “Shall I crucify your king?”

The response from the crowd is at once hypocritical and crass: “We have no king but Caeasr.”

With this, PIlate realizes he cannot release the innocent man. To do so might result in greater unrest, possibly new riots. And so he does the expedient thing. He hands Jesus over to be crucified.

After all, what did it matter? Jesus wouldn’t be the first innocent man to die a horrible death at the hands of the state, and He certainly wouldn’t be the last. If His death would bring peace, then it was worth the price.

The reasoning is sound. The way of the man Pontius Pilate seemed right to him. He would do the expedient thing and let Jesus die.

Conclusion

In life, we are given so many choices. Some are insignificant—what we will wear that day, what we will eat, what will we watch on TV. Other choices are more momentous. Sometimes, our choices call us to decide ethical issues, call on us to put our faith on the line. I had a member in my church at Port O’Connor who was high up in a major corporation. He told me sometimes he was asked to do things that he knew went against Christ’s teachings. I asked him what he did. His response was to say that if he didn’t do it, they would find someone who would. So he did the expedient thing.

We began this message with two quotes from Proverbs, about how sometimes the expedient thing seems right, but it leads to death. Maybe not physical death, but spiritual wounds, spiritual crises. The Bible tells us that the expedient way is not the best way. Instead, the Bible tells us,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5-6

Are you trusting in the Lord with all your heart? Is Jesus acknowledged in all your ways?