Week 41: Poor Pilate

Day:  286          Verses Memorized:  780          Working On:  Chapter 19:1-16

My Progress:
Wahoo!  I finished Chapter 18 and have a good start into 19.  I'm getting a little sick of memorizing the unraveling of Pilate, but I am so excited to be this close to the end.

 

Some Thoughts:

Pilate, Pilate, Pilate.  Poor Pilate.  I feel so sorry for him.  First of all, I think he gets a bad rap from a lot of people and I'm not certain he deserves as much criticism as he gets.  Of course, don't get me wrong... He is a wimpy coward who had no guts to stand up for what he thought was right and cared more about his political career than his integrity or anybody else besides himself.  However, we are all faced with the exact same decision that Pilate had and dare I say, many of us act in precisely the same way.  (Go back and reread my run-on sentence about Pilate and ask if there isn't some measure of truth in a description of yourself.)

 

Nine times we see Pilate going in and out of the palace.  He talks with the Jewish leaders, he talks with Jesus.  He thinks for a while.  He talks to his wife.  Back outside, back inside.  The poor guy's head must have been spinning.  Pilate repeatedly states that he finds no basis for a charge against Jesus.  And yet, "finally, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified." 

 

Aren't we all faced with Jesus standing in our palace?  Doesn't He stand before each one of us and give us a choice?  Perhaps some of us are quick to accept and honor Him.  Maybe some will even step out onto the balcony of the palace and put the chief priests in their place.  But how many of us are just like Pilate?  Do we walk in and out of the palace unable to choose whose side we're on?  Do we struggle to hang onto our "power" and reputation in this world?  Deep down, we want to accept Jesus, but we're unable to let go of the things of this world that we hold so dear.

 

I don't believe Pilate hated Jesus or wanted to see Him crucified.  He was just not man enough to do the right thing.  Sadly, many of us wander in and out of the palace as we choose whether to live a comfortable and easy life here, or to deny this world and surrender to the man with a crown of thorns and purple robe.

 

So where do you stand?  Do you walk back and forth deciding when to follow Jesus and when to fit in with the world?  If you do, then leave Pilate alone.