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The God I believe in…
‘suffered under Pontius Pilate’
When you think of a personal experience of ‘suffering’, what are the memories that spring to your mind?
Perhaps your memories of suffering are of times of physical pain, or of relationship hurts, or mental, emotional and spiritual low points.
Are you able to express what made those times particularly difficult for you to handle?
In your answers so far, one of the features that probably has been mentioned has been the sense of isolation and powerlessness you felt in a situation you faced.
(Read John 18:28-40)
Background
Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor in Jerusalem. He was the fifth such appointee by the occupying Roman power. Not a lot is known of his background, although intriguingly one tradition is that he was born in Fortingall, in Perthshire. At any rate, he must have been an effective and experienced soldier to be put in charge in the hotspot which was Judea. He was appointed in 26 A.D. by the Emperor Tiberius, being in charge of the army of occupation at Caesarea: 5,000 infantry, 120 cavalry, with a garrison also at Jerusalem. He had full powers of life and death and could sanction capital punishments, as well as reverse capital sentences passed by the Jewish religious authorities. All capital sentences had to come before him for ratification.
He could be absolutely ruthless (e.g.Luke 13:1), but learned it was often expedient to show mercy and to compromise.
On one occasion, when the soldiers under his command came to Jerusalem, he made them bring their ensigns with them, upon which were the usual images of the emperor. These standards were considered idolatrous by the Jews. The ensigns were brought in secretly by night, but their presence was soon discovered. Immediately multitudes of excited Jews rushed to Caesarea to petition him for the removal of the obnoxious ensigns. He ignored them for five days, but the next day he admitted the Jews to hear their complaint. He had them surrounded with soldiers and threatened them with instant death unless they ceased to trouble him with the matter. The Jews then threw themselves to the ground and bared their necks, declaring that they preferred death to the violation of their laws. Pilate, unwilling to kill so many, succumbed and removed the ensigns.
Generally speaking, however, he was a nasty character.
In the light of this background, what do you think Pilate’s attitude would be to the case of Jesus that the Jewish authorities brought before him?
Remember, that Pilate was used to being in absolute control; how do you think he would have reacted to having to concede to the demands of the Jews to go out to meet with them so that they didn’t become ceremonially unclean?
More significantly, how do you think he would have reacted to Jesus questioning him (v34), instead of Pilate firing the questions? What is the impression you get of Jesus in this dialogue? Does he come across frightened, meek, or powerless? Who seems in control, Pilate or Jesus?
Pilate’s famous principally for two things in relation to Jesus:
(1) His saying, ’What is truth?’, when Jesus had testified that He testified to the truth. Pilate lived a life of compromise, expediency, sacrificing principles for advancement, stepping on people to promote self. How much is that still a feature of the world in which we are living today? Have you ever felt tempted to go down that road?
Do you believe in moral absolutes of right and wrong, good and evil in the world today? Is it easy to discern the boundaries when you are faced with complex situations in relationships, the workplace, national issues, religious disagreements?
As a Christian, do you think it matters if we believe in absolute truth and ethical values of right and wrong, or is it alright to take a relativist position on moral issues? (cf John 14:6)
(2) His washing his hands of responsibility for the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:24).
Read (John 19:1-15).
In the light of the public humiliation and degredation of Jesus, is it credible to you that Pilate truly felt any real compassion for Jesus? Do you think Pilate tries to show mercy to Jesus - is it a genuine attempt or a bit of play acting on Pilate’s part? If it was a real effort from Pilate to free Jesus, why was he so motivated to do so? (Matthew 27:19, gives one possible reason)
Thinking of ourselves in relation to this statement from the Apostles’ Creed, how much are we able to say, as Pilate tried to say, ’The death of Jesus has nothing to do with me, it is not my responsibility’?
We live in a time where people are increasingly unwilling to take personal responsibility for what happens to other people and for consequences affecting our world.
What can learn about what our response should be from the story of Pilate?
‘We may not know we cannot tell what pains He had to bear, but we believe it was for us, He hung and suffered there.’ (Cecil Frances Alexander)
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