Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you like easy escape routes from difficult problems? I sure do! So did Pilate in John 19. Pilate’s problem of the week was Jesus. “What am I to do with that man?” Pilate’s escape route? Make Jesus someone else’s problem.   

First, he said to Jesus’ accusers, “He’s not guilty of anything. It’s Passover. Let’s celebrate by releasing him” (18:39). 

“No way!” they replied. “Don’t do that! Release the criminal Barabbas.” So Barabbas went free, and Pilate still had the Jesus problem. 

Now what? 

Pilate had Jesus whipped; soldiers dressed him in kingly purple and pressed a crown of thorns on his head, making it bleed. They slapped him. They mocked him: “Hail! King of the Jews!” (19:1-3).

After that, back to Pilate. He called in the Jewish leaders and showed them a sorry, beaten, bloody prisoner. Nothing for them to be afraid of here, was there?  

But the religious leaders weren’t satisfied. Tortured and humiliated, yes, but Jesus was still alive. “Crucify him,” they cried (19:6).  

Again Pilate tried to escape. “If you want him crucified, you do it. I do not find him guilty” (19:6).

The Jewish leaders escalated. “He claimed to be the Son of God. That’s guilty enough to  crucify.” 

Pilate, cornered and fearful, asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” Perhaps if Jesus was a son of God, his God could provide a solution. 

Jesus was silent. Frustrated, Pilate snapped, “I can crucify you or set you free. Don’t you care?” (19:10).

Jesus said, “Your power comes from God. My accusers are the guilty ones” (19:11). That didn’t help Pilate. His authority came from Rome, and maybe also this Jewish God Jesus talked about. But the problem was how to use his authority. 

Little wonder Pilate was confused. 
  Was this prisoner a son of God? King of the Jews? Just another poser? 
  Why wouldn’t he answer Pilate’s questions?
  But Pilate continued to believe that crucifying him was a bad idea.

Finally, the religious leaders pitched their strongest argument. “Jesus claims to be king. He’s in competition with Caesar. Make your choice, Pilate. Prove your loyalty to Caesar by crucifying this pretender. Or let him live, and you’ll be a traitor to Rome. You know how Rome treats traitors.”

With no escape route left, Pilate ordered Jesus’ death. 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, the religious leaders said, “We have no king but Caesar” (19:15). 

We too are religious. Who is our king today? Like Pilate and the Jews, we live in the space between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. We serve our country and pay taxes. We donate to our church and worship on Sunday. 

Help us see clearly the claims of both kingdoms. Help us give Caesar what is Caesar’s. And help us proclaim from the heart, “We have no king but you, Jesus.” 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.