Good Friday: “Pilate’s Decision”

When Jesus came to Golgotha, they hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary…

When Jesus came to Birmingham, they simply passed Him by.
They would not hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;
For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him pain,
They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

“Indifference” by Geoffery Studdert Kennedy, (1883-1929)

Scripture Reading

“Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.”

(John 19:4-12,15-16)

Take With Me

Every generation has to make a choice about what to do with Jesus? Good Friday is full of tension. Yet, in all of these tensions, the choice that is made by Pilate and the people is to get rid of Jesus. Historically, Pilate wouldn’t have had a problem crucifying Jesus if I meant peace. But John paints a picture of a Jesus who is in control of giving his life despite what the circumstances appear to be. “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” Jesus told Pilate there was something bigger happening that day than just politics. We all have a choice to make when it comes to Jesus. Who is he? What can he do for me? Where does he go? 

The religious leaders claimed Caesar as their king in this passage. They took one look at the thorny bloodied Jesus and decided he wasn’t powerful enough for them. But therein lies the biggest paradox of Good Friday: through his brokenness, he made everything whole again. The crucified Christ was the wellspring of power, freedom, and grace beyond measure.