Luke 23:13-35 - Pilate the Coward

Up tothis point Jesus had three unfair trials before the Jews; before Annas, thefather-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas, and also Caiaphas at his house, andthen before the Sanhedrin. Now, in the early morning hours between six and nineo'clock on Friday morning, Jesus is taken before Pilate. Pilate has his firsttrial with Jesus and finds no fault in Him after questioning Him personally inthe Praetorium. Pilate sent Jesus to King Herod Antipas where Jesus is againquestioned, mock and ridiculed. Jesus is silent and does not respond to Herod whothen sends Him back to Pilate (v. 11). Inthese verses, 13-25, Pilate proves to be a coward. It is interesting to note thatmany Christian sources describe Pilate as “the model of a coward” who knew thecrucifixion was wrong but acted out of fear of political repercussions, such aslosing favor with Emperor Tiberius or inciting a riot. C.S. Lewis is referencedin these sources, suggesting Pilate represents “men without chests”—peopleunwilling to pursue truth, leading to cowardice and injustice. The fact thatHerod backed Pilate's decision would not have impressed the Jews very much,because they despised Herod almost as much as they despised the Romans. WhenJesus is returned to Pilate he again meets with the Jewish leaders andannounced for the second time that he did not find Jesus guilty of the chargesthey had made against Him (vv. 13-15). Since it was customary at Passover forthe governor to release a prisoner, Pilate offered the Jews a compromise: hewould chastise Jesus and let Him go. He had another prisoner on hand, Barabbas,but Pilate was sure the Jews would not want him to be released. After all,Barabbas was a robber (John 18:40), a murderer, and an insurrectionist (Luke23:19). He may have been a leader of the Jewish Zealots who at that time wasworking for the overthrow of Rome. Severaltimes Luke notes that it is the chief priest and rulers of the people that aredemanding that Christ is guilty and should be crucified. We must not think thatthe general populace of the city was gathered before Pilate and crying out forthe blood of Jesus, though a curious crowd no doubt gathered. It was primarilythe official religious leaders of the nation, the chief priests in particular(Luke 23:23), who shouted Pilate down and told him to crucify Jesus. To saythat the same people who cried "Hosanna!" on Palm Sunday ended upcrying "Crucify Him!" on Good Friday is not completely accurate. Finally,after vacillating back and forth and at least three times proclaiming Jesus tobe innocence, Pilate realized that his mishandling of the situation had almostcaused a riot, and a Jewish uprising was the last thing he wanted duringPassover. So, he called for water and washed his hands before the crowd,affirming his innocence (Matt. 27:24-25). Pilate proves to be a compromiser anda coward, who was "willing to content the people" (Mark 15:15).Barabbas was released and Jesus was condemned to die on a Roman cross. Pilatewas a complex character. He openly said that Jesus was innocent, yet hepermitted Him to be beaten and condemned Him to die. He carefully questionedJesus and even trembled at His answers, but the truth of the Word did not makea difference in his decisions. He wanted to be popular and not right; he wasmore concerned about reputation than he was character. What a sad state to bein! We must be careful that we don’t follow in his footsteps.  Itwould also be good for us to remember what Jesus said in Mark 8:35-38, “Forwhoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life forMy sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if hegains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give inexchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in thisadulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamedwhen He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."