PONTIUS PILATE

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: MATTHEW 27:11-26




INTRODUCTION:


  1. This being the week leading up to Easter, many people are thinking about the arrest and betrayal of Jesus, His trial, His crucifixion, His burial, and His resurrection.
  2. The greatest crime ever committed took place that day on Calvary. When considering the death of Christ we must always look at both aspects: God’s and man’s. It was according to God’s plan that Christ died for our sins, and yet the wicked men who crucified Him were guilty of murder (cf. Acts 2:23; 3:13-15).
  3. Peter refers here to one of the key figures in the crucifixion of Christ, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea (Acts 3:13).
  4. The Bible does not tell us much about Pontius Pilate. From what we can gather from the Bible and from secular history, he was a rich and corrupt politician, a proud, worldly-minded and selfish man, more concerned with his own career and his own comfort than with justice.
  5. We know from secular history that he was appointed governor of Judea by Tiberius Caesar in 26 AD, and held that position till 37 AD. The details surrounding his death are not clear but apparently he committed suicide.
  6. In Luke 13, we are told he slaughtered some Galileans while they were offering their sacrifices in the temple (Luke 13:1).
  7. Pilate had nothing but contempt for the Jews (cf. John 18:34). But it is evident He had respect and admiration for our Lord (John 18:38; Matt. 27:24).
  8. And when studying the trial of Jesus, this one fact becomes clear. Pontius Pilate was distracted and torn between two conflicting feelings – a fear of offending the Jews (which could have led to an insurrection), and a conscious conviction that our Lord was innocent.
  9. But being a cowardly man, destitute of any fixed principles, and being interested only in himself, he yielded to the blood-thirsty mob and had our Lord crucified. So ended Pilate’s part in the greatest crime which has ever been committed since the world began.
  1. PILATE WAS INFLUENCED BY WICKED SINNERS
    1. The Bible says that when Pontius Pilate "had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified" (Matt.27:26). It is a fact that Pilate did this because he was influenced and pressured by wicked sinners. Now let me clarify what I mean by "wicked sinners."
    2. The wicked sinners who brought our Lord to Pontius Pilate were not drunkards or prostitutes or pick-pockets. They were the religious leaders of His day. Pilate was "afraid" of them (John 19:6-8).
    3. Pilate also "knew that for envy they had delivered Him" (Matt.27:18; cf. Rom.1:29). This characterizes the religious leaders who had Jesus put to death.
    4. Let me emphasize that the religious leaders of our day are no different than the wicked religious leaders 2,000 years ago. They wear the same fancy costumes and colorful robes; they have the same pretentious titles; and they also have the same great wealth and influence. And they stand in their pulpits and teach that all men are going to heaven, thereby denying the Lord Jesus Christ.
    5. They deny His virgin birth, His sinless life, His wonderful miracles, His vicarious death, His bodily resurrection, and His second coming. Like Judas Iscariot, theirs is "the greater sin" (John 19:11). Like the scribes and the Pharisees, they "shall receive the greater damnation" (Matt.23:14).
    6. To see how the devil inspired these religious reprobates, we must first recall how our Lord was dragged before Caiaphas the high priest (Matt.26:57). Caiaphas was a very wicked man, and like most of the religious leaders he was a dishonest hypocrite (26:1-5).
    7. An effort was made to produce false testimony so that they could put our Lord to death (26:59). They were able to round up "many false witnesses" but they found none who agreed (26:60).
    8. At last two false witnesses accused Jesus of wanting to destroy the temple and build it up again in three days (26:61; cf. John 2:18-22).
    9. When our Lord "held His peace," Caiaphas demanded that Jesus tell them whether or not He was the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God (26:62,63).
    10. Our Lord answered in the affirmative – "Thou hast said" (26:64), and added, "Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (26:64).
    11. Caiaphas pretended to be greatly grieved at what he considered blasphemy, and they all agreed our Lord was "guilty of death" (26:65,66).
    12. Then they spit in His face, beat Him, and mocked Him (26:67,68).
    13. This would have been the end of the trial, and they would have crucified Him right away, but for one thing. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin had no power to inflict the death penalty (John 18:31).
    14. Therefore, our Lord was taken to Pontius Pilate (Matt.27:1,2). It is interesting to note that these bloodthirsty killers would not step foot inside the judgment hall "lest they should be defiled" (John 18:28).
    15. They were very careful with their religious observances but had no qualms about bringing in false witnesses and murdering their Messiah!
    16. I wonder if there is some sinner here today who is very careful to observe religious rituals but still has not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Religious rituals cannot save; only the blood of Jesus can save.
    17. Pilate did not want to execute our Lord but the people – led on by the chief priests and elders – insisted upon it (27:15-26).
  1. PILATE WAS WARNED BY GOD
    1. As we study this story, we see how Pontius Pilate was warned by God. First of all, he was warned by our Lord. Jesus explained to Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).
    2. But all Pilate could comprehend was this world. He was like most worldly people. He said to the Jews, "Shall I crucify your King?" (John 19:15). He would not accept Jesus as his King.
    3. Like most politicians, Pilate had a problem with the truth. He asked our Lord, "What is truth?" (John 18:37,38). He was face to face with the Son of God, who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Truth incarnate stood before Pilate but Pilate could not see because he was spiritually blind. He asked an important question but walked away without waiting for the answer (John 19:38).
    4. Lord Bacon wrote: "What is truth said jesting Pilate
                                     And waited not for an answer."
    5. Pilate was also warned by his conscience. Even heathens such as Pontius Pilate have a conscience, which instinctively tells them right from wrong.
    6. The Bible says our Lord "answered him to never a word" (Matt.27:12-14; cf. 53:7).
    7. At this, "the governor marvelled greatly" (Matt.27:14). We can only wonder what went on in his mind as he stood face to face with the sinless Son of God.
    8. Here was a sinful, finite man standing in judgment on the sinless, infinite Son of God. One preacher put it this way: "How could a faulty creature find flaws in the faultless Creator? This was Pilate’s predicament; this caused his confusion."
    9. Another way Pilate was warned by God was through his wife (27:19). He should have listened to his wife. This one reference by Matthew is all we know of her but one can imagine the urgency of her warning.
    10. The Bible does not tell us about her dream. Perhaps she saw our Lord being nailed to the cross and as those huge nails were being drove into His hands she woke up in a panic, crying and grief-stricken. She told her husband, "I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him" (27:19).
    11. Perhaps she saw the situation reversed. Instead of Pilate sitting at the judgment seat, and our Lord being judged, Jesus was seated upon His throne up in heaven and Pilate was being judged. Perhaps she saw her husband being cast off into hell and his horrible weeping and wailing woke her up, startled and terrified.
    12. But instead of listening to Jesus, and instead of listening to his conscience, and instead of listening to his wife, he listened to "the chief priests and elders" who had "persuaded the multitude" to release Barabbas "and destroy Jesus" (27:20).
    13. We are told in Mark 15:7 that Barabbas was a murderer.
    14. H.A. Ironside told a story about a Jewish merchant who had a Christian business associate. They would often talk about the Lord but the Christian was not able to lead his friend to Christ. One day the Christian man found out his old friend was dying and rushed to his bedside. The Jewish man was lying in bed with his eyes closed and his family said: "You must not talk religion to him; you must not excite him." So the Christian man knelt quietly by his friend’s bedside, took his hand and prayed silently that God would save him. Soon there was a movement on the bed. The old man opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He said to his Christian friend, "Not Barabbas, but Jesus," and he fell back on his bed dead.
    15. Unsaved friend: Don’t wait till you are on your death bed. Don’t wait till God sends you a dream like He did with Pilate’s wife. Don’t wait till the last minute like the thief on the cross. Come to Jesus now.
    16. As the mob cried out for our Lord’s crucifixion, Pilate asked, "Why, what evil hath He done?" (27:21-23). Pontius Pilate knew that our Lord was innocent but he did not have the courage of his convictions.
  1. PILATE TRIED TO SOOTHE HIS CONSCIENCE
    1. We see in the Gospel of John, three times Pilate say, "I find no fault in Him" (John 18:38; 19:4,6).
    2. He tried to release Jesus but was intimidated by the angry mob (John 19:12,13).
    3. After realizing that "he could prevail nothing," Pilate washed his hands and said: "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matt.27:24). But all the water in the world could not clean his bloody hands.
    4. The blood-thirsty mob then made a self-imposed curse that has haunted them and their descendants for 2,000 years – "His blood be on us, and on our children" (27:25). That curse will remain until unbelieving Israel repents and receives the Messiah they have rejected.
    5. Pilate tried to be neutral towards Jesus. But you cannot be neutral towards Jesus – you are either saved or you are lost.

CONCLUSION:

  1. The Bible says in James 1:8, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." Pilate was a double-minded man.
  2. He had a mind to release our Lord for He knew Jesus was faultless, but he also had a mind not to displease the howling mob.
  3. We have a few double-minded people here in our church. Some of you know you must be born again but like Pilate you do not want to give up the world. The world means everything to you, even more than Christ.
  4. Some gathered here today know the will of God but like Pilate you will turn your back on the Lord because of sin and unbelief and the cares and riches, and fleeting fancies of this world.
  5. Some carry their Bible to church on Sunday morning but where are they on Sunday evening? Where were they on Saturday evening? Some live like devils on Saturday and try and act like saints on Sunday.
  6. John tells us in 19:8 that when Pilate heard the Jews demanding the death of Christ, "he was the more afraid."
  7. This same John wrote that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and idolaters, and all liars, SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE" (Rev.21:8).
  8. Unsaved friend: don’t be like Pontius Pilate. It is too late for him. He is in hell right now, but there is still time for you.


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