Pilate Views the Cross 1

John 19:4-8

In one of the many “Pink Panther” movies there is a scene where Inspector Clouseau begins to pet a dog, but first asks the inn-keeper, “Does your dog bite?” “No, my dog does not bite.” Clouseau tries to pet the dog, but the dog bites his hand and the inn-keeper shrugs his shoulders. “That is not my dog.”

It’s a silly little scene for our amusement, but if we took it seriously I think most would agree that the inn-keeper knew full well what was going on and should have warned the hapless inspector before any harm came to him. The inn-keeper was side-stepping his responsibility.

In John 18 Jesus is taken before Pontius Pilate, the governor, the man with authority to allow the death sentence. Pilate has a conversation with Jesus, and in that encounter he tries to put the responsibility of the crucifixion back on the Jews. He even has Jesus beaten and humiliated, yet they persist.

What does Pilate say in verses 4 and 6? What do the Jews want? How does Pilate react in verse 8?

Throughout history Pilate has been blamed along with the chief priests with the death of Jesus. But, a person could make a strong argument that Pilate truly was not guilty in the execution. He said that he found no basis for a charge against him. In fact Pilate tries to avoid the decision six times between John 18:31 through John 19:15.

Although in appearance it may seem that Pilate was innocent, the fact is that Pilate had the authority to halt the crucifixion of Jesus but he was afraid to do so (verse 8). Instead, he played a clever game of claiming Jesus should go free, but still allowed the crucifixion to happen. Pilate side-stepped his responsibility, making himself appear innocent when in fact he was guilty of not intervening and doing what was right.

Many Christians are able to play the same clever game. “It is not my responsibility.” “I can’t do that; I have other things to do.” We are given opportunities every day to commit to Christ, to help others, to obey God, to do the right thing. But how often do we avoid our responsibility to serve God?

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you identify a time in this past week when you have made an excuse to avoid doing God’s work? Can you change that now?