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Who Was Responsible for the Death of Jesus?

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Who Was Responsible for the Death of Jesus? Mark E. Larson Who Was Responsible for the Death of Jesus? Lesson Three: Pontius Pilate, the Coward Introduction: Who was responsible for the death of Jesus? Many persons in history played a pivotal role and each of these teach us important lessons about ourselves and our connection to the cross of Christ. In this lesson, we take a look at the cowardly Pontius Pilate who failed to take his stand for truth and justice on behalf of Jesus (Mat. 27:1-2). Pontius Pilate was appointed the sixth Roman procurator (governor) of Judea by Tiberius Caesar, the Roman Emperor in A.D. 25. Pilate ruled as procurator for 10 years. His erratic rule drove the Jews on a few occasions of near revolt against his government. Pilate was at times a ruthless leader. Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, recorded in his writings a quotation from Agrippa I who said of Pilate: “A man of a very inflexible disposition, and very merciless as well as very obstinate.” (e.g. the Lord Jesus acknowledged Pilate's slaughter of a group of Galileans Luke 13:1-3). Pilate desired to maintain law and order, not because he cared about the people, but wanted to preserve his rule and legacy in the Roman Empire. This is why Pilate took notice when Jewish leaders brought Jesus to him with treasonous charges (Luke 23:1-4). I. Pilate Knew the Truth About Jesus, yet failed to Stand for the Truth. A. Pilate was convinced of Jesus' innocence (Luke 23:4). i. Pilate knew the truth of the matter concerning Jesus (John 18:28-38). a) “I find no fault in Him at all.” (v. 38). That should have settled it! ii. Then Pilate sent Jesus to be tried by Herod who also believed Jesus was innocent (Luke 23:5-12). Pilate concluded: “Nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.” (Luke 23:13-16). iii. Even Pilate's wife, who was warned of Jesus in a dream, declared to him Jesus' innocence! “Have nothing to do with that just man” - Mat. 27:19 B. Yet, Pilate avoids taking any responsibility for the truth about Jesus! i. Not just one time, but on four occasions Pilate avoids taking a stand for the truth concerning Jesus! Pilate was a coward! II. Why Pilate was a Coward. A. Cowardly Pilate tried to give his responsibility of making a judicial decision to someone else (Luke 23:4-7). i. Today, we might call this: “passing the buck” - wrongly shifting one's own responsibility to another person (e.g. Gen. 3:11-13; 1 Sam. 15:14-15). ii. This is a harmful practice, especially in spiritual matters. Examples: a) Letting your family/parents decide your religion/beliefs (Mat. 10:37). b) Letting a preacher/pastor/priest determine your beliefs (Mat. 15:14). B. Cowardly Pilate compromised the truth to satisfy the Jews (Luke 23:13-16). i. Pilate supposed he could satisfy the Jews by having Jesus “chastened” (flogged/scourged) rather than give Jesus the sentence of crucifixion. ii. This was a shameful, pathetic gesture on the part of Pilate, for he had already found Jesus to be innocent. a) If he was innocent, then he should have released Jesus immediately instead of trying to appease the crowd! iii. Today, people compromise the truth of God's word in much the same way. a) Shunning to declare the complete message of truth (cf. Acts 20:27). 1 Mark E. Larson b) Changing the gospel in order to please men (Gal 1:6-10; 2 Tim 4:3-4). (e.g. plan of salvation, standards of morality, holiness, worship, etc.). • If we fail to speak the truth, we will be held accountable (Ez 3:18). c) God will hold churches (assemblies) accountable for compromising the truth and condoning sin among His people (e.g. Rev. 2:18-23ff.). C. Cowardly Pilate “played politics” with Jesus' life, instead of standing for truth and justice. i. He wanted to release Jesus and thought it was expedient to do so according to custom, but the Jews would not have it (Luke 23:16-21). ii. Pilate thought the people would choose to release Jesus (Mark 15:6-15). a) Notice how Pilate lacks courage to administer justice for Jesus and instead tries to get Jesus released by an act of clemency! b) When they chose Barabbas instead, ultimately what does Pilate do? He chooses to satisfy the people instead of standing for justice! (v. 15) c) The Jews also played politics to get their own way (John 19:12-13). iii. Sadly, many churches “play politics” today, choosing to satisfy the people instead of obey God. a) Many have backed down on their stand for truth on a number of controversial issues to keep members from leaving their assembly. b) Instead of correcting the erring brother to restore him to God, many look the other way so as to not to offend him and cause him to leave. c) Leaders, instead of searching the Scriptures to determine God's will on the matter, take a vote or consensus to satisfy the majority. iv. No one gets to heaven by playing politics to the majority! (Mat. 7:13-14). D. Cowardly Pilate supposed he could excuse himself of the guilt for the murder of Jesus! (Mat. 27:24-26) i. Pilate foolishly believed he could wash away his sin (in failing to carry out justice for Jesus) and place all blame on the Jews (cf. Deut. 21:1-9). ii. He could no more wash away his sin than could the blood of bulls and goats! (Heb. 10:4). Ironically, it would be Jesus' blood Pilate ordered to be shed that would have power of forgiveness (Heb 10:10; Eph 1:7). iii. The truth was, Pilate was just as much to blame as the Jewish crowd and even more so for this horrible injustice against Jesus! iv. Condoning sin by our fellowship with it can make us guilty of the sin, even when we are not directly involved (1 Tim. 5:22; Eph. 5:11). v. Let us avoid the hypocrisy of Pilate: We cannot claim to be forgiven while at the same time taking part in the darkness of sin (1 John 1:5-10). E. The soldiers Pilate ordered to crucify Jesus were also cowards (Mk 15:16-25). i. They cannot justify themselves before God: “I was just following orders.” ii. The penalty for Roman soldiers' insubordination was death (Acts 16:27), yet they had a choice whether to obey God or men (Acts 5:29). III. Cowards Will not be Saved on Judgment Day. A. Those unwilling to stand up for Jesus and His truth will be lost (Rev. 21:8). B. If you let shame or fear deter you, Jesus will not save you (Mark 8:38). i. You will be no better off than Pilate who “handed Jesus over” (Jn 19:16). 2.
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