John 19:8-12
Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”
The religious authorities know just how to play Pilate.
In John’s construction of this scene, Pilate is at pains to set Jesus free. He has thus far been frustrated in these attempts, and upon hearing that Jesus claims to be the Son of God, he grows worried, even afraid. It will not be easy, he realizes, to dissuade the religious authorities to overlook such a serious charge.
And so he retreats to the inner sanctum of his headquarters to question Jesus, hoping, perhaps, either to figure him out or to discover some new angle by which to make his case.
But Jesus is not a piece to be moved around Pilate’s board and so remains silent. When questioned by Pilate… actually, it’s more like when threatened by Pilate… Jesus asserts his own independence. Pilate, Jesus contends, is caught up in forces larger than he can imagine.
And, oddly, Pilate seems to take this seriously. Or at least he takes Jesus’ confidence seriously and tries all the more earnestly to set Jesus free. But this is where he is again outplayed, not simply by Jesus but by the religious authorities. For while Pilate may or may not care whether Jesus claims divine relationship, he will surely care – and must act – when the religious authorities remind him that some (including Pilate!) have called him a King, as there can be no king other than the Emperor.
Each of us, I suspect, has something – some fear, some worry, some concern – that is so deeply at the core of us that we are easily, and perhaps always, moved by it. Fear is a powerful motivator. For Pilate, at this moment, it’s fear for his career, his relationship to the Emperor, his job security. He simply cannot be known as “no friend of the Emperor.” And so he betrays his belief that Jesus is innocent and fails his duty as arbitrator and judge.
Naming Pilate’s fear-inspired pressure point, of course, is easy. Naming our own – and surrendering that fear to God – is much harder.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to give over to you our deepest hopes and fears that we may live by faith and trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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