Most people raised in a Christian influenced culture think of Pontius Pilate as an evil person. A more objective view, however, does not see him as being much more evil than the average. Indeed, it would appear virtually all modern politicians are at least as evil as he was. He was merely a political leader entrapped in a no win situation. If he treated Jesus fairly, the Jewish leaders would revolt and Ceasar might well have Pilate himself crucified. Conversely, if he let Jesus be crucified his wife and his conscience were the ones who would be leading a revolt and Ceasar would not care.
Pilate's question: What is Truth ? was not so much the cynicism of a bitter angry man as it was the emotional outcry of a tormented soul caught on the horns of a dilemma. No matter which way he turned it seemed the outcome would be bad. Sure enough he did not choose the John the Baptist option. That would have produced a real win for Pilate. He might have turned to Jesus and said, "Lord it is not I who should crucify you it is you who should crucify me." If he had, Jesus's response would have been similar. Jesus needed to be crucified so the plan of God could be fulfilled.
Today I am still watching men cry out, "What is Truth ?" Ironically, it is frequently men who are caught on the horns of the same dilemma. One choice involves acting in a way that seems to put their own personal internal survival at risk. The other choice involves ongoing conflict with their wife and conscience.
Sadly, like Pilate, men seem to often hope they can just wash their hands of the matter and hope it will all go away.
When we find ourselves trapped in such dilemmas, nothing will make them seem like a fun place to live. However, there are a few things that can help us find a way through the pain:
1. Jesus is Truth. Truth is always a person not a perception.
2. Therefore, we must stop our false belief that our own perceptions define what is Truth.
3. We need to have a trusted man of God in our lives who is willing and able to help us find the right questions to sort out Truth from the powerful lies of the enemy.
4. We need that man of God to be sufficiently stable and objective that to him and with him we can, without being judged, vent all the lies and negative emotions that seem so true and real when we are in the midst of the chaos.
5. We must, no matter how painful the cost, resist the temptation to vent our negative emotions toward the vulnerable people living around us (our spouses, our children, our relatives, et cetera).
6. We must choose to cease from throwing our accusations against God and recognize that but for His amazing grace our situation would be infinitely worse than it is now.
His, thus Yours,
Stuart
2 comments:
Good thoughts here
What does it mean that Jesus is a person, practically and in this context? That we should seek to magically hear Him and have full knowledge and understanding from His perspective? Because my experience says He rarely likes to give it....that whole need for faith thing...
What if your relatives are the best people for the job? The ones who know and love you the deepest. The ones most available and helpful.
I don't blame God. I accept His relative aloofness and blame the faulty humans involved, myself included.
The bottom line is, if Jesus doesn't want to reveal His truth, then we are doomed to be in pridicaments like Pilate. Jesus knew Pilate's tortured heart and pricked conscience. He had bigger fish to fry. And so Pilate remained tortured.
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