Struggling Under Pressure. (Luke 23:1-25)
Today we are going to look at what I believe is the most famous trial in all of history and it’s in the Bible and it’s one of the most consequential trials in all of history.
And it’s the judge in this trial that we see gets all caught up in the drama. I think there are some things we can learn about what he went through. I'm talking, of course, about the trial of Jesus Christ, and the judge is none other than Pontius Pilate.
So, what I'd like to do is introduce you to Pontius Pilate. Now, this is a long passage, so I'm only going to read the first part of it, and I'll read the rest of it as we go through the sermon. But before that let me remind you of the tail end of verse 22 for context.
70: They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” 71: Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
1: Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2: And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3: So, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 4: Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 5: But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” 6: On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7: When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. 8: When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9: He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10: The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11: Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12: That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. 13: Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14: and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15: Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16: Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” 17: (For it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast). 18: But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 19: (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) 20: Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21: But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22: For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have him punished and then release him.” 23: But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24: So, Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25: He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
(Luke 22:70 – 23:25)
Now, let me pause here. This marks the beginning, which I'll refer to as phase one. The text simply tells us that they led Jesus to Pilate, and upon arrival, they began to accuse Him.
What was the charge against Him? Quite simply, they accused Him of claiming to be the Son of God, which implies claiming deity. This was all they needed; they thought they had Him.
The charge they presented wouldn’t have been enough to have Him crucified by the Romans, as claiming to be a king would not necessarily have been seen as treason against Caesar. But they added other charges that were punishable by death.
They accused Him of perverting the nation and forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar. Anything more incendiary than that would be hard to find. But the trump card was that He claimed to be the Christ, the Messiah, which they spun to mean He was claiming to be both a king and insurrectionist.
And there's truth to that; He was from the lineage of kings. However, by saying this to Pilate, the Roman governor, they were essentially accusing Jesus of sedition, which could get Him killed.
Now, it's rather interesting. Pilate asks Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Notice, he didn't bring up taxes or perverting the nation; he went straight to the point that he wouldn't tolerate treason against Caesar. So he simply asked. It might not be obvious in the English translation, but in the Greek text, there's almost a question mark hanging over Pilate's head. He just couldn't believe that the man standing in front of him was claiming to be some sort of king.
So, Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in Him." Alright, he didn't seem to believe it. He certainly didn't take it seriously. But here's the point: what's the first thing the judge did? He rendered a verdict. He stated, unequivocally, that Jesus was innocent. That's the first thing that happened. But of course, the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. They insist, he is stirring up the people all over the land with his.
The Jewish leaders continue to claim that Jesus has stirred up the people all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, essentially saying he has influence over the entire nation. When Pilate heard mention of Galilee, he realized it wasn't under his jurisdiction, so he redirected the case.
Now, let's back up a bit. I recall we've been tracking through the Gospel of Luke. I'm sure you remember there were six trials of Jesus. Can you name them? The first three were Jewish trials, and the second three were Roman trials. The first three were before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin.
This is where the religious leaders condemned Him. But now, we are into the second phase of trials, beginning with Herod Antipas.
Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who was actually glad to see Him. Now, this is Herod Antipas, the one who had John the Baptist beheaded. So, when Herod saw Jesus, he was happy to see him as he had wanted to meet him for a long time.
This struck me as interesting because it shows Herod's curiosity. He wanted to see Jesus, but not necessarily to believe in Him, but just out of curiosity.
So, Herod questions Jesus with for quite a while, but Jesus remains silent. This of course fulfils prophecy, as Isaiah had foretold that the Messiah would be silent before His accusers.
Sometimes silence is the wisest response. We've all been in situations where it's best to remain silent. There's a time for silence, spiritually and otherwise.
Let me give you a passage where the Bible says there are times when you shouldn't speak, where you should remain silent. There's a passage that says that sometimes we should, "Shut up”. It’s found in 1 Peter chapter 3.
Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,
(I Peter 3: 1)
What's happening: in this passage when it talks about obeying “The Word”, i9t not talking about what the husband says it refers to, “The gospel / The Word of God”. As it does in other passages (like James 1, where it talks about the "word of truth").
So, if someone doesn't obey the gospel, what does that tell you? They've heard the message and rejected it. In that case, Peter says, "Be silent. Don't say anything. Let your conduct, not your words, speak for you." So, here's just one example of when you should remain silent.
Jesus is our example also here.
Another fascinating thing about this is back in Luke chapter 23, it says the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.
This paints a stark contrast. Pilate, on one hand, is struggling with what to do. He believes Jesus is innocent, not guilty, so he sends Him off. He doesn't treat Him with contempt. Herod, on the other hand, does.
Anyway, this is the second phase of this passage. And of course, Pilate, in the first place, said that Jesus is not guilty. In the second phase, he says, "And I'm not responsible." So, that's what's going on here in simple terms: "It's not my jurisdiction, I want nothing to do with this.
Saying, "You brought this man to me as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I find no fault in this man concerning the things of which you accused Him."
Conclusion Pilate thinks Jesus is not guilty.
In the next phase of the story, Pilate comes up with a compromise. Sounds like a politician, doesn't it? So, he says, "I find no fault in this man, anything worthy of death."
If we go back to the opening part of the passage, where there were three accusations against Jesus, Pilate reduces it to just one and asserts that Jesus is not guilty of that one accusation. But even though he can't find any wrongdoing, the pressure from the crowd persists, so Pilate is clearly struggling.
Pilate is looking for a way out and he comes up with an idea. He recalls a custom during the feast where one criminal would be released. So, he decides to offer the people a choice: Jesus or Barabbas.
It's worth noting that there might have been other factors influencing Pilate's decision, such as his wife's warning mentioned in Matthew 27. Nonetheless, he proposes to beat Jesus as a warning and then release Him.
However, the crowd demands Barabbas is set free, a rebel and murderer, is to be released instead. The crowd insists on Barabbas.
Many preacher throughout history has pointed out that in this exchange, Jesus takes Barabbas' place. Barabbas, who deserved punishment, goes free, while Jesus, innocent and blameless, is sentenced to death. It's a powerful illustration of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
So they cry out, with a loud voice crucify Jesus and he releases the one they requested Barabbas in jail for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison but he is set free, Why, what is going on here.
Pilate reiterates for a third time that Jesus is innocent, not guilty. However, he's feeling the pressure.
One thing that might be going on is that Pilate knew if he displeased the crowd enough, they could report him to Caesar, and he'd be in serious trouble. The Roman government couldn't afford civil disorder in its empire, so any reports of such would lead to swift action.
The Jewish officials perhaps even hinted at this threat when they said to Pilate, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend." Essentially, they were blackmailing Pilate into sentencing Jesus to death by holding the threat of a report to Rome over his head.
This whole scenario teaches us an important lesson. Here's a judge who truly struggled with what to do. On one hand, he believed Jesus was innocent and stated it repeatedly. Yet, under the pressure of the crowd, he caved. And that's the takeaway:
Pilate succumbed to the pressure of the crowd. It's a fascinating debate. He tried to find a way out, even offering a compromise and repeatedly affirming Jesus' innocence. But ultimately, he couldn't escape his responsibility.
Later, Pilate was indeed reported to Caesar, over another incident where he had massacred people. The legends about Pilate vary greatly, with some even portraying him sympathetically as a believer.
In fact, tere's a legend that his wife was a Jewish proselyte who became a Christian, and both Pilate and his wife are regarded as saints in some sections of the church.
Whether he was a believer or not, I don’t believe we can establish fully from scripture but it's intriguing to see the contrast between Pilate, who struggled with his decision, and Herod, who callously mocked Jesus.
Pilate tried to avoid responsibility at every turn, but in the end, he couldn't evade the consequences.
The pressure of the crowd got to him, and he didn't have the strength to resist it. But remember this: there's one thing a person can never rid themselves of, and that's responsibility. It's never possible to say, "I wash my hands from all responsibility." That's something Pilate, and anyone else for that matter, can't ever escape. This tragic figure was so enmeshed in his past and rendered helpless by it that he couldn't take the stand he ought to have taken.
So let me suggest this: when we know what's right and cave in to peer pressure, it's one of the most common things that happens in the lives of Christians. We all do it, all the time. Think about teenagers succumbing to peer pressure—it's a huge danger and pressure for them, for sure. But it doesn't stop there. It happens in all walks of life.
Take the example of being a politician. Your supporters might turn against you, and suddenly the pressure mounts. Or consider being in a position of public trust, like a headmaster at a school. No matter what decision you make, there will always be people who disagree. The point is, we all feel the pressure.
But where does it go wrong? It's when you crucify your principles, when you do something, you know is wrong because of pressure. So, don't be like Pilate. Don't cave to the pressure.
Now, let me close by making a final final observation.
As we've gone through the Gospel of Luke, we've seen interesting character studies. Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver, Peter denied Him out of fear, and Pilate succumbed to the crowd.
Each faced their own enemy: greed, fear, and peer pressure. These are the battles we all face, but the subtlest one—the one that sneaks up on us—is when our friends pressure us into doing something, and we cave.
I hope this passage serves as a warning but yet for-warns us against the potential of doing that. I believe that is what God wants us to take out of this passage today.