Between a Rock and a Hard Place
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
. . .”Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. John 19:6-16
What a tough story to read! I encourage you to read all the Gospel texts (Matt. 27:11-23, Mark 15:2-15, Luke 23:2-3, 18-25, and John 18:19-19:16) regarding the handling of Jesus by Pilate and the Jewish authorities. It’s a difficult story for me to read. You’ve got the drama of the Jews in an uproar over Jesus claiming to be the Messiah and King. You’ve got Herod who was curious, but really didn’t have much power. And, there’s Pilate. . . what do you do with him?
Pilate is an very interesting figure. Several years ago, I did a detailed study of this story. You can look at it from several angles. Last Sunday, Pastor Matt spoke about Pilate, power and politics. Yes, Pilate abused his power in many ways. When Jesus was brought to him, Pilate was really caught between a rock and a hard place. Pastor Matt shared with us how Pilate refused to make a decision and thus decided the fate of Jesus by letting the Jews have what they wanted.
There’s another angle to the story. As you study the Gospels related to this story, Pilate really did a lot to get Jesus released. He confronted the Jews saying that he saw that Jesus had done nothing wrong (Jn. 19:4). He also asked Jesus to give him some evidence that could be used to free him (Jn.19:8-10). He also presented the Jews with a choice: to release one of the worst criminals in Jewish history, Barabbas, or to release Jesus (Jn. 18:38-40). At one point, the Jews threatened Pilate’s power and position by shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” (Jn. 19:12) So, it seemed that each way Pilate turned, each way he tried to get Jesus freed, he was blocked.
So, in the end, Pilate made another choice, and that was to give the fate of Jesus into the hands of the Jews. Rather than acting upon what he sensed was truth, that Jesus was innocent of the charges calling for the death penalty, he washed his hands of the matter and turned Jesus over to be crucified.
How do you react when you find yourself between a rock and a hard place? Sometimes we all have those moments when there is not any easy choice! Maybe you’re facing a choice between two bad options or even two good options. In those moments, maybe you just want to throw your hands up in the air and walk away. Sometimes, I wish I could just disappear!
In these difficult moments, remember that God has not abandoned you. Even if you don’t feel you can make a good choice, there comes a time when we must choose, none-the-less. Rather than facing difficult choices as Pilate did, remember what the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer.29:11) Armed with the knowledge that God is with us and has a good future in store for us, make the best choice that you can muster and trust God to be with you in the details, results or consequences.
Paul writes in 2 Cor. 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” Living the Christian life is not easy, but we don’t go through life alone. Jesus promises, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)
Jeff Glass