You would have no power 14/07/2021

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” [John 19:11‭-‬12 NIV]

It is ironic that the Jewish religious leaders were giving the Roman governor a lesson in loyalty to Caesar. The Jews were fiercely independent and hated the fact that their country was ruled over by the Romans who had conquered a vast empire around the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. They regarded the Romans as Gentiles and this was, for the most part, a term of abuse. Also, Pilate would not need to be told that his position as governor over Judea depended entirely on being loyal to the Emperor Tiberias who had appointed him as prefect.

The Jewish religious leaders are observing Pilate's words and actions and they are detecting a reluctance to convict this innocent man. This is bad news. They don't want justice - they want revenge. They are acting out of malice and hatred in plotting the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Deep down, they know that he has performed miracles which demonstrate his deity. They had witnessed for themselves clear evidence that Jesus was the Son of God. And so the Jews try another tactic - they are appealing to Pilate's fear of the consequences of offending Caesar in Rome.

This suggestion is effective. Pilate is then prepared to have Jesus crucified in order to hold on to his position of power. Some classical scholars and historians have suggested that the Bible is wrong to excuse Pilate for his part in the crucifixion. They point to other historical evidence which presents Pilate as a ruthless governor of Judea. One of these historians was a Jewish writer by the name of Philo who was very critical of Pilate and accused him of "briberies, insults, robberies, outrages, and wanton injuries, executions without trial, constantly repeated, ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty." Historians have acknowledged that Philo is very biased especially against enemies of the Jews. I find it interesting that some critics of the Bible are prepared to readily accept other historical witnesses if it contradicts the Biblical evidence.

This Is a subject which would be interesting to investigate and most of you will know that my first degree was in history so I would soon get sucked in to this debate. I want to make the point that the Bible does not present Pilate in a very positive light. [See also Luke 13:1-5] The Bible shows him to be indecisive and lacking in moral fibre but he is presented as the one who decided to torture and degrade Jesus of Nazareth although he was clearly dissatisfied with the presented evidence from the Jewish leaders. He is clearly not an admirer of the Jewish religious hierarchy and he gets the last word with the text of the sign clearly displayed on the cross. We are looking at this in the next Day Share. Pilate's greatest offence is that he was prepared to agree to the crucifixion even though he was convinced that Jesus was innocent. He did this to save his own skin! Ironically, he did not hold on to power for long. Pilate had to deal with a rebellion amongst the Samaritans and he used force to crush this. The Samaritans then went to a Roman dignitary named Vitellius who was president of Syria. Pilate is then summoned to Rome to answer the accusations before the Emperor. By the time Pilate reached Rome, the Emperor Tiberius was dead and Caligula was the new Emperor (37 A.D.). A historian by the name of Eusebius records that 'soon afterwards, "wearied with misfortunes" Pilate committed suicide. Pilate paid a high price for his decision to place his position before his conscience.

I would like to go back to the statement made to Pilate before the Jewish leaders intervened. What do these words of Jesus mean? “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.” [John 19:11. The context is that Pilate is bragging about his authority. He is saying to Jesus, "You don't seem to realise how much authority I have. I have the full authority to set you free or I could have you crucified." Jesus corrects Pilate and what he tells Pilate is very significant.

Firstly , Jesus is stating that Pilate's authority is God given. What else can it mean when Jesus tells Pilate that his power or authority is 'given to him from above?' This is the very important principle of God's sovereign rule on history. As it says in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament

“ 'so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’ [Daniel 4:17 NIV]

The background to this statement is that Daniel and other young men had been taken away from their homes in Israel and taken as captives to Babylon. Daniel and his friends find themselves living in the court of a very powerful ruler known as Nebuchadnezzar. This king had a dream which troubled him and he asked his advisers and magicians to interpret this dream but he would not tell them the content of the dream. But Daniel, under God's guidance, is able to tell the king what he had dreamt and the significance of it. In this verse, Nebuchadnezzar is recounting to Daniel what Daniel had told him. The principle stated in this verse does not only apply to King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel's day. It applies to every ruler and every country and every century in history.

This is the principle of God's sovereign rule in history. The Bible tells us that God appoints rulers. They may be elected by a democracy or they may seize power but God is the ultimate ruler over the nations. He has a plan which is beyond our grasp. He not only allows good and benevolent rulers- he allows some rulers who are cruel and despotic. They are all part of God's plan in human history.

Secondly, Jesus is telling Pilate that the Jewish religious leaders are more to blame because they were responsible for handing Jesus over to Pilate fully aware that this would result in Jesus being crucified. Pilate is a heathen or a Gentile (not a Jew) and he does not know Yahweh or the God of Israel. As the nation of Israel knew that God is all-powerful but that he delegates his power to appointed rulers, they were aware that Pilate had power given to him by God. So Jesus was placing the blame for the injustice on the Jewish ruling class. Many people have tended to claim that it was the Romans who crucified Jesus and they have ignored the implications of this verse.

I would like to conclude with pointing out some lessons in all of this. Whether we like the government or not, as Christians we should respect our leaders as being appointed by God - even though this may clash with our political views. I often feel that we let our politics affect our Christianity. Also, Pilate is a reminder that that we are often in a position where we have to make a choice - sadly, Pilate chose his power and prestige before his moral conscience. He was not the first and he is not the last. There is often a price to pay for 'doing the right thing' and sadly we are often not prepared to pay that price. We take the easy way out - at the expense of others but God is in control and we cannot hide from Him. He is a God of justice. Many others have made the same decision as Pilate - to place someone or something before our loyalty to Jesus, the Son of God.