STATION 6 - Jesus before Pilate
At the Bandshell at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park
Scriptures for Reflection:
Mark 15.1-15
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Reflection:
There has been a tendency in the Christian telling of the Passion story to exonerate Pilate, or at least to make him an unwilling pawn of the Jewish leaders and crowds. Pilate, it is claimed, was a truth-seeking man who was caught between a rock and a hard place. But Pilate must not be excused for his central role in the death of Jesus. He alone had the authority in Jerusalem to sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion, and he must bear this guilt.
As we look at Pilate, we can see the poster child for the person who fails to take responsibility for their actions. Perhaps Pilate really believed he was innocent of Jesus’ death. Perhaps he was playacting for his own political benefit. Either way, Pilate sent Jesus to the cross. Yet he did so in such a way as to appear innocent of Jesus’ blood. He did not take responsibility for what he had done.
How often do we do this sort of thing ourselves? How often to we rationalize our sins, blaming them upon others? How often do we fail to take responsibility for what we have done wrong, preferring to blame our parents for raising us wrong, our society for mistreating us, our boss for abusing us, our spouse for misunderstanding us?
Why is this wrong? Well, for one thing it’s dishonest. Yet, beyond this, when we fail to accept responsibility for our sins, we lose the opportunity to experience forgiveness for them. If I’m blaming others when I do wrong, then surely I won’t confess what I’ve done as sin. And this, in turn, will keep me from experiencing the grace of God with respect to this particular sin. (I’m not saying this will disqualify me from eternal life, but rather that I will fail to enjoy the fullness of God’s forgiveness in this life.)
When we’re tempted to be like Pilate, we’d do well to remember the words of John:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
At the Station:
Consider: Who or what have I blamed instead of taking responsibility for my own sin? Parents? Spouse? Friends? Siblings? Circumstances? Brokenness? Past hurts?
Take a moment to write down on one of the slips of paper a sin that you have blamed on someone else to acknowledge your own responsibility. Then nail it to the cross and receive Jesus’ forgiveness.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, You know how easy it is for me to be like Pilate. I don’t like to take responsibility for my failures. I can fool myself into thinking I haven’t really done wrong. So forgive me, Lord, when I follow the way of Pilate. Help me to acknowledge my sins, both to myself and to You, rather than wallowing in my pointless excuses and defences. By Your Spirit, guide me to see clearly where I have missed Your mark, so that I might confess truly and fully. Help me to experience the forgiveness You offer in Christ, and to live in the freedom of the cleansing You alone provide. Amen.