WEBVTT 00:00:02.730 --> 00:00:05.690 So this morning, I want to study something about 00:00:05.690 --> 00:00:09.269 the life of Pilate. In Rome, there's a staircase 00:00:09.269 --> 00:00:13.230 that individuals climb up, oftentimes on their 00:00:13.230 --> 00:00:16.089 knees. You're probably familiar with Martin Luther 00:00:16.089 --> 00:00:19.589 doing something like that, and partway up, thinking 00:00:19.589 --> 00:00:23.550 to himself, does this make any sense? And hearing 00:00:23.550 --> 00:00:25.789 the words from the Book of Romans, that just 00:00:25.789 --> 00:00:29.629 shall live by faith. So those stairs were transported 00:00:29.629 --> 00:00:34.380 by Constantine's mother. She went to Jerusalem 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:39.079 in the 300s looking for sites that were connected 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:42.399 with the events in the life of Jesus. And there 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.420 is a fortress there, the Antonian Fortress, which 00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:47.560 is next to the Temple Mount. And there was a 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:50.740 set of stairs that she believed were the stairs 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:54.140 that Jesus walked out of when he was condemned 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:57.740 by Pilate. The authenticity of the stairs is 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:02.689 100 % contested. But the truth is, Jesus did 00:01:02.689 --> 00:01:07.250 leave Pilate's courthouse. And the stairs that 00:01:07.250 --> 00:01:10.150 he walked down, I'm using as a metaphor this 00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:14.409 morning for the stairs that Pilate walked down 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:18.530 or the steps that Pilate took that turned him 00:01:18.530 --> 00:01:21.629 away from Jesus. And that's what I want to study 00:01:21.629 --> 00:01:24.590 with you this morning. The steps, the decisions 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:28.969 that led Pilate, who had this close interaction 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:32.849 with Jesus. that led him, instead of surrendering 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:37.689 to Christ, led him away from Christ. So if you 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:39.549 have your Bibles, turn with me back to the Gospel 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:43.430 of John, John chapter 18. I want to get a little 00:01:43.430 --> 00:01:47.109 bit of context this morning. John chapter 18. 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:53.250 And there's a number of interesting historical 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:56.849 points that are going on here. By the way, my 00:01:56.849 --> 00:01:59.819 background is Jewish. I was converted. when I 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:03.560 was in my early 20s. So I have a particular interest 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:07.359 in Jewish history and things particularly that 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.939 are pertaining to scriptures. And we know that 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.699 Jesus was arrested in the evening and then hurried 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:18.280 to a trial before the Sanhedrin. That group of 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:21.500 individuals condemned Jesus and then they bring 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:25.400 him to Pilate. But there were several irregularities 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:28.340 in that trial. First of all, you were never supposed 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:30.759 to try somebody at night. That was against Jewish 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.360 law. Second, the high priest was never to be 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:40.659 involved in a trial. Third, there was supposed 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:45.300 to be at least a day or two between the trial 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:50.099 part and the condemnation. Also, you would never 00:02:50.099 --> 00:02:53.699 have a trial on a... Friday evening or before 00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:58.719 a festival like the Passover. So all sorts of 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:04.159 Jewish law was broken in the very act of examining 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.740 Jesus and ultimately condemning him. So but in 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:11.560 John chapter 18, starting in verse 28, they lead 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:15.319 Jesus from Caiaphas into the praetorium. Praetorium 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:20.280 was the... the place where Pilate had his residence 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:23.800 and a judgment seat. And if you go to Jerusalem, 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:27.259 it's fairly connected with what's called the 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:31.580 Citadel of David today. But we notice also something 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:35.280 else here. They themselves, verse 28, would not 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.080 enter into the praetorium. For what reason? Why 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.340 wouldn't they go in? They didn't want to defile 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:45.219 themselves. Think for a moment of the... Mental 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:50.360 blindness. Here they break all these laws, and 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.379 they're about to condemn this man to death, but 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:57.360 what don't they want to do? They don't want to 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:59.520 defile themselves. I wonder, is it ever possible 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.639 for us to be so focused on a minutia of something 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:09.840 that we miss larger issues, that we miss greater 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.000 matters of the law in our desire to protect something? 00:04:14.539 --> 00:04:17.480 Very small. So that's what happens. So they come. 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:22.519 It's early morning. And then in verse 29, it 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:26.500 says, Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:28.899 What accusation do you bring against this man? 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:31.639 And as you read through the story carefully, 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:33.779 particularly in the Gospel of John, we're going 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:35.939 to look at John, Luke, and Matthew this morning. 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:38.939 But particularly in the Gospel of John, you see 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:43.430 this movement out and in. Pilate goes out, and 00:04:43.430 --> 00:04:46.350 then he comes back in, and the scenes shift back 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:49.629 and forth, and the whole trial is built around 00:04:49.629 --> 00:04:55.230 this movement back and forth. So verse 29, Pilate 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:58.069 goes out to them and asks, what accusation do 00:04:58.069 --> 00:05:00.709 you bring against this man? What's their response? 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:05.029 What's the charge? And then how do they respond? 00:05:07.689 --> 00:05:14.410 He is evil. What does it say? If he wasn't guilty, 00:05:14.750 --> 00:05:18.629 what? We wouldn't have brought him to you. What's 00:05:18.629 --> 00:05:24.709 the implication there? Pilate, just find him 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:28.269 guilty. You don't need to waste any time on this. 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:32.550 Just do what we'd like you to do. And I'm sure 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:34.470 there have been past times when Pilate did that, 00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:37.029 but for a variety of reasons. It's early morning, 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:38.790 they disturb him, a host of different issues. 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:42.790 Something is different here. In verse 30, they 00:05:42.790 --> 00:05:45.829 declare, if he wasn't an evildoer, we wouldn't 00:05:45.829 --> 00:05:48.050 bring him to you. Verse 31, well, you take him 00:05:48.050 --> 00:05:54.490 and you charge him yourself. But the Jews were 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.829 not permitted to put anyone to death. Verse 32, 00:05:58.029 --> 00:06:00.610 to fulfill the word of Jesus, which he spoke 00:06:00.610 --> 00:06:04.189 signifying by what kind of death he was about 00:06:04.189 --> 00:06:09.209 to die. Verse 33, therefore Pilate entered again 00:06:09.209 --> 00:06:13.449 into the praetorium. And summoned Jesus and said 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:19.370 to him, are you the king of the Jews? Just imagine. 00:06:19.970 --> 00:06:22.829 Try to picture the scene, please. Here you are. 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.170 You're the governor. You're in charge of this 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:27.949 region. You've been disturbed. You're upset. 00:06:28.689 --> 00:06:31.970 There's this man before you. And you ask him 00:06:31.970 --> 00:06:35.550 this question, are you the king of the Jews? 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:39.850 And notice the response that Jesus gives. Verse 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:45.449 34. Jesus answered, are you saying this on your 00:06:45.449 --> 00:06:49.230 own initiative? Or did others tell you about 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:52.750 me? In other words, are you saying this because 00:06:52.750 --> 00:06:57.889 you're interested? Are you saying this because 00:06:57.889 --> 00:07:02.509 you have a question? Or simply because of what 00:07:02.509 --> 00:07:08.529 others said? I've often done evangelistic series 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:12.319 or Bible studies. And there comes a point in 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:15.100 every person's life, all of our lives, where 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:18.560 we are confronted with truth, like Pilate was 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:24.379 this morning, this particular morning. And sometimes 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:29.819 emotions rise up. Notice what Pilate's response 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:33.779 is. Pilate is asked a question by Jesus, why 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:36.660 are you asking me? And I believe inside Pilate's 00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:40.040 heart, Pilate really wanted to know. Are you 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:42.899 the king of the Jews? And there was this longing 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:48.779 to know what was true. But when confronted, Pilate 00:07:48.779 --> 00:07:53.600 takes a step down the staircase. And how does 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.720 he respond? Verse 35. Pilate answered, I'm not 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:00.220 a Jew, am I? Your nation and the chief priests 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:04.480 delivered you to me. What have you done? What 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:09.720 rises up in Pilate's heart? I'm not a Jew. I 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:15.060 mean, the Jews are slaves. I'm a Roman. How would 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:21.879 we call that attitude? Pardon me? Pride. Exactly 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:25.199 right. One of the first steps that Pilate takes 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:30.180 is that he allows his pride to well up. And pride 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:35.220 often keeps us as a barrier from following biblical 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:38.220 truth. Well, I'm not going to humble myself in 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:41.299 repentance. I'm not going to confess. In my conversion 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:46.279 story, just a small snippet of it, in my teenage 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.840 years, I had a habit of stealing things. Not 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.080 proud to say it, but I did have a habit of stealing 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:55.139 things. And when I was converted, I was convicted 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:56.940 that I needed to go back and make restitution. 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.960 And so I had like a list of places that I had 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.320 to go back to and say, you know, I took this 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.129 and I'd like to pay for it. It was a humbling 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:10.210 experience. But for me, it was part of my process. 00:09:10.570 --> 00:09:15.389 But sometimes pride wells up inside. So that's 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:20.750 the first step that Pilate takes on this metaphorical 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:23.750 stairway. Verse 36, notice what Jesus answers. 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:27.129 My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom 00:09:27.129 --> 00:09:30.190 were of this world, then my servants would be 00:09:30.190 --> 00:09:32.830 fighting so that I would not be handed over to 00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:35.419 them. Hand it over to the Jews. But as it is, 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:40.700 my kingdom is not of this realm. Therefore, Pilate 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:44.240 said to him, so you are a king. Could you imagine 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.860 that? Here, Pilate, like, I don't know, in my 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:51.379 imagination, you know, he almost lifts up out 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:59.360 of his throne. You're really a king? And Jesus 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:02.539 responds, you say correctly that I am a king. 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:05.559 For this I have been born and for this I come 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:08.580 into the world to testify of the truth. And everyone 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:11.179 who is of the truth hears my voice. Verse 38, 00:10:11.179 --> 00:10:14.080 notice the question. And Pilate said to him, 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:22.919 what? What is truth? He is in front of the one 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:28.059 who said, I am the way and the truth. And the 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:31.500 light. He is in front of the one who is truth 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:36.039 embodied. And he asks the question. What is truth? 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:41.759 But he doesn't wait for an answer. What happens? 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:48.539 When he said this. He again went out to the Jews. 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.679 Maybe the crowd called him. Maybe he heard some 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:56.399 noise outside. Maybe they began to yell. But 00:10:56.399 --> 00:11:02.320 whatever it was. He got distracted from an opportunity 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:06.860 to hear from the lips who was truth. What is 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:10.360 truth? I'm sure Jesus would have answered the 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:14.700 question. But instead of spending that time with 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:18.460 Jesus, something distracted him. Do we ever get 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:22.120 distracted in our life? Want to have a devotional 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:26.460 moment? Some quiet time? And then, oh, I don't 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:29.259 know. Do you ever get notifications on your phone? 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.919 Like a ding and a bip. You know, just distractions. 00:11:34.940 --> 00:11:37.759 Leadership tip, turn off all notifications on 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.419 your phone. Like, just turn them off. But something 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:45.559 distracted Pilot. He got busy with the work at 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.879 hand. And sometimes that happens to us as well. 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:54.220 Just the pressures of life keep us from getting 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:57.559 an answer to the question. that we ask in prayer. 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:02.799 We're just too busy. And so this is another step 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.500 that Pilate takes. First, it's pride rises up. 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:09.399 I'm not a Jew. I'm not going to listen to this. 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:13.299 Then when he asks this question, pregnant with 00:12:13.299 --> 00:12:17.120 meeting, what is truth? What a lost opportunity. 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:20.460 How many lost opportunities do we have? Something 00:12:20.460 --> 00:12:23.019 just comes, and we're in that spiritual moment, 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:25.840 and we get distracted. And you know what it's 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:27.539 like. You begin to get distracted. Oh, yeah, 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.120 I just need to check this one thing, and then 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:34.220 20 minutes later, where are you? So Pilate is 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:36.639 making steps, and we repeat those same things 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:41.500 sometimes. Pride, we get too busy. Again, it 00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:43.580 continues in verse 38. He goes out to the Jews, 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:46.240 and he says to them, I find no fault in him, 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:49.159 no guilt in him at all, but you have a custom 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:52.879 that I will release for you someone at Passover. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.820 Who do you wish that I release for you? Do you 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:58.360 wish, rather, that I release for you the king 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:00.899 of the Jews? And they cried out again, saying, 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:07.519 Not this man, but Barabbas, a robber. So it's 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.399 interesting. Let's pause there for a moment. 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:14.879 Let's flip over to Luke chapter 23. Luke 23. 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:22.539 Luke adds an insight into the story that John... 00:13:23.199 --> 00:13:26.960 Excludes Luke chapter 23. But it's around the 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:31.139 same exact point. Starting in verse 19, Luke 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:35.240 23 verse 19, Pilate has just come out. He said 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:39.600 he has no guilt in him. And he asks, who should 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:49.019 I let go? Verse 15. No, nor has, excuse me, back 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:51.379 up in verse 4, pardon me, back up in verse 4. 00:13:52.429 --> 00:13:54.429 Then Pilate said to the chief priests in the 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:56.830 crowds, I find no guilt in him. Pilate does this 00:13:56.830 --> 00:13:59.850 twice. But they kept insisting, saying, he stirs 00:13:59.850 --> 00:14:02.610 up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:05.529 from Galilee, even as far as this place. And 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:07.690 when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man 00:14:07.690 --> 00:14:10.610 was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:14.929 to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Jesus to Herod. 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:17.809 So Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at that 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:20.500 particular time. Herod had a palace there. Herod 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:23.120 had palaces in many different places. And when 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.480 Pilate comes out and tells the Jewish leaders, 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:28.379 I find no fault in him, they begin to push back 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:30.960 at him. So he gets this idea. Well, this is what 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.659 I'll do. I'll send him over to Herod. And I'll 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:40.960 let Herod make a decision. In other words, he's 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:48.059 moving his responsibility. And in spiritual things, 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.840 That is something you and I cannot escape. Sometimes 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.399 we want to see that. Well, you know, if so -and 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:59.519 -so does this, then I'll do it. If my spouse 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:02.940 does it, well, then I'll do it. We wait for someone 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:05.639 else to make a decision, thinking that we can 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:08.779 turn our responsibility over to someone else. 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:13.240 But in spiritual things, we cannot escape our 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.659 responsibility. We might ignore it. We might 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:19.659 delay it. We might try to pass it off onto somebody 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:24.659 else. But our responsibility is ours. And that 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:26.700 was the next step that Pilate took away. Well, 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.740 maybe I can send him over to Herod. Unfortunately, 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.779 that doesn't work out very well for Pilate. And 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:35.399 I think all of this really, in honesty, is designed 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:39.360 because Jesus is wanting to save Pilate. And 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.500 this whole scenario, Jesus is praying. Now, before 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:46.629 Herod, Jesus doesn't say a word. He has no words 00:15:46.629 --> 00:15:49.409 any longer for Herod who put to death John the 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:53.250 Baptist. And so Luke tells us that they send 00:15:53.250 --> 00:15:57.549 Jesus over to Herod's palace and they mock Jesus 00:15:57.549 --> 00:16:02.309 and they beat him. Let's look here back in Luke 00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:07.970 chapter 23, verses 8 through 12. But Herod doesn't 00:16:07.970 --> 00:16:11.070 condemn Pilate, excuse me, Herod doesn't condemn 00:16:11.070 --> 00:16:16.740 Jesus either. And so then... Pilate receives 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:20.299 Jesus back again. So let's go back to John chapter 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:28.600 19. So at the end of chapter 18, Pilate has already 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:33.519 taken several steps. His pride rose up. He became 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:38.759 too busy. He decided he was going to shift his 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:43.179 responsibility, move it to somebody else. Chapter... 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.860 19 of the Gospel of John. Now, notice, Pilate 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:53.279 had just declared that Jesus was innocent. What 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:57.580 do you do with an innocent man? You let them 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:01.519 go, right? Pilate comes up with another idea. 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:05.759 Verse 19. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:08.859 him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:11.140 and put it on his head and put a purple robe 00:17:11.140 --> 00:17:14.059 on him. And they began to come up and they say, 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:16.519 Hail, King of the Jews, and slapped him in the 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:20.160 face. And Pilate came out again and said to them, 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:23.559 said to the crowd, He brings Jesus out now. And 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.480 he says, Behold, I'm bringing him out to you 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:30.759 so that you may know that I find no guilt in 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:37.099 him. Verse 5. Jesus then came out wearing the 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.839 crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate 00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:46.910 said to them, Behold the man. Think for a moment. 00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:49.730 Pilate's been convicted, but his pride rises 00:17:49.730 --> 00:17:52.430 up. Pilate has an opportunity to hear what truth 00:17:52.430 --> 00:17:56.490 is, but he turns away. Pilate realizes this man 00:17:56.490 --> 00:17:59.049 is innocent, but he tries to move his responsibility. 00:17:59.210 --> 00:18:02.970 It comes back to him. He says Jesus is innocent, 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:07.230 but then he beats him and then brings the beaten 00:18:07.230 --> 00:18:14.420 Christ out before the crowd Compromise. Okay, 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.339 well maybe we can meet part way. Maybe if you, 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:21.859 if I just beat him, and then you'll feel sympathetic, 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.259 but then we can really let him go. Compromise 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:28.299 is probably the most deadly thing in spiritual 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.680 life. Now there are plenty of places we should 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:32.940 compromise. You want a different color of the 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:36.180 carpet? Let's compromise. You know, food? Let's 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:38.000 compromise in certain areas. You know, let's, 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.000 there's plenty of places we can compromise. But 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.420 when, The Word of God speaks to us and we're 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:49.740 convicted. Compromise isn't an option. We need 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:53.259 to follow the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:58.940 But Pilate doesn't. He compromises here in the 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:06.380 hope that the crowd will say, let him go. That 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:08.700 doesn't work very well. Have you ever had that 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.240 experience in your life? You try, well, let me 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:12.900 try to compromise a little bit and see what happens. 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:16.359 Usually we end up sliding further and further 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:20.779 away from our convictions. Pilate came out, brings 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:22.880 them before them, and just envisioned that scene. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.400 Jesus has been beaten. The soldiers took the 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.079 time to, like in Jerusalem grows these little 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.519 thorny bushes, and so they took the time to get 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:35.119 these thorny bushes and weave them into some 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.359 kind of a crown -like shape and thrust it on 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:44.619 his head. Sweat, blood coming down his face, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:51.519 his back lacerated. Behold the man. Even the 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:56.680 Roman soldiers were becoming convicted that Jesus 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:02.660 should be let go. But the crowd cries out, crucify 00:20:02.660 --> 00:20:06.519 him, crucify him. And the crowd starts moving. 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:11.299 It becomes very hard to... turn its direction 00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:15.880 in a different way. So, still going on in Matthew, 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:23.619 excuse me, in John chapter 19. Verse 6, chief 00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:26.039 priests and the officers, they cried out, crucify 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:29.359 him, crucify him. Pilate said, take him yourselves 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:33.279 and crucify him. I find no guilt in him. Verse 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:37.059 7, then the Jews answered him, we have a law. 00:20:38.569 --> 00:20:41.509 and by that law he ought to die because he made 00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:46.529 himself the Son of God. Therefore, when Pilate 00:20:46.529 --> 00:20:50.190 heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 00:20:50.250 --> 00:20:53.349 At this point in time, in Pilate's experience, 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:57.890 he hears about another dimension. He's noticed 00:20:57.890 --> 00:21:02.730 the godlike appearance of Christ. He could tell 00:21:02.730 --> 00:21:06.390 that there is something different here. And when 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:10.670 the Jewish leaders make this statement, he has 00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:14.410 made himself to be the son of God, Pilate becomes 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:18.549 greatly concerned. Let's flip over to Matthew 00:21:18.549 --> 00:21:22.029 chapter 27 for a moment. Matthew chapter 27. 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:26.250 Pilate does another step that's very similar 00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:28.289 to compromise, but it's a little different. Matthew 00:21:28.289 --> 00:21:34.289 27, 15 through 18. Now at the feast, the governor 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.210 was accustomed to release for the people someone 00:21:37.210 --> 00:21:39.390 they wanted. We had read that earlier in the 00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:42.390 Gospel of John. The custom, we have no idea where 00:21:42.390 --> 00:21:46.789 it came from. It had not a shred of justice behind 00:21:46.789 --> 00:21:52.670 it, some kind of a custom. At the time, they 00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:55.450 were holding, verse 16 of Matthew 27, at the 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:57.990 time they were holding a notorious prisoner called 00:21:57.990 --> 00:22:00.869 Barabbas. And when the people gathered together, 00:22:00.970 --> 00:22:03.450 Pilate said to them, Who do you want me to release 00:22:03.450 --> 00:22:08.470 for you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ? 00:22:09.009 --> 00:22:12.690 For he knew that because of envy, they, the Jewish 00:22:12.690 --> 00:22:17.349 leaders, had handed him over. What's Pilate doing 00:22:17.349 --> 00:22:23.410 here? He's letting the crowd decide. He's going 00:22:23.410 --> 00:22:26.730 with, we could call it, majority opinion. Again, 00:22:26.809 --> 00:22:31.750 a deadly mistake in spiritual affairs. We don't 00:22:31.750 --> 00:22:35.730 decide truth by numbers that we can see here. 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:39.809 We decide truth because of the word of God. And 00:22:39.809 --> 00:22:43.809 Pilate is continually trying to find a way out 00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:47.529 of this corner that he's painted himself into. 00:22:47.670 --> 00:22:50.710 He's walked down this staircase. He's walked 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:54.069 further from the light of Christ. Pride, too 00:22:54.069 --> 00:22:58.150 busy, compromise, majority opinion, all these 00:22:58.150 --> 00:23:01.339 different steps he's taking. And it's leading 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:05.539 him further and further away from Christ. Let's 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:08.720 go back to the Gospel of John. Gospel of John, 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:13.440 chapter 19. Pick up the same thing where they 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:17.640 ask the question, where Pilate has asked the 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:20.539 question, and now he's brought them back into, 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:24.599 Jesus back into the praetorium. And he says in 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:27.440 verse 10, Pilate said to him, why don't you speak 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:30.910 to me? Do you not know I have authority to release 00:23:30.910 --> 00:23:35.329 you? I have authority to crucify you? Jesus says 00:23:35.329 --> 00:23:39.589 in verse 11, you would have no authority over 00:23:39.589 --> 00:23:41.589 me unless it had been given to you from above. 00:23:42.190 --> 00:23:46.250 For this reason, he who delivered me to you has 00:23:46.250 --> 00:23:50.650 the greater sin. As a result of this, Pilate 00:23:50.650 --> 00:23:55.109 made efforts to release him. Pilate is convicted, 00:23:55.329 --> 00:23:59.470 but he's been walking, further into darkness. 00:23:59.609 --> 00:24:04.049 He's binding himself into his own chains of his 00:24:04.049 --> 00:24:06.329 own circumstances. He keeps walking away and 00:24:06.329 --> 00:24:10.369 now he's like, I want to let you go. But he begins 00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:13.710 to hear the crowd. And the crowd is yelling out, 00:24:13.750 --> 00:24:18.190 crucify him, crucify him. The Gospel of Matthew 00:24:18.190 --> 00:24:23.009 also gives us an insight here. It's back in Matthew 00:24:23.009 --> 00:24:25.390 27. You don't have to turn there. I'll just relay 00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:27.710 it for you. At this time... according to the 00:24:27.710 --> 00:24:30.390 Gospel of Matthew, just before Pilate makes his 00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:33.630 final decision, he gets a message from his wife. 00:24:34.569 --> 00:24:38.309 And his wife says, I suffered many things of 00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:42.849 this man in a dream that night. Don't condemn 00:24:42.849 --> 00:24:46.490 this man. Please, try to picture this. Here's 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:49.990 Pilate getting tighter and tighter, bound in 00:24:49.990 --> 00:24:52.650 his own decisions, and at the last minute, in 00:24:52.650 --> 00:24:56.099 answer to the prayers of Jesus, I believe, Pilate's 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:59.339 wife sends a messenger into the whole situation 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:04.140 and says, let this guy go. Desire of Ages tells 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:06.700 us that in her dream she saw the second coming, 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:09.180 where she saw the trial, she saw the condemnation, 00:25:09.299 --> 00:25:11.180 she saw the death of Christ, and she saw the 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:14.740 second coming. And she writes this message, let 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:20.579 this man go. And at that same moment, the crowd 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:27.940 cries out, crucify him. Don't let him go. You 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:32.000 are not a friend of Caesar. What's the final 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.619 step? You're going to lose your job. You're going 00:25:36.619 --> 00:25:38.980 to lose your position. You're going to lose your 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:41.519 influence. You're going to lose everything if 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:48.789 you follow this. John chapter 19. Verse 12, as 00:25:48.789 --> 00:25:50.789 a result of this, Pilate's made effort to release 00:25:50.789 --> 00:25:52.789 him, but the Jews cried out saying, if you release 00:25:52.789 --> 00:25:56.049 this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone 00:25:56.049 --> 00:25:58.710 who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar. 00:25:59.289 --> 00:26:04.670 Fear was the final step that bound Pilate. He'd 00:26:04.670 --> 00:26:08.210 been walking into darkness, and this fear of 00:26:08.210 --> 00:26:12.009 his livelihood, fear of his position, fear of 00:26:12.009 --> 00:26:17.170 what people would say, found him fully. into 00:26:17.170 --> 00:26:20.950 his decision. Verse 13, therefore Pilate went 00:26:20.950 --> 00:26:23.450 out. When he heard these words, he brought out 00:26:23.450 --> 00:26:26.410 Jesus and he sat down on the judgment seat at 00:26:26.410 --> 00:26:28.250 the place called the pavement, but in Hebrew, 00:26:28.349 --> 00:26:31.849 Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for 00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:33.910 the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. And 00:26:33.910 --> 00:26:37.809 he said to the Jews, behold your king. Verse 00:26:37.809 --> 00:26:41.430 15, they cried out, away with him, away with 00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:46.230 him, crucify him. Pilate said. Shall I crucify 00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:49.849 your king? The chief priest answers, we have 00:26:49.849 --> 00:26:53.670 no king but Caesar. So many decisions taking 00:26:53.670 --> 00:26:59.210 place that way. Pilate made his decision as well. 00:26:59.789 --> 00:27:03.490 Verse 16, he hands Jesus over to be crucified. 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:07.880 Key tipping point. Now, there were many points 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:09.880 along the way. If he hadn't compromised, if he 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:11.940 hadn't asked for majority opinion, if at the 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:13.740 very beginning Pilate had said, no, this guy's 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:16.299 innocent. Get out of here. I'm not going to do 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:19.160 it. If he had stood for the truth right at that 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.019 point, everything would have been easier. But 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:23.279 even up to this point, he could have turned away. 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:25.220 Yes, it would have been more difficult, but he 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:30.299 still could have made that difference. But when 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:32.519 the enemy put his finger on his livelihood, fear, 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:36.220 what's everyone going to say about you? You're 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:38.799 going to be no friend of Caesar. And Pilate already 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:42.460 had enough political troubles. And so he takes 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:46.000 Jesus out and crucifies him. Two years later, 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:49.079 Pilate is summoned back to Rome. He loses his 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:53.299 position. He dies in exile. Shame, not to do 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:55.039 with the crucifixion, but just because of his 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:57.460 management. The thing that he tried to avoid 00:27:57.460 --> 00:28:02.380 came upon him in addition to giving up the opportunity 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:07.170 of setting Jesus free. So friends, I don't know 00:28:07.170 --> 00:28:11.509 really, I know some of you briefly, but what's 00:28:11.509 --> 00:28:13.950 going on in your lives? Where are you on Pilate's 00:28:13.950 --> 00:28:15.430 staircase? I hope you're not on the staircase 00:28:15.430 --> 00:28:18.930 at all. But maybe there's some steps that impact 00:28:18.930 --> 00:28:20.769 you. Maybe you're compromising. Maybe you're 00:28:20.769 --> 00:28:23.630 too busy. Maybe you're afraid of what God's calling 00:28:23.630 --> 00:28:25.410 you to do and what the results are going to be. 00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:30.970 Maybe you just don't take the time to listen 00:28:30.970 --> 00:28:33.410 to the answers to your questions before God. 00:28:36.190 --> 00:28:40.650 Good news is, today's the day of salvation. And 00:28:40.650 --> 00:28:43.410 Jesus is still pleading for each one of us. And 00:28:43.410 --> 00:28:45.289 we have an opportunity today, no matter where 00:28:45.289 --> 00:28:47.009 we are on that staircase, we can turn around, 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:49.589 we can jump right off of it and get back on the 00:28:49.589 --> 00:28:52.630 path of eternal life. That's where God wants 00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:55.549 us to be. That's the purpose of Jesus' death. 00:28:55.630 --> 00:28:57.069 Now, some of you may be thinking, yeah, but if 00:28:57.069 --> 00:28:58.369 Pilate let him go, what would have happened? 00:28:58.829 --> 00:29:00.890 Jesus had to be crucified. Well, Jesus would 00:29:00.890 --> 00:29:02.710 have been put to death. I'm sure there was another 00:29:02.710 --> 00:29:08.329 way. But Pilate, did not have to be the one responsible 00:29:08.329 --> 00:29:11.190 at this point. He could have made a different 00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:15.410 decision, just like each of us can make a decision 00:29:15.410 --> 00:29:22.990 to follow Christ. Father in heaven, as we consider 00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:27.089 the decisions that Pilate took that led him away 00:29:27.089 --> 00:29:30.390 from a surrender to you, we ask that you'd point 00:29:30.390 --> 00:29:34.700 out similar areas in our own lives. Father, keep 00:29:34.700 --> 00:29:38.319 us from making wrong decisions, decisions based 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:41.740 on fear. Keep us from making decisions that are 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:45.339 in opposition to the influence of your spirit. 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:49.460 Fulfill your promise in each one of us to create 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:52.740 in us clean hearts, new hearts, that long not 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:56.000 to walk in the stairs of Pilate into darkness, 00:29:56.220 --> 00:30:01.119 but long to walk in the light of life. We thank 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:03.200 you in Jesus' name. Amen.