Luke 23:18-25 (ESV)

¹⁸ But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. ²⁰ Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, ²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” ²³ But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Both Pilate and Herod concluded that Jesus was innocent, and neither wanted anything more to do with him. Pilate was a powerful man in Jerusalem representing Roman rule, so he decided to have Jesus beaten and then released. Pilate was known to do whatever he could to enforce his authority over the people. He knew that Jesus had done no wrong. In addition, Pilate’s wife warned him about Jesus. In a dream, she “suffered much” because of Jesus and let Pilate know that it would be a big mistake to put him to death. To top that off, Pilate heard that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Pilate was stressed out. Yet by now, things had intensified. It was no longer only the religious leaders who wanted to get rid of Jesus. The crowd joined in too, chanting together, “Crucify him!” They demanded the release of a murderer named Barabbas instead of Jesus. Again, Pilate said to the crowd, “This is crazy. Let Jesus go.” But the crowd would not relent. This truly was the hour when darkness reigned. Although Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he yielded to the demand of the people. He released Barabbas and gave Jesus over to the Jews to do as they pleased. In an odd way, this transaction acted out the gospel: the exchange of guilty life for innocent life.

How could Pilate have done this? He knew that Jesus was innocent and even publicly declared him so. Yet, he allowed him to be executed. What did his wife say to him when he came home for dinner that night? The ancient Roman historian Eusebius records that Pilate ended up committing suicide. Other sources say he became a Christian. Either way, he was partly responsible for Jesus’ death because he had the power to intervene and didn’t use it. Pilate lost his seat of office a few years later anyway. People reject Jesus by either openly professing that they are not his followers or by failing to identify with him at all. As it becomes more and more difficult to stand up for Jesus in a world that’s growing increasingly hostile to Christianity, make sure that you don’t shrink back from what God has called you to. Better to stand up for Jesus and be rejected by man than be ashamed of Jesus and rejected by man anyway.