Being a leader is not always easy. But what can be more difficult is to know what a leader is. We are surrounded by various people who, like the lion, may have many convinced that they are leaders. But at times all it takes is an elephant to come along and dispel the myth. Leaders may roar loudly and strut their stuff, but the real leader is the one who stands to the end. Some leaders maintain their positions of power through manipulation, others through popular appeal. In our passage this morning the real leader is the one no one would ever expect.
But as we look at three men this morning we see in Pilate and Barabbas the kinds of people we may imagine we are or want to become. We see in them traits we admire and think that will get us far in the world. But it is the silence and calm of the third man that we find our only hope. We find in Him not just a third option, not just another alternative to living, but our only hope for life at all in trusting His life is sufficient for ours. WHAT KIND OF LEADER IS PILATE? The leader we first confront in our passage this morning is that of the Governor, Pilate. As we confessed our faith this morning in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, his is the only name, apart from the triune God, which we identify. It seems odd that of all the names recorded in the Bible we would focus on that name. Who is Pontius Pilate? Pilate was a career politician who typified Roman power. His power was directly linked to those he knew and those who knew him. He married into power. His wife, Claudia, was the daughter of Emperor Tiberius and the granddaughter of Julius Caesar. The brief encounter between our Lord and Pilate comes about as Pilate is the Procurator of Palestine. While Rome often allowed locals to govern themselves, in those regions that proved to need the heavy hand of Rome to keep them in line, there were appointed such governors. Pilate received his Prefect in AD 26. While overseeing such a cauldron of political turmoil would take an astute leader, Pilate ruled with an iron fist and cared little for cultural sensitivity. Extrabiblical sources portray Pilate as a cruel and insensitive ruler whose hatred for the Jews was no secret. One ancient Jewish philosopher wrote of Pilate's "corruption, his acts of insolence, his habit of insulting people, his cruelty, his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending gratuitous and most grievous inhumanity." Against all counsel he brought into Jerusalem the Roman standard. If you ever watched those old Gladiator movies from years past, you’ll know the standard was a large pole, on top of which is perched an eagle. Hanging from the pole would be a large tapestry on which the image of Caesar was embroidered. Even though he knew the Jewish law forbidding graven images and that the Caesar was considered a god by the Romans, he had, under the stealth of night, these standards placed throughout the temple area to prove his power over the Jews. On another occasion he stole money from the Temple treasury in order to build an aqueduct, an offense which angered the temple priests, for while the aqueduct benefited the city, the money was set aside for the worship of God. Luke 13 tells us of another time in which Pilate had a number of Galileans murdered while they were in the midst of worship. He then mingled their blood with those of the temple sacrifices. His barbarous actions often went unchecked for as a Procurator, he was responsible not to the Roman Senate, but to his father-in-law, Emperor Tiberius. But after murdering some Samaritans in an ambush without just cause, he was recalled to Rome, sent to Gaul to be humiliated and eventually committed suicide in just a few years after Jesus stood before him. If history tells us that Pilate’s form of leadership was rather Machiavellian, he typifies the leader who is the political opportunist, the consummate political insider who is powerful and a manipulator who will do anything to advance his own cause. It is before such a leader that Jesus now stands. It is in his hands, it would seem, that Jesus’s life rests. Matthew gives us a rather brief description of this trial. Luke informs us that the charges the Sandhedrin placed before Pilate were three-fold. In Luke 23:2 Jesus is charged with: subverting the nation, opposing paying taxes to Caesar and claiming to be the Messiah and therefore a king in contention with Caesar. Each of these charges were considered capital offenses. In verse 11 Pilate asks the opening question which is couched in disdain and disbelief. “Are you the king of the Jews?” The emphasis is on the “you” as though this one who has spent the night being interrogated the Sanhedrin, beaten and abused, has little in appearance that would cause Pilate to conclude that this peasant is any kind of king. In Rome Pilate had witnessed the great power and pomp of the Empire, the pageantry of the emperor, the beauty of the triumphal march. But one look at Jesus makes Him an unlikely candidate for royalty. He did not look the part of a king, nor of a terrorist who could lead a revolt which would threaten the Romans. Jesus responds to this question and this question alone. When asked whether he is a king, Jesus gives the same qualified answer that he gave when asked by the High Priest a few hours before: “Yes, it is as you say.” The qualification could be translated: “I am, but not in the way you think.” At this point the Jewish leaders continue their tirade against Jesus, but as before, He remains quiet, refusing to reply to their accusations. Pilate tries to intervene but to no avail. Luke’s Gospel tells us that Pilate repeatedly protested the proceedings, for he found Jesus innocent of the charges. As Procurator he had the power to immediately dismiss the case, but instead he implemented another plan; he would try to get the people to call for His release. As I mentioned earlier, his hatred for the Jews and especially their leaders was well known. By offering to release Jesus, he would create a further rift between the Jewish leaders and their people. Feast times were often the time when criminals would be either executed or freed. Preparations were already underway for the execution of three criminals who appear to have been found guilty of the same charge which was being leveled against Jesus. The three crosses were ready, now the question remains: whose will it be? If the people were faced with two potential insurrectionists, one who had murdered and committed treason against Rome, who was well known for his escapades and another against whom the evidence is spotty at best, Pilate seemed assured that the people would seek the release of Jesus. Here he miscalculated. As the question is set before the people, they demand Barabbas. As to Jesus, they call out for His death. Notice in verse 23 when a confused Pilate tries to understand why they responded in such a manner and asks for clarification as to the nature of His crime, all they do is yell louder for His death. What Pilate tried to avoid was insurrection, but the crowd became a mob. Fearing a riot he wanted to put a quick end to the proceedings. In mockery, he borrowed from the Jewish law which commanded that if a murder can not be solved, the elders of the town are to wash their hands over a sacrifice and proclaim that they did not murder. In so doing he further proclaimed the innocence of Jesus all the while he still sends the man to His death. Like the Jewish leaders a few hours before when confronted by a remorseful Judas, he refused accountability for the death. The people were all too willing to accept the blame. His spineless leadership is evidenced now as he proclaims Jesus to be innocent, but succumbs to the power of the mob. Pilate is not innocent of this blood anymore than anyone else is. All the water in the world can’t wash innocent blood from a guilty man’s hands. Only blood removes blood. Repentance is the only option for Pilate’s stain to be removed. His only hope to remove that stain of sin is for Christ’s blood to make him clean. Protesting innocence saves no one; only confessing guilt does. Pilate’s political aspirations clouded his mind so that he would not see spiritual salvation. He sensed the power of Christ, heard the words of the Messiah, but so wanted to maintain the status quo of his power in that small corner of the world that he thought he could do nothing. But in the end he murdered God’s innocent Son. This kind of leader is with us today. Politicians swayed by polls are nothing new. The desire to hold onto to power by means of acquiescing to mob rule was common then as it is today. The fear of men, of manipulating leaders who will say whatever they think the people want to hear, though, is not a problem just of politicians but a problem facing each of us. Pilate’s constant protestations of innocence, followed by his condemnation of Jesus to death, is not that unlike our inner pangs of conscience over those ethical dilemmas we face where we know what is right but fear the repercussions of our boss or client more than the wrath of God. Like Pilate we may try to wash our hands, to proclaim our lily-white reputation, but as we seek to justify ourselves, we do not have the power to ever proclaim our innocence. Only God can do that through Christ. As Pilate sought to declare himself right and innocent, he lost all hope of ever finding a justification which comes from God alone. WHAT KIND OF LEADER IS BARABBAS? There is another leader in this passage which we often breeze over but should examine more closely. We see him as a common criminal, but the text seems to tell us he was more. The people’s call for Barabbas was more than just hatred for Jesus; it was a desire for the kind of leader Barabbas was. In verse 16 we are told he was notorious. The word used here is really neutral in its intent. It means he was noteworthy, famous. Barabbas was more than a petty thief. His reputation had preceded him. His name may be of some assistance to us. Some ancient manuscripts give his name as Jesus Barabbas, but "Jesus" was dropped, for, as some early church fathers said, they could not abide such a sinner as Barabbas having the same name as our savior. The trouble is, Barabbas is really not a name, for it means “son of the father." Just as Peter was called Bar Jonah as he was the son of Jonah, so this man was called the Son of the Father. Such a name was rare, but was used of boys whose fathers were well-respected rabbis. This man may well have been raised in a family of privilege. But such a background is long past. Luke and John tells us that Barabbas was an insurrectionist, a murderer and a robber. The terms used are not those of a petty thief or a thug who got caught. The descriptions are used to those who were part of the Zealot party who robbed to support their cause: the overthrow of Rome. Barabbas was part of Israel’s militia movement, an ancient form of Hammas or the PLO. As part of a guerrilla group, his notoriety would have endeared him to the mob in Jerusalem, for he fought against people like Pilate. Barabbas was everything Pilate was not. They were two extremes of political power, different views of leadership. Pilate was the consummate political insider, Barabbas was the outsider. As much as Pilate wanted to maintain the status quo and would murder an innocent man to do it, Barabbas sought to overthrow the status quo and would murder anyone who stood in his way. Pilate believed in working within the system. Barabbas believed in self-redemption. He fought against the existing authority and institutions. For as different as Pilate and Barabbas were, they were united in that they both had no need for a messiah. They saw salvation as belonging in their own powers in their own ways. Why would the people want Barabbas rather than Jesus? The reason is not that complex. It is not as though the crowd called for Hannibal Lector or Jeffery Dahlmer. They cried for Robin Hood, for Che Guevara, for all those who promise that through force we can have political power for ourselves now. They had no time for prophets and promises of God. He offered them what they lacked: personal satisfaction Where do we see this today? Barabbases are found in any revolutionary cause which advocates violence as the means to an end, but they are also found whenever people have the iconoclastic urge to topple someone’s sacred cow. They believe power comes by way of stealth and intrigue. People love the rogue leader. WHAT KIND OF LEADER IS JESUS? He is not what we would expect. His response to the proceedings portrays a political disinterest. As the accusations fly, He remains silent. But it would be a mistake to conclude that Jesus cares nothing for our lives in this world and wants us to seek to disengage from this life. Rather His silence points to the kind of leader He is for us. The silence is but submission to the Father’s plan. As He fulfills Isaiah 53:7, He is led like a lamb to the slaughter; He does not open His mouth. He does this not just to fulfill an ancient prophecy, but as 1 Peter 2:23 tells us: “He entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” His silence evidences His strength, His certainty that the Father will exonerate Him, that as He is arraigned, we might be discharged. His leadership is seen in sacrifice. He stands silent before His judge so that when we are to stand before the Judge of the universe, we may speak of Christ’s work in our defense. Had He spoken to defend Himself, He could’ve cleared all charges against Him. Instead, He remained quiet so that the load of guilt that is ours would be taken from us and placed on Him. Never has such silence been so sublime. Not only is there such a great exchange between His silence and our present defense, we also know that as He was silent before Pilate, He now speaks for us before the Father. His silence shows His leadership, for in it we see how we are to respond when treated unjustly. Knowing God is our Father and the Judge of all the world, we need not fear what others do. We may place our complete confidence in our loving Father. Pilate can not understand His silence. He has no category in which he is able to fathom that one would not seek to protect his innocence. But Jesus’s confidence is greater than the accusations against Him. Not only does His silence portray a political disinterest; He stands out vastly different than the one whom the people favor: Barabbas. While Jesus Barabbas, the son of the father, has set himself up as a political savior, Jesus, the Father’s one and only Son is a Savior who transcends a political system. Jesus Christ is the Messiah not just for one group of oppressed people at a single point in time, but He is the Savior for all those that are His for all time. Barabbas wanted to save people from Rome; Jesus would save people from themselves and their sin. Barabbas could only promise revolution; Jesus brought regeneration. Barabbas offered hope at the cost of the shed blood of his own people; Jesus gives hope at the cost of His own blood shed for His own people. The silent man is the real leader - not the powerful politician, not the scheming subversive. The One who is the willing substitute, the One who makes the great exchange - it is He who leads like none other ever will. Bonar: ”He who did nothing wrong was condemned for everything so that we who have done everything wrong may be condemned for nothing.“ Which leader will you follow? Will you place your trust in the one who works within the system, or the one who overthrows it? In either case your hope is limited and shallow. Rather, place your trust in the one who loves you so much, that He willingly suffered and died for your sin. |