“Jesus Condemned”

John 19:1-16a

(sermon note: 03-22 sermon note)

Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. ² The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. ³ “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

⁴ Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” ⁵ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”

⁶ When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. ⁹ He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. ¹⁰ “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

¹¹ Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹² Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”

¹³ When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”

¹⁵ “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”

“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

¹⁶ Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a guy who was in New York City on a business trip and decided to head to a local bar for a drink. Standing outside the bar was a nun holding a tin cup. As the man threw a few bucks into her cup, the nun launched into a long tirade about the evils of alcohol. She went on and on about how alcohol was tearing apart the fabric of society and how it was the root of all the city’s problems. Slightly ticked off at having to listen to this, the guy said, “Listen sister, I work hard for my money and sometimes at the end of a long day I like a drink or two. That doesn’t make me a bad person. I have a wife I idolize and two wonderful kids at home. I provide for my family, I volunteer my time to several local service clubs and I contribute regularly to various charities. Yet you stand here and condemn me just because I drink the occasional glass of scotch!” The nun was slightly taken aback and replied, “I see your point my son and I apologize if I offended you but the alcohol is such a powerful demon that all who consume it are doomed…” “Look there you go again,” said the man. “How can you make such a sweeping statement. Have you ever even TRIED alcohol?” “Of course not!” gasped the nun, “The evil alcohol has never touched my lips.” “Do you really think that one glass of booze can change you from a devout nun to some kind of evil degenerate?” “Well, I really don’t know …” “I’ll tell you what, come into the bar with me and I’ll buy you a drink. One drink. I’ll prove to you that ‘evil’ is not inside the glass, it’s inside the person.” “Oh, I could never be seen going into such a den of iniquity, it’s out of the question. However, your comment about evil residing in the person rather than the glass is quite intriguing. I must admit you’ve aroused a curiosity in me.” “Well let’s go inside and settle this!” “No, my son, I could never enter such a place… but how about this. Take my tin cup with you and fill it with this ‘scotch’ you mentioned. Bring it out to me and I’ll try it.” “You’re on!” said the guy. The nun removed all the change and handed him the tin cup. He went into the bar and said to the bartender, “Two scotch on the rocks, and could you put one of them in this tin cup please?” To which the bartender sighed and asked, “Is that nun out there again?!”

Back to New York City we go…you’d think it was a theme these days. Last week it was a pushy cab driver, this week it’s a sneaky nun, are there any good characters to come out of New York City?! I suppose my dad is one but I’m not about to make a joke out of him. No, this week’s sneaky nun is enough for us today because she not only managed to con yet another unsuspecting out-of-towner into getting her a free drink, but she played the role of a zealous nun all too well. She judged and condemned the tired, overworked man for wanting a drink at the end of a long day. And her judgment and condemnation were not unlike that of Pilate in today’s reading.

As we heard, Pilate just couldn’t get out of judging and condemning Jesus. Over and over again, he tried to appeal to the senses and reasoning of the religious leaders. Surely they would choose to release Jesus instead of a dangerous criminal like Barrabas! Surely they would choose to release Jesus after he was flogged and humiliated! Surely they would simply realize that Jesus had done nothing to deserve crucifixion! Well, surely we’d be wrong to make such assumptions just as Pilate was! No, the religious leaders weren’t behaving according to sensibility and reasoning. They were determined to get rid of Jesus once and for all and no number of appeals to their sensibility would have gotten them to change their minds. They wanted Jesus DEAD! Of course, they had no idea that in killing him they enabled him to conquer death and reveal his full glory. But getting back to Pilate…

Pilate is an interesting character in this whole Passion narrative. Our initial impression of him is one of weakness and cowardice. He didn’t have the nerve to outright condemn Jesus on behalf of an anxious Roman empire. Nor did he have the nerve to stand up to the senseless mob who were determined to have Jesus killed. He just comes across as spineless, powerless. But I wonder if any of us would have behaved better if placed in his unfortunate situation? He had tremendous pressure to maintain Roman order, appease religious leaders, and defend a wrongly convicted man. The pressure must have been unbearable! All he wanted to do was wash his hands of the whole situation, but destiny wouldn’t allow it.

Yes, in Pilate there is a great lesson to be learned. The power to judge and condemn is not all that it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it’s a power that most of us should be hesitant in seeking. After all, it’s a power that even Jesus avoided all together as well. Recall the words of John, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (3:17) Jesus avoided judging and condemning at all costs. He taught, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37) Jesus’ way is the way that we are called to follow, not Pilate’s. The power to judge and condemn should be left up to God and God alone. We are called to be disciples of Christ and Christ alone. And as psalm 34 tells us, “But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.” (vs. 22)

Pilate’s role in this Passion narrative is an unenviably role. The power to judge and condemn is a difficult power to have. Let us sympathize with him and choose the way of Jesus instead, the way of salvation and forgiveness. In some ways it is just as difficult as the way of judgment and condemnation but ultimately it leads to life. So let us give thanks for the way of Jesus. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.