A coward is a person who has excessive fear and excessive self-concern to the point it overrides doing or saying what is right to help others. It is the opposite of courage and it is a failure of character in the face of challenge. The person we will look at today showed this character trait over 2000 years ago and it changed the course of everyone. This person was Pontius Pilate, the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea. He was a coward with power. He could have set Jesus free but feared the people.
When Judas betrayed Jesus he went to the chief priest and made a deal. Those in authority felt threatened by Jesus’ popularity. He had ridden in on a donkey the Sunday before His execution and mobs of people praised and worshiped Him as he rode into Jerusalem. Caiaphas and other Jewish leaders felt threatened. If they didn’t get this situation under control, they might lose their cushy lifestyle. How Caiaphas convinced Pilate to secure Roman soldiers to accompany Jewish leaders to arrest Jesus is not known for sure, but with the popularity that Jesus was accruing daily, they may have felt He could also lead an uprising against the Roman authority in the region.
Matthew 27:1-2 “When the morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.”
Jesus was bound in the garden, taken to Annas, then to Caiaphas the High Priest, who then sent him on to Pilate the Roman governor. The Jewish Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, but they had no power to execute Him.
When He was brought before Pilate, he questioned Him and Luke records that Pilate’s answer was “I find no fault in this man.” Pilate wanted to let Him go, but those of the Jewish council stirred the people to the point of a riot. Pilate starts looking for a loophole. He does not want to crucify an innocent man. He heard that Jesus was a Galilean and sends Him off to Herod.
Luke 23:3-7 “And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.”
Herod was pleased because he had heard about Jesus and wanted to see this man everyone was talking about. However, he sends Him back to Pilate to determine Jesus’ future. Pilate questions Jesus and finds no fault in Him. He finds no reason to pronounce judgment on Him.
John 18:38-39 “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?”
Pilot had tried to convince the Jews that there was no evidence to sentence Jesus to the punishment of death. At this time of year, it was customary for the governor to release one prisoner to the crowd. The crowd would choose who they wanted. While Pilate was sitting before the crowd, getting ready to release a prisoner, his wife sent word to him to have nothing to do with Jesus for he was just man. She told him she had a dream and she had suffered many things because of it. We are not told what was in her dream, but great significance was placed on dreams, Romans, Greeks, and Jews believed dreams were indications of the divine will.
Matthew 27:17-19 “Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.”
Pilate tries time and time again to convince others that there was not enough evidence to crucify Jesus. Those in the crowd and leadership of the Jews were so full of hate, jealousy, and deceit that they chose to release a murderer rather than Jesus. Pilate seeks to pass the guilty verdict off to the Jews. He washes his hands to indicate he is innocent, but the fact remains he had the authority to release Jesus. Pilate was a coward that had the opportunity to free an innocent man but gave in to the pressure of others.
Before we are too hard on Pilate, let’s think about our own lives. Most of us have many opportunities every day to take a stand for Christ. We have the internet, a tool that can reach around the world. Yet, most Christians will spend hours on the internet looking at everything under the sun but saying very little to convince anyone to follow Him. Many times, when we post things, they are about things that the world considers, unlike Christian behavior. We talk about the tv programs we watch, lyrics from songs we love, and books we can’t put down that are against the character of our Lord. I’m ashamed to admit it but many times I have walked away from a conversation or scrolled down from a post that yielded me the opportunity to take a stand for Christ. We need to learn to use every tool we have to win a lost and dying world. Pilate was a coward, He had the opportunity to release the Son of God, to accept Jesus as His Lord and Savior. Yet, he allowed the influence of the world to rule what he did.
What rules your heart, your thought life, your activities, and your influence? Does your fear or concern over what others will think about you keep you from telling others about Christ? One day we will stand before Jesus and give an account for the opportunities He provided, will you stand as courageous, or cowardly?
