Sometimes life puts you in the middle of conflict, and you can’t find a good way out of it. All your options are painful. We have all been in situations where someone will be upset no matter what we do, but we must still decide. Last Sunday, I preached about Pilate and his infamous statement, “What is truth?” He was caught between his responsibility to uphold Roman law if Jesus was not guilty and the intense pressure to execute Jesus from religious leaders who helped him rule ancient Jerusalem. The author of John’s Gospel shows us Pilate’s struggle by having him move back and forth between the two sides; Jesus is in Pilate’s headquarters, and the religious leaders are in the courtyard. Pilate will try three times to release Jesus and move to a not guilty verdict. This morning I want to explore how Pilate tries and fails to extract himself from being stuck in the middle. Along the way, I will share my thoughts on navigating being stuck in the middle. I believe the author of John’s Gospel encourages us to choose the truth when we have intense pressure to find an easier way out.

Pilate’s first attempt to release Jesus is from the end of last week’s reading (John 18 38-40). He says, “I find no case against (Jesus), but you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?” Pilate attempts to show his mercy and compassion. Jesus is brought to him on insurrection charges, and Pilate implies that Rome will be just fine. Thanks for your concern for our well-being, but Jesus isn’t a threat. So I grant him clemency in honor of your Passover festival, and we can all feel good about ourselves and call it a win.

Pilate’s open-hearted gesture fails miserably. Instead, the religious leaders respond, “If you want to release someone, give us Barabbas!” All four Gospels describe Barabbas as a bandit and revolutionary. Pilate now may have to release someone who really is a threat to Rome. Note the irony that the religious leaders want Jesus, who preaches compassion and forgiveness, to be executed as a revolutionary, and the violent insurrectionist, Barabbas, set free.

When have you been in Pilate’s shoes? You tried so hard to be compassionate and forgiving. You offered your trust, which seemed like a win-win outcome, but it was turned against you. Have you ever thought if you are compassionate enough, or your motives are as pure as possible, if you practice being generous and forgiving, then people will respond in kind? Sometimes it works, but it is painful when our genuine attempts at love and reconciliation are utterly refused. Then we feel naïve that people are taking advantage of us. Compassion feels like weakness.

I had to learn that compassion alone didn’t magically solve someone’s challenges. It’s a necessary first step, but we also need wisdom and endurance. As program manager of a transitional housing and recovery program, I often dealt with two to three people every week who relapsed and used drugs or alcohol. We had clear procedures for a clean and sober house. If someone relapsed and did not follow up with treatment, we had to evict them and make them homeless. If we didn’t follow the rules, then the environment wasn’t safe for people in recovery. These decisions weighed on me, but the rules were very clear. I understood my responsibilities. When my younger son Michael was addicted to pain medications, I couldn’t be so calm and professional. I had worked with many parents who often were enabling a family member’s addiction. In their desire to love and accept their child, they usually didn’t set the necessary boundaries to protect the rest of the family from the consequences of addiction. When it was my son, I fell into the trap. I understood his pain and loss, the death of his biological mother and father, and the recent death of his adopted mother. I thought if I only loved him enough and gave him enough support and affirmation, we could beat this together. (Then someone would make a movie about our hopeful experience!). I learned to navigate between grace and clear boundaries against destructive behavior.

Pilate needs a new strategy. Pilate tried grace and felt like it made him look weak. Now he will try violence and ridicule to show he is strong. His next move is to order Jesus flogged. The soldiers not only beat Jesus, but they also mocked him by making a crown of thorns and putting on a royal purple robe. The point isn’t just punishment; it’s humiliation. Pilate created a spectacle like a circus at the Roman Coliseum where criminals and enemies of the state weren’t just fed to the lions but made to look pathetic. Pilate again says he finds no guilt in Jesus and shows him to the crowd, saying, “Here is the man.” “Look at this poor, miserable, beaten man. You say he is a king? I don’t fear him. Look how ridiculous he is with a crown of thorns and royal robe. I think he has learned his lesson. Let’s call it a day.”

When leaders feel weakness, they often overcompensate with a show of strength. They find someone to humiliate and blame so you can look strong again. It is the logic of bullies and dictators. Never show weakness, never apologize, and make an example of someone. When leaders want to look strong, they pick an issue, a slogan, and a scapegoat. They will be tough on crime, declare a war on drugs, a war on terror, tough on whomever doesn’t fit the norm, an ethnic group or LGBTQ persons. What frustrated us as citizens is that we see leaders trying to look strong rather than trying to do good. It’s theatre, so the problem persists, and we lose trust in the process.

This can happen in families. Someone who raises questions about uncomfortable issues gets put down and rejected, and the whole family piles on the scapegoat; when really it is everyone’s problem. Or as parents, we may want success and good things for our children that we start to over-control. Our attempts at correction turn into a critical attitude that actually has the opposite effect as it builds resentment.

The desire to look strong often backfires. Look at what happens to Pilate. He hoped a flogging and humiliation would be enough for the religious leaders. But they wanted more, they wanted death and shouted, “Crucify.” This is the logic of the cycle of extremism. Someone is always ready to go a step further. Leader A says I’m tough on crime, Leader B says I’m even tougher on crime, and it cycles into absurd levels that have nothing to do with what actually makes public safety. This is how wars start. We can be driven to ideological extremes because someone to look strong.

Pilate gets so frustrated with the trap that is set for him that he tries one last time. “I don’t see his guilt, you crucify him.” The religious leaders hit him with a double whammy. First, they say the Jesus called himself the Son of God, and therefore he must die. Notice that the charge against Jesus has changed in the middle of the trial. For the first time, Pilate is afraid. It’s no longer just a legal issue, divine authority is in picture. When someone claims God is on their side, it becomes much harder to oppose. There is no compromise when something is proclaimed God’s will. This is how we end up with crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and burning people as witches; all the things that turn people off religion.

I’m amazed that Pilate persists. As the last straw, the religious leaders say, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor.” This is straight up blackmail. “Friend of the emperor” was a specific title for the truly loyal. Local governors printed money inscribed, “Herod Aggrippa, friend of the emperor.” This matters to Pilate more than anything else. His resistance is broken, and he pronounced false judgement.

That last verses give us the final appalling outcome. Pilate says, “Shall I crucify your King?” The answer is, “We have no king but Caesar.” Everyone has capitulated.

Pilate’s life is often summed up by his words “what is truth?” and his failure of nerve. But there is still more to the story. What happened to Pilate? He was recalled by the emperor, but Tiberius died before Pilate arrived. Then his historical trail is murky. Some traditions in Europe say Pilate retired and later committed suicide in his despair. But here is a shocker. Many early Christian sources claim Pilate converted to Christianity. St. Augustine of Hippo makes a reference to this conversion as does the ancient historian Eusebius. In the Egyptian Coptic Church, Pilate and his wife are saints and even have a feast day.

So let’s ask again, what is truth? Whether Pilate converted or not, the early church believed that God’s love could reach anyone and transform their lives. If Peter went from denying Jesus three times to head of the church, and Paul persecuted Jesus’s early followers, then wrote half the New Testament, why not Pilate seeing the light too? If Pilate can find his way to sainthood, then we can’t easily close the door on those whom we see in opposition. I believe the truth John’s Gospel wants us to see is that we all confront challenging dilemmas where we feel trapped and have no way out. Even when we fail to live the truth, God still seeks us in holy love, and God will have the last word.

https://aleteia.org/2018/02/25/why-do-some-christians-consider-pontius-pilate-a-saint/