“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Mark 15:12-14
Everyone, and I mean everyone, comes to a fork in the road where they have to choose. There are only two possible options, and you have to choose one. Only one.
We don’t like this at all! We want choices. And the more choices, the better. Just think about it, how many choices do they give you at the grocery store? How many different kinds of milk are there? How many different kinds of butter are there?
To choose, we get information from a variety of sources. Then we have to figure out what we’re going to believe. What we’re going to receive. And what we’re going to reject. We come to a fork in the road where we have to decide. We have to choose. What am I going to do? I heard it; I understand it. But do I believe it?
And the choices get even more when it comes to Jesus. There are so many voices. So many opinions. So many options when it comes to who Jesus was. Who he is. What he expects of me, if anything.
Pilate is the perfect model of people in our society and cultural when it comes to choosing about Jesus. He’s heard all these second-hand information sources about Jesus: where he’s been, what he’s done, what he’s said. And now, Pilate comes to his own, personal fork in the road with Jesus.
After listening to all these different sources and voices, and meeting Jesus in person, he tries to keep Jesus at arm’s length. Look at how he refers to Jesus as the one “you” call. Pilate tips his hand, telling us that there was nothing personal about his initial connection with Jesus. It was something that other people said. It was their conclusion.
Pilate had more interactions and observations with Jesus.
He gets some information about Jesus[1] from other people, other sources.
He even interact with Jesus a bit[2].
He even gets personal observations and recommendations from loved ones[5].
But in the end, Pilate is pushed by the weight of popular opinion[6]. He washes his hands from any personal involvement or responsibility with Jesus[7].
We have to remember that it was more than just the leaders. Lots of this came from the mob. And a mob is just that, a mob. It has no real leader that can control and direct the people. You have a bunch of individuals acting independently. Yes, they were whipped up into a frenzy by leaders, but the mob by its very nature is out of control. And this is before the internet. Before instant messaging. Before social media.
This tells us that technology is not responsible for the current abuses. Yes, it may make it faster, easier, cheaper for people to connect. But it’s only an enabling, igniting technology. People are people, and they’re like this even in ancient, pre-digital days.
Pilate tries to make someone else responsible, but he was responsible for his response to Jesus. The mob was responsible for their response to Jesus. The leaders were responsible for their response to Jesus. You and I are responsible for our response to Jesus.
Yes, we can try and let it slide by. We can try and ignore him. We can always make excuses. But in the end, we all ask the exact same question Pilate asked.
What shall I do, then, with Jesus
Matthew 27:22
It’s the most important question in the world. The most important question in all of life. What will you do with Jesus?
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