This was a very bad day. Do you know the type? Nothing seems to go right. While I, Pilate, should have been in control of the situation - I was not.  I am the Roman governor of Judea.  Why could I not be the governor of a more civilized area? Instead of this backwater desert. It was these insipid Jews, with their feast days and separate laws - and One God - who only has one god? It’s ridiculous.  They always get riled up around their feast days.  I was expecting this.  It’s my least favorite time of year.  Riots, always with the riots. But I did not expect what happened on this day.  This day was more than I had ever thought it would be. 

It was all because of some in-fighting regarding their religion.  Their leaders were being threatened by a popular traveling preacher-type person named Jesus of Nazareth. I could care less about this.  Except when it causes a riot.  Riots I do care about.  And taxes.  As long as the money flows, and the people are quiet - then I’m having a good day. But today was not that day. 

It was early in the morning  - why must the bad days start out early in the morning? I’m in the Praetorium, and the Jewish leaders bring me this man, Jesus, demanding that I try him.  As if they could demand me to do their dirty work?  It looked like they had roughed him up - he wasn’t in particularly good shape.  Like he had been questioned all night. I thought it was against their law for them to question someone at night, they must be very worked up by whatever has gone on.  I don’t want to deal with some Jewish problems regarding their god and laws - so I tell them to take him away and try him by their own law. But then they have the audacity to tell me that they want me to do it - because they want him put to death! 

Now, there is only one reason that really makes me care enough to put someone to death this early in the morning - sedition.  Was this Jesus trying to set himself up as a king? Overthrow me as governor? That I will not stand for. So I had him hauled before me and I demanded:

 “ARE YOU THE KING OF THE JEWS?” “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

He then proceeds to tell me that if he were a king of this world, his people would fight to save him. But now his kingdom is not of this world (what does that even mean?).  Of one thing I am certain, I have no time for cryptic Jewish preachers talking about non-worldly kingdoms. But I do like the fact that he says his people will not fight. Maybe there won’t be a riot today. Then he speaks and says:

“You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”  John 18:37

At this point, I’ve had about enough.  It is too early in the morning for philosophy.  And exasperated I exclaimed:

“WHAT IS TRUTH?”

The words seemed to hang in the air, and rattle around my head, unforgettable.  What is truth? I should have listened to my wife when she told me to have nothing to do with this man.  That he was innocent.  I saw it for myself.  He did not want political power - this was a religious fight.  I desperately wanted to wash my hands of this. I needed to make this go away as quickly as possible.  I tried to get them to release Jesus. I gave them a choice -  release the worst prisoner in jail - or this preacher.  They chose the criminal to release! I will never understand these Judean people. But ultimately, what is one more Jew to be crucified? How much must I care about this? I cannot cause a riot by releasing him, I could never explain that to my superiors. However, I did get one juicy tidbit that can be reported to Rome - maybe it will get me promoted out of this backwater dump.  When I presented this Jesus to the Chief Priests and said:

“BEHOLD YOUR KING” they screamed “WE HAVE NO KING BUT CAESAR!”.  A statement of loyalty to Caesar by the Jewish leaders? Now I know whose side they are on….and this is just one more dead Jew, I won’t hear any more of this by morning, right? This bad day will blow over and be forgotten quickly, right?

Have you ever struggled to make a decision?

Been faced with pressures from “the crowd” to do something a certain way or handle a situation in a certain manner? Have you ever taken the easy way out, thinking it will make things blow over quicker? Yeah, me too. The good news is, My God is Jesus, and not Pilate.  My friend Jesus was faced with this decision several times, to the point where he said “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” and just wished for his friends to sit with him.  And yet, when the time came, he did not take the easy way out.  He said to the Father “Your will be done.”  Jesus gets it.  He’s been there. And that means the world to me. When we cry out “What is truth?” and when we are tempted to break our conscience to satisfy the crowd, our friend Jesus has already sent us “The Spirit of Truth…for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17.  Take comfort from the Comforter, my friends.