April 3
“From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, ‘If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar,’” John 19:12.
There is a new twist in the attempt of the multitude to persuade Pilate to sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion. Up until now, all of the accusations were against Jesus for something that He had supposedly said or done. Of course, all the accusations against Jesus were lies.
Now, the new accusation in the text above was against Pilate: “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend!” Of course, the Jews did not have any love for Caesar. However, they were willing to try anything that would persuade the vacillating Roman ruler to pronounce the death sentence on Jesus. So they resorted to a personal attack against Pilate.
It was very important for Pilate to retain a good relationship with Caesar in Rome. If Pilate were to make the decision to set Jesus free, the multitude was hinting that it possibly would result in a riot. They were insinuating that Pilate would be making a decision that would dishonor Caesar. Pilate’s position as governor would be called into question. A decision in favor of Jesus could indicate that Pilate was not doing his job properly according to Roman laws.
The people pretended earlier that they were loyal citizens of Rome. When Pilate had previously asked, “‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’” John 19:15. But they did not believe that themselves!
If you really want to get somebody upset, place his or her position of responsibility or power in jeopardy! Every day we see how people will lie and deceive to cover up their misdeeds and try to keep a lucrative position in business or retain a position of power in government. Certainly, Pilate must have felt a need to make a hasty decision to resolve the whole matter before word would get to Caesar in Rome.
In our day, it is difficult to keep the lid on anything for any length of time because of our modern means of communication! However, at the same time, we see how difficult it is to get to the truth of incidents that deal with violence, terrorism, and misconduct by people in public positions.
Pilate yielded to the cry of the people, “Crucify Him!” He would rather have Caesar, a ruler of this world, as his friend, than have Jesus, who is the Ruler of heaven and earth, as his Savior!
How often are we tempted to feel the same way? This world, our wealth, our possessions, our honor, our fame, etc., seem to be so important that in order to keep them we are tempted to place our faith in jeopardy! O God, keep us in the hour of temptation so that we do not lose our faith and trust in our Lord and Savior, who paid the price to redeem us from all our sins!
“What is the world to me,
With all its vaunted pleasure,
When Thou, and Thou alone,
Lord Jesus, art my Treasure!
Thou only, dearest Lord,
My soul’s Delight shalt be;
Thou art my Peace, my Rest –
What is the world to me?
The world seeks to be praised
And honored by the mighty,
Yet never once reflects
That they are frail and flighty.
But what I truly prize
Above all things is He,
My Jesus, He alone –
What is the world to me?” Amen.