November 8, 2023
No Control Over The Situation
(Some information may be too graphic for small children)
“So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.” John 19:16 (NASB)
While stationed in Fort Stewart Georgia, I had a supervisor who shared a story. He was coming up on the time for his departure from our unit. He received orders to be re-stationed in South Korea. When our Company Commander came to him and said, Pack your bags, you are leaving to go to Korea!” my supervisor told him, “With all due respect sir, I don’t think so.” The Commander said, “Son, you will go where the Army tells you.” The following day, my supervisor’s orders were retracted. Little did the Company Commander know my supervisor’s father was a four-star general at the Pentagon. His dad thwarted his transfer within hours. My supervisor asked me at the end of my enlistment if I wanted to stay and get two promotions. He said, “I can make it happen.” I knew where the real authority came from though. His father could have made it happen if I wanted. I replied “No.” I was tired of it. Pilate was too.
“So he then handed Him over...” “So,” Pilate finally gave in to the Jew's request. He decided he would not be responsible. He delivered Christ, after placing the responsibility of Jesus’s death upon the Jews. Matthew 27:24 records Pilate's response to the crowd, “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.’ And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” What a horrifying thing to proclaim. The blood of their children? “Some interpreters believe this punishment literally did take place among the Jews. Many of them and their children were killed when Jerusalem was totally destroyed by the Romans about forty years later in the year AD 70. That was essentially the end of the Jewish nation. From that time, the Jews were scattered and persecuted until the nation of Israel was restored in 1948. However, this passage should not be construed as an ongoing curse upon the Jewish people. God's covenant with Abraham was unconditional. It was not based upon the actions of the Jews, but on the faithfulness of God.”[1] Now Jesus was taken to be crucified, and Barabbas was being released. Mark records the event, “Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15). So an insurrectionist and murderer were traded for a man declared to be innocent by Pilate (Luke 23:25). This was the plan for mankind. Murderers in our hearts we are, and the innocent One to take the full brunt of punishment for our sin. Such is the gift of God to mankind.
Pilate too, was tired of it all. He gave in to the Jews’ demands. The crowd overpowered his ability to set Jesus free. He was even forced to release a murderer and thief who was a bigger threat to the Romans than Jesus. Even though Pilate thought he was in charge of the entire event, he wasn’t. The Jews thought they controlled Jesus’s destiny, but they too, were not. Just like my Company Commander thought he was going to re-assign my supervisor to another country, he truly wasn’t in charge. Even though my supervisor’s dad was a four-star general, he still had someone he reported to ultimately. All of us are accountable to One, and God has given Christ the power to make judgment over all. He is the ultimate ruling authority over mankind.
[1] https://www.compellingtruth.org/His-blood-be-on-us.html.