”But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
When Pilate told the Jewish leaders to take Jesus away and “judge him by your own law,” they whined in response, “but we have no right to execute anyone.”
Execute??
That word had to get Pilate’s attention. Something was going on and it was something he didn’t understand. Why were these people so agitated? Who was this man who they had brought to him? Why this talk about executing someone?
The Romans of Jesus’ day were not primitive savages. They were actually quite advanced in the application of the law and reason. The measure of a society is not its technology, rather it is the moral quality of its people. While Romans could be brutal (we see this in the eventual execution of Jesus) they could also be concerned with the application of justice.
Perhaps Pilate’s first instinct was to avoid dealing with someone else’s problem. Maybe to him, the Jews were a kind of a pain in the neck. Regardless, when the Jews mention execution, two things happen. The first is that they get Pilate’s attention. The second is that they foretell the fulfillment of the prophecy about the death that Jesus would suffer
Application: God has ways of getting our attention. Whether it is a beautiful summer’s day or a rear-end collision in the middle of a busy intersection, God is there. He wants you to pay attention to Him. Not because he needs your attention, but because when we pay attention to God everything falls into place.
Food for Thought: As a Christian, how do you prepare for a situation like the one that Pilate found himself in?
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This situation came down to ethics, morality and legality. All three would need to be broken in order to execute Jesus. When we are set on doing what is right, our decisions should be much clearer. The existing, often morally dismissive and evil factor is man’s application of politics to the obvious. I must now allow the opinion of the masses to effect my decisions.
Correction… I must not allow the opinion of the masses affect my decisions.
JEC,
Thanks! What a great point. All I would add is that all three, ethics, morality and legality, are further affected by the perspective we choose to look at them through. Are we using man’s perspective as a reference point? If so, which man (or woman)? The ultimate perspective is the one used by our Creator, God and Judge.
I agree, good point JEC. You are quite the theologian. I mean that as a sincere compliment. And more importantly you have a good heart to go with it.
I think one way to prepare for a situation that you really can’t be prepared for – is to make a decision ahead of time regarding where you will stand. It is hard to make the right decision, the tough decision in the heat of the moment. But if we get into the heat of the moment and the decision was already made beforehand it may be easier. We may not be able to prepare for the situation itself, but we can prepare our hearts everyday to be better prepared in any situation.