With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ”I find no basis for a charge against him.”
At this point in the conversation, Pilate was likely irritated or frustrated.
Pilate was in a tough spot. In front of him was someone innocent of any wrongdoing by normal standards. Outside of the palace were the people Pilate was supposed to be governing. These particular people, the Jews, were not like other people that the Romans had conquered. These people were stubborn and stiff-necked. They were not easily cowed. They resented their Roman overseers and it was not uncommon for members of their race to form groups and rebel. Today, instead of rebelling, they were using their Roman governor to do their dirty work and have someone killed. Pilate didn’t like this situation one bit.
To his credit, Pilate is not indifferent to the truth, or the fate of an innocent man.
Pilate could have taken the easy road and simply given in to what the Jews were asking of him. Instead, he finishes his interview with Jesus and he goes out to face them with a report that they will not like: “I find no basis for a charge against him.”
Pilate understands enough about truth to know it when he sees it. He may not understand fully who Jesus is, but he recognizes his innocence of wrongdoing. By some means we cannot see, he concludes that the crowd outside is lying about this man, Jesus. Instead of conforming to the crowd, Pilate proclaims the truth.
Application: Pilate is in a tough spot. This is possibly the toughest spot in the history of tough spots. On one hand is Jesus, the embodiment of truth, love, mercy, peace, and joy. On the other hand is the crowd, a witches’ brew of deceit, anger, envy, hate, and enmity. Standing up for truth is hard, yet Pilate is willing to make the effort, not for personal gain, but because it is the right thing to do.
Food for Thought: How would this story about the crucifixion be different if Pilate had not cared about the truth?
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Good question. Obviously the crucifixion of Jesus would still take place as that is God’s plan for salvation. Perhaps Pilate himself would not have had the opportunity to discover more about the person of Jesus. And of course, we would not have as many details in this account of Jesus’ life either. I guess we would lose out on all that we learn about Jesus through the conversation he had with Pilate.