But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?
At this point in Pilate’s encounter with the Jewish leaders, he makes two mistakes. Assuming that he prefers to see Jesus go free, Pilate attempts to negotiate with the mob. For some reason which I cannot fathom, Pilate thinks that if he offers to let Jesus go free that the crowd would want him set free. This is the same crowd that brought Jesus in to be crucified. The second mistake, as I see it, is that Pilate refers to Jesus as ‘the king of the Jews.’
If Pilate had come out to the crowd and shamed them by pointing to Jesus as one of them, things might have gone differently.
“This man is no different than any of you!” he might have raged. “He has not broken Roman law nor has he hurt you in any way. You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves!”
But Pilate didn’t take that approach. Instead, he mocked them and mocked their religion by calling Jesus “king of the Jews.” It was like throwing gas on a fire. The people were insulted and angered by Pilate’s words. Some of the people in the crowd might have been by Sea of Galilee when they wanted to make Jesus king by force. Many were likely in the crowd when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of, “Blessed is the king of Israel!” These people were like a scorned lover. They had wanted Jesus to be their king. But Jesus was not the kind of king that they wanted, one who would fight their political battles for them. Now they were happy to help the chief priests throw Jesus to his death.
Pilate’s attempt to bargain with them failed… miserably.
Application: Fortunately, none of us will ever be in the position of bargaining for the life of our savior! Still, there is something to be learned here. Sometimes crowds can be fickle. People you thought were your friends might one day be your worst enemy. It is important to remember that Jesus has been there and knows what that is like. It is also important to remember that even when the whole world seems to be against us if we are pleasing Jesus everything else will be okay.
Food for Thought: Was there anything Pilate could have done to avert having Jesus crucified?
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I don’t think so, because ultimately this was God’s plan and will. Pilate actually needed Jesus to be crucified for reasons he did not even understand. We all needed Jesus to be crucified. In His love and Sovereign plan, God was going to provide what people created in His image needed most.