Midweek Lent 3 & 4 (March 2020)

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Matthew 27:26
Theme: Delivered to be Crucified

Dear friends of the Suffering Servant,

The release of Barabbas was the fulfillment of a promise. Barabbas was a robber and had also been imprisoned for insurrection and for murder. The choice between this unsavory character and the itinerant prophet from Nazareth was a ‘no-brainer’. Pilate knew that. Yet, Pilate made good on his word. But what kind of execution or dereliction of duty was it? The Bible tells us it was a custom, a sort of concession on the part of Pilate to appease the Jews. The release of any prisoner the crowd wished was an annual feature at the time of Passover celebration. Undoubtedly it was a crowd-pleaser, as they could make a least one yearly decision of governance.

It’s clear Pilate suffered some serious angst while rendering his decision about Jesus. He was conflicted, recognizing that Jesus had committed no crime under Roman law meriting capital punishment. But he also wanted to satisfy the Jewish leadership and calm the crowds. Jerusalem was his jurisdiction and law and order was the number one priority. The Jewish celebration of the Passover had a long-established reputation of becoming unruly as throngs of pilgrims crowded into the area. It would not be a good look if Pilate failed to keep order.

So, Pilate kept his promise. He washed his hands, released Barabbas and delivered Jesus over to be crucified. But it’s also fair to say that insofar as Pilate was charged with executing justice according to Roman civil law, he broke a different promise. Jesus was not guilty of treason against the state and Pilate knew it and declared so publicly. So, what does He do? He caves to political pressure and shifts the responsibility to the Jews. He washes his hands.

Humans have always been vulnerable to political pressure. “Promises, promises!” You’ve heard it said sarcastically and with incredulity. You’ve probably said it yourself. The record of human interaction is a litany of broken promises. Politicians especially, are famous, infamous actually, for broken promises and breaking promises. Promises made while campaigning are easily broken or forgotten when the business of governing is engaged in earnest. When trying to gain the favour of a wide audience, it’s easy to make multiple pledges that soon contradict each other.

Yet, remember that politics involves the business of human interaction for the achievement of common purpose. None of us, aside from genuine hermits- and if you are one you wouldn’t even be here- are exempt from political reality. Nor would we want to be. God calls on us to look after one another. The question is whether we interact with others out of self-interest or with self-sacrifice. Because the reality of being simultaneously saints and sinners necessarily plays out in a very practical way both are always in play. While washing your hands is helpful in preventing the spread of the Corona virus, it will do nothing to prevent spreading the virus of sin. That’s why even the baptized, even the redeemed still need the forgiveness of sins. Even those who are God’s people according to the promise still need the body and blood of Christ to deal with broken promises.

Dear friends, when it’s said that someone “shows promise” that commonly means expectations are raised based on some things that have already been observed. Imagine the expectations on Jesus. People witnessed the healings, miracles and power of Christ. Many wanted Him to be their King. He ended up being crucified like a criminal. It’s not how humans would plan things. God does things differently.

If you’re planning to climb Mount Everest it’s advisable to go in April or May. The rest of the year is considered too dangerous and difficult to climb the world’s highest peak. Jesus was planning to climb a much more daunting mountain: Calvary. He didn’t have the luxury of waiting for ideal conditions. They weren’t forthcoming. The deep winter of fallen humanity was only growing darker. The need for redemption was paramount. The prophetic promise was nearing its fulfilment. The weight of humanity’s sins burdened His every step. The enormity of the task was immeasurable.

But He did not falter. “He went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.”1 Later He was assisted by the Cyrene. But when the cross was lifted there was no one to help. Pilate had washed his hands of the matter. The six hours He hung there were the loneliest ever to be experienced in the history of time. Yes, others hung near Him, condemned to the same fate. Significantly, one would join Him in Paradise. But never had anyone been so alone in any task. The work of atonement was His alone to face. No one could contribute. No one could help. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”2

In standing alone, Jesus stood for us. He was parted from the Father that we might be united to Him. There is no pain of separation that He doesn’t understand. He knows your loneliness; the loneliness of grief, the loneliness of shattered relationships that seem long past mending, and in these times of high anxiety He knows the loneliness of those who feel vulnerable or isolated. He knows the emptiness of being abandoned and the hurt of betrayal. He experienced the horrors of the cross so that believers would never have to experience the pain of separation from Him.



The name of Pontius Pilate lives in infamy. In 1961 a damaged limestone block was uncovered in Israel at an excavation site of an ancient theater built by the decree of Herod the Great. The stone, known commonly as the ‘Pilate Stone’ bore the inscription of Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea. The discovery was remarkable and significant as it corroborated the biblical witness. It silenced- or at least gave pause- to many skeptics of the gospel accounts who held parts of them to be historical fabrications.

Through not only the Scriptures, but also the creeds of the church, the names of Jesus and Pilate are forever intertwined. Is it not God’s will that every time the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are confessed the name of Pilate is remembered? Pilate, the local, temporal authority, executes sentence on Jesus, the eternal, cosmic authority. It was part of the Father’s plan. It is part of the Spirit’s work, of the mission of the church to teach the historical record of these events in the interest of calling people to faith, hope, and salvation found only in God’s Son.

The bones of Pilate lie somewhere in the earth or have turned to dust. But Jesus, with His true physical body, lives. Pontius Pilate kept a promise. It was kept under duress. It was weighted with uncertainty, indecision, some regret and arrogance. Yet, it was a prelude to the fulfillment of a much greater promise. Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world. He lives to give you life. The grave could not hold Him. He also promises to return and raise you to glory. The Scripture says, “No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”3

+ In nomine Jesu +

Midweek Lent 2020- Pilate
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 19:17
2 Psalm 22:1
3 2 Corinthians 1:20