When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” John 19:8-12

One thing I like about John’s account is that you really get to track along with Pilate and his emotions throughout the whole trial. John’s little phrase “he was even more afraid” gives a good insight into what’s really going on here.

Pilate is – quite rightly – totally freaked out. Jesus has stood out to him as someone different and by this point he seems to be almost pleading with Jesus to give him something, anything that will allow Pilate to conclusively take Jesus ‘off the hook’.

Instead Jesus doesn’t speak. And Pilate flips his lid, declaring that Jesus should realise the power that Pilate has. This time Jesus does speak, and he tells Pilate the truth.

The truth being that any power Pilate does have, has been given to him by God. Jesus knows that Pilate is going to use this power to crucify him and so Jesus doesn’t hold back from telling Pilate that he is guilty. Yet he also tells Pilate that he’s not the most guilty.

This has an interesting effect on Pilate. He starts fighting for Jesus.

Jesus wasn’t trying to win friends at this point. He was just speaking the truth. Yet, it had a positive effect.

Sometimes people want to hear the truth more than we realise. I know sometimes I tone down the message of Christianity because I don’t want to offend people. But perhaps there are more people out there than I realise who actually want to hear the truth, even if it’s not flattering.

And perhaps those people are the last ones I might think of to share the gospel with on a regular basis.

It reminds me of a vision that the apostle, Paul has in Acts. An encouraging vision at a time when Paul probably wanted to give up and was fearful of the consequences of speaking out about Jesus:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

 Pilate has gone down in history as the crucifier of Christ, which is rightfully how he is to be remembered.

And yet, even Pilate wanted to side with Jesus. He just gave in to peer pressure.

Maybe there are more people like Pilate in the world who want to know the truth. They just get overcome and undone by the world around them. Maybe Easter is the time to share the truth with such people.

They might even be waiting for it.

Yours practising telling the truth,

Alison