“A veritable ‘hot potato’”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, April 15, 2022

John 18:1-19:42 (Forward, p. 76) CEV p. 1125

There was nothing straight-forward about the trial of Jesus. As one reads from the account given by the present gospel writer we see Him being tossed from Annas to Caiaphas and finally to Pilate. (And he doesn’t even mention the brief interlude during which Jesus stood before Herod Antipas). And if the sequence is convoluted, the procedure is even more so. Firstly, we see that the formal charges were changed according to the audience. With the Sanhedrin, Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy (chapter 19 verse 7: “He claimed to be the Son of God! Our Law says he must be put to death”). But with Pilate and the Romans the charge was now one of sedition and rebellion (chapter 19 verse 12: “If you set this man free, you are no friend of the Emperor! Anyone who claims to be a king is an enemy of the Emperor!)

And, not only that, but as Frank Morison points out the entire process from the end of the Sanhedrin was in violation of their established laws and procedures—in quite a few ways (the timeline, the matter of the questioning, a whole bunch of ways). And something that he notes is that Pilate insisted on carrying out a trial according to the proper Roman way of doing it; whereas, or so it would seem, the Jewish authorities were merely expecting him to rubber-stamp their previous decision, and were almightily miffed and disappointed when he did not do so.

And even for Pilate, Jesus was a veritable ‘hot potato’. He preferred not to have to deal with the matter, but wanted to shift blame, or shift the decision over to someone else, namely the people, the assembled crowds. To me, this shows up in several ways. Firstly, in the choice he gives them, a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. In some ways, it is ridiculous. Barabbas was a terrorist and murder, so why would anyone choose to set him free and have Jesus executed instead? But the crowds were stirred up to do otherwise than what was reasonable.

And then there was the flogging of Jesus. Surely showing this bloodied and terribly beaten man should have evoked something by way of pity or sympathy, but it didn’t. The crowds still demanded His death.

And then there is a third thing, which John doesn’t mention, Pilate’s very public and visible act of washing his hands, so as to, seemingly, absolve himself of the guilt and of the decision. But again, the people were adamant.

The truly incredible thing in all of this is that while the authorities all waffled, truly not knowing what to make of Jesus and how to handle Him, Jesus remained stalwart. Reasonably, He could have evaded or avoided this terrible and excruciating death at many junctures, but He chose not to. Surely, He could have talked His way out of it as He had so many times previously. And surely, He could have called upon others for help, whether from His friends and supporters or from the angelic hosts. But, once again, He choose not to—choose not to simply because He loved us, and knew that the Cross was the means, the only means, of our freedom, forgiveness and salvation. So, where others clearly did not know what they were doing and treated Him like a political ‘hot potato’, Jesus remained steadfast and adamant in His love for us. And so it will always be. Amen.

Forward notes: “Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’” (chapter 19, verse 10).

“Power is used in all sorts of ways.

“In the Gospel of John, the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the soldiers use power to arrest Jesus. Simon Peter uses his power in an act of retaliation, cutting off the ear of a slave of the high priest. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus uses his power to heal that slave after this attack.

“The chief priests and the Pharisees, seeing a limit to their power, seek out Pilate and the more powerful Roman authority. Initially, Pilate attempts to use his power to pass judgment on Jesus. But the power of a mob overpowers Pilate. Pilate caves, and having the power to choose fair or unjust, life or death…he chooses unjust.

“Jesus died at the hands of those who mismanaged and abused power, but he lived in a way that shows how power can be loving, grace-filled, and life-giving. Power can crucify, and power can free.”

Moving Forward: “How can you use your power and privilege in life-giving ways?”