ILL. A third thing.about this question is that it is clear. Pilate was ina dilemma." He wished to do] two irreconcilable things. On the one Ehnd he wished to please the Tewish people. He did not like them, there was no love lost between him and them; but he was afraid of them. They could very easily cause him trouble. They could accuse him to Rome of releasing'One who claimed] to be @ king. And this was no] groundless fear and the consequences} might well have been serious for late. On the other hand, he wist+ sahaty his comcienee. For like the real Roman that he w te may have been tarsh, but he had a keen sense of justice—a sense] of justice that had been outraged by the cruel demand of the Jews. Moreover his wife, who had been troubled Cly all she had heard of the plot against Jesus. added her influence to that of his own conscience.
Here then was Pilate's dil to coneilinte the Jews and to his own sense of justice. Which of! these irreconcilable things should he} do? Clearly he could not do both Instead of making a clear and] definite decision, he resorted to diplomacy; he tried to compromise, Let us mention one of his attempts.
was the custom of the Roman authorities at the time of the Feast! of the Passover to make a friendly gesture by releasing one Jewish convict. And it may have been while Pilate was listening to the charges} against Jesus that a deputation arrived asking for the release prisoner, in harmony with that accepted custom. Here then was Pilate's opportunity of doing two seemingly conflicting things at one and the same time. He would please} the Jews by acceding to their request, and he would satisfy his conscience by securing the release of Jesus.
But why release Jesus in that way? To do so would imply His guilt. It Would tacitly assume that He was al convicted criminal. It was not the taking of a clear stand on the merits lof the ease, but a subtle device of a well-meaning but weak man who w in a tight comer; it was a compromise, But, never mind, thought Pilate, the method will achieve the ight result by protecting the life, i€ not the reputation, of an innocent] Man.
Now who are' we to point the accusing finger at Pilate? His method ig not at all unusual. In times of danger it is true that there have always been some who were prepared to suffer anything rather than deny the faith, but there have Jalso been others who have hidden their light when the displaying of it invatved any risk. And in the presene> of those other forms of Persecution that are more subtle than physical danger, in social and business intercourse, we have again and again been silent or said the wrong word when a clear declaration of our position was called for.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.