Political Captivity

Scripture – Luke 23:20-25: 20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” 23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

Reflection: Well, for now at least, it looks like the Jewish leaders have won. Pilate gave into their demand. As a result he kept a totally innocent man in custody, and he released a convicted criminal.

Political courage is still in short supply today. On our national front there are countless games being played every day. Even President Obama seems to be slipping into that. After running such a bold campaign, it seems more often than not he’s now testing the political winds before making decisions. And here in Michigan it seems our state legislators are so afraid of offending their constituents they end up doing nothing while our economic ship continues to sink.

I don’t know that it would have made a difference had Pilate stood firm and released Jesus. I mean, He still had to die for our sin. That’s why He came.

Still, Pilate’s main goal, it seems, was to maintain peace. That is, as long as Rome didn’t see any problems coming from Palestine, he’d be okay. So in the end, it really didn’t matter to him.

I’ll pay attention to political concerns today. I’ll listen closely for the Spirit’s leading as I make decisions. Sometimes it’s not a matter of having courage to do what’s right, it’s just remembering to pay attention.