Jesus gave a similar message to Pontius Pilate while
Pilate was trying to decide what to do with Jesus. (Pilate knew Jesus was
innocent, but he feared for his job - and maybe his life. If the Jews who
wanted Jesus killed would go to his supervisor and claim that Pilate had not
punished someone who claimed to be king, Pilate could be guilty of freeing
someone who could be guilty of "treason" against the emperor).
When Pilate said, "Don’t you realize I have the power
to either free you or 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.
Jesus lets Pilate know that he did not hold him
accountable for his death. But is Pilate forgiven?
The importance of this question is found when we look at
our own lives and realize that many times, just like
Pilate, we have known what was right but didn’t do it out of fear of
what others may think or do. Some of those times may have even involved
choosing not to ‘stand up for Jesus’ when we knew we should. We are no
different than Pilate. So, are we forgiven?
To answer that, we need to know what it means to
"forgive." To "forgive" means "to cancel a debt." And whenever someone is
wronged, there is a debt owed to that person. Something is needed to "right
the wrong." Jesus spoke those words of forgiveness for the benefit of those
who were killing him. He wanted them to know that he did not hold what they
were doing against them. He gave witness to the very thing that he was doing
by hanging on the cross - forgiving.
We need to remember that there are two parts to
forgiveness from God: In order for a specific debt you owe to God (for some
‘wrong’ you’ve done) to be cancelled...
Part 1) The wrong must be righted. Forgiveness given by
the party that was wronged.
Part 2) The party who did the wrong must admit that he
owes a debt and needs it forgiven.
Jesus accomplished Part 1 for everyone who ever
will live when he died on the cross - taking our place in taking the
punishment to "right our wrongs." (See "I took your place" elsewhere in this
newsletter.)
But Part 2 must happen in order for individuals (like
Pilate and you and me) to personally benefit from the forgiveness Jesus
gives. And Part 2 only happens when individuals repent of their sin and
believe that Jesus has indeed righted their wrongs.
Some of the things the Bible tells us lead me to believe
that Pilate had to have been at least tempted to believe in Jesus. Like the
fact that Pilate’s wife had a dream about Jesus and warned him to not
sentence him; the fact that Pilate was afraid when he heard that Jesus
claimed to be the son of God; and the fact that Pilate wrote "King of the
Jews" above Jesus’ cross. Much has been speculated about whether Pilate did
come to trust in Jesus after the Resurrection. But we really don’t know.
The key is to answer the question for yourself. You know Jesus has taken
care of Part 1. His Resurrection from the dead was proof that God the Father
accepted his sacrifice as full payment to "right your wrongs." So the only
question that remains to be answered is: Has "Part 2" happened for you? If
it hasn’t and you’d like it to happen but aren’t sure how - please give me a
call.
