But what happens among fallen angels happens to us as well. Luke recites a case study for us in his
gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why. The other accounts of Jesus’ trial missed
this point though they share so many of the other events. But I think Luke may be showing us this for a
few reasons. First, just because someone
else agrees with your thinking, it does not mean you think correctly. Second, it is not only possible to unite with
someone around a sin, it is sometimes a reality that sin may involve more than
one or two people for the same sin.
Third, majority view is often the wrong view, especially when your
conscientious tells you it is (you ignore the still small voice at your own
peril). Luke picks up this case study in
chapter 23 of his gospel letter, beginning in verse 1 it says … “And the whole
multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. [verse 2] And they began
to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and
forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.” It begins with Pilate because Jesus has
already been found guilty by a “united” religious leadership of crimes worthy
of death.
Because all the other Pharisees or Sadducees declare
something about Jesus does not make it true.
In fact it is highly likely Nicodemus, and Joseph were not even invited
to the previous kangaroo trial because they may have convinced others not to
convict. So the gathering was a
calculated one. But hatred of Jesus made
2 factions that normally completely disagree with each other completely united
in one overriding goal – kill this Messiah.
And these are all men who aspire to and claim to be honest. Yet they bring Jesus to Pilate with a
complete lie on their lips. Jesus never
forbid the paying of Tribute to Caesar in fact, Jesus did the opposite in encouraging
the paying of taxes, giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what
belongs to God. So they lie to make
Jesus seem like a threat to the state.
But they must all agree to this lie or it will not stand. If some of them say it is not true, the whole
thing falls apart (thus the reason why Nicodemus and Joseph have been
conveniently left out). And as for Jesus
declaring Himself King, Jesus instead steadfastly refused to become King,
disappearing from an adoring throng more than once throughout His life. He was not here to become King. He was here to serve. If He had wanted a crown He could have had it
multiple times, He did not. His Kingdom
was not of this world. So again, this
band of rival factions must now put aside their differences in order to see
Jesus put to death. They must present
Jesus as a threat which they know, He is not.
Ironically if Jesus were a threat to the Romans, the Sanhedrin would
have embraced Him.
So yet another lesson for us from Luke, just because the
religious leadership unites around some idea, does not make it right. Hatred and killing is never right, especially
killing God. Luke continues in verse 3
saying … “And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he
answered him and said, Thou sayest it. [verse
4] Then
said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this
man.” So Pilate does not trust
Jews, especially those mired in their religion.
He questions Jesus for himself, and finds this Guy is no threat at all. So he tells this irate mob, this Person is
innocent (and hardly guilty of perverting anything let alone the nation). Normally, the Jews would have been happy to
get a potential prisoner back from Rome in something other than a body-bag. But they did not want that for Jesus, they
wanted Him killed and dumped in some mass grave. But credit to Pilate, that is not what Pilate
wanted. Pilate knows Jesus is innocent.
Luke continues in verse 5 saying … “And they were the more fierce,
saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning
from Galilee to this place. [verse 6] When Pilate heard of Galilee, he
asked whether the man were a Galilaean. [verse 7] And as soon as he knew that
he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also
was at Jerusalem at that time.”
Instead of being relieved Pilate would be merciful (he normally was
not), this made the accusing band of factions even more irate. They get animated and more furious, the kind
of thing that happens when men possessed of demons get told “no” to their
plans. Have you seen that before as
well? Someone wants something from you,
and if you decline their enticement they get furious in response? You are not mad, but suddenly they are, out
of nowhere. And do we think demons have
left the business of influencing our responses these days? They have not. Many were possessed back they who did not
even know it. I think some of us are
too. And being a religious leader is
obviously no defense, that is what this whole crowd was made up of. Yet now they howl like demons to get their
way. Declining mercy in favor of rage.
Pilate however was looking for a way out now. Since Jesus was a Galilean, He was
technically a part of Herod’s jurisdiction.
Pilate was no fan of Herod, and feeling was mutual. But deferring the judgement of Jesus to Herod
gets Pilate off the hook, while the gesture makes Herod feel more important
than he actually was. More importantly
for Pilate, it gets this hate-filled crowd another leader of start to hurl
their wicked plans at. Pilate also knew that
massacring the whole Sanhedrin at Passover would result in full blown revolt
that Pilate would be held responsible for by Rome. So this mob had him over a barrel. Deferring to Herod makes it Herod’s
problem. Since Herod was in Jerusalem at
this time (or close by), this would not delay the progress of the trial for too
long.
Luke continues in verse 8 saying … “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was
exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had
heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. [verse
9] Then
he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.” Herod was happy to see Jesus in person, if
nothing else to prove that Jesus was not John the Baptist come back from the
dead. Herod was still feeling guilty
about John, he had let his pride and his lust result in the beheading of
John. And Herod was not over that yet. Having Jesus here, Herod might press Him to
bring back John, after all John was His cousin.
Jesus was reported to have brought back a great many others from the
dead, why not His own cousin? And if not
bringing back the dead, at least doing something else. Herod wanted a show. He was not interested in becoming a believer
that Jesus was the Messiah, Herod was not in disagreement with the Jewish
leadership about what the Messiah was supposed to do. But when Herod questions Jesus, Jesus just
keeps completely silent. He does
nothing. He says nothing. This is a pretty big disappointment to Herod.
Luke continues in verse 10 saying … “And the chief priests and
scribes stood and vehemently accused him. [verse 11] And Herod with
his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous
robe, and sent him again to Pilate.”
The rage in the voices of the Sanhedrin just gets worse. They accuse Jesus of all manner of crimes,
trying to get Herod to agree with them about condemning Jesus to death. But Herod is a fox. He knows Pilate sent him this matter to dump
it, and avoid having to take personal responsibility. Nevertheless the gesture is one of respect. Herod could have let Jesus go. He knows Jesus is innocent, and this crowd is
nuts. But if Herod does that the mob may
turn their long simmering anger towards Herod against him and attempt to kill
Herod on the spot. So to appease the
mob, He gives Jesus a royal robe, then has Jesus mocked and made fun of. We add to the torture once more. And to show deference back to Pilate, he
sends Jesus back there to the only one with enough power to actually kill Jesus
legally. Herod knew what he was doing
was wrong. But Herod was less afraid of
Jesus than he was of John before. So
away with Jesus.
Luke concludes the case study in verse 12 saying … “And the same
day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity
between themselves.” And there it
is. Sin loving company. Two men who before were at odds with each other
are all of the sudden united in their participation of killing Jesus, and not
setting Jesus free. This sin made them
appreciate the unity of committing it.
They took comfort in the idea that they were not alone in committing it. And they became friends over it. And there is the lesson for us. Just because we find others who think as we
do, or act as we do, does not make what we think or do right. In fact, it is harder to find others who are
willing to think rightly, or act rightly, than it is to find others doing the
wrong things. Sin is more popular in
this world than real love of others.
When we spread hate, we do the work of the demonic throng of
unseen fallen angels. And it does not
matter who that hate is directed at. When
someone says “no” to hate, those who do not even recognize the influence of the
unfallen usually respond with even more hate, and more unreasonable responses –
just like the crowd of religious leaders did to Jesus so long ago. Examine your own words, if they are full of
condemnation, or accusation, gossip, or lies – they are not the words of
redemption, they are the words inspired by the kingdom bent on our
destruction. They are the words of the
enemy of Jesus.
Imagine the testimony scriptures would tell of Pilate, or
Herod, had either one of them set Jesus free.
They may not have survived it, but they would be heroes of the faith,
instead of villains. Imagine if instead
of lust leading to fornication or adultery, we ran and sought the solace of our
God as Joseph did so long ago. We too
might suffer the injustice of prison and lose years of our lives to loneliness
we did not deserve, for often the righteous are punished by the wicked of this
world. But following the plans of our
God leads to marriages that last forever.
Unity not based in sin with another, but based in sacred intimacy with
another allows us to lean on each other in His way, in His path. It is only with a partner Jesus would ordain
that we can keep strong the family Jesus meant us to have.
To think that true unity with someone else exists outside of
what Jesus proscribes just because that person is willing to commit sin with us
is a lie. That is not unity at all but
the deception of darkness. It makes us
Pilate and Herod, not Peter and Paul. To
bind in His way, we must bind with one devoted to His way, not in the acts of
sin, but in the deeds of righteousness.
Not in the base commonality of hate speech, but in the redemptive acts
of love for others as Jesus loved. When
we honor our Lord in our thoughts, our motives, our speech, and our deeds – our
lives give testimony to the transformation our Lord has enacted within us. Let history say of us, we were Peter and
Paul, not Herod and Pilate.
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