Sinclair B. Ferguson

Although he could be naively insensitive, but at other times he used it to the full.

Remember Luke 13 verse 1, the occasion when some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices?

The one thing Pilate feared most, however, was not the Jews, but what they could do to his career.

And while there are legends about the rest of his life, including the possibility that he ended it badly at his own hand, there's one thing of which we can be sure.

Outwitted by the cunning maneuvering of the religious leaders, Pontius Pilate tried to find a way out by asking a question.

Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?

Perhaps the very moment the words were out of his mouth, he realized that whatever answer the crowd gave, the only answer that mattered was his own.

And so a name that otherwise would probably have sunk into oblivion, even in the Roman Empire, is on many of our lips Sunday by Sunday.

Jesus Christ, God's Son, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified.

The gospel writers tell Pilate's story in a way that makes you realize why the Bible is likened to a mirror.

You read about Pilate, and you feel you're watching scenes that reflect moments in your own life, moments that nothing can really prepare you for.

You're faced with a question that will determine what happens to you in the future.

There's no escape from it.

It's clear who Jesus really is.

And the question is, what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?

There's a passage in Hebrews chapter 6 that Christians have sometimes found very difficult to understand, but I think it may be relevant here.

And in some ways, Pilate's experience sheds light on it.

It tells us it's impossible in the case of those who have been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who've shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come.

If they fall away, they can't restore themselves again to repentance, since they're crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt.

I'm sure the author of Hebrews wasn't thinking specifically about Pilate, although you could believe he might have been thinking about Judas Iscariot.