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Exodus 23:2, 7 Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.  When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, … … Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Let us reflect on the trial of Jesus in the light of this commandment, and while doing so, let us take the opportunity to remind ourselves that, from our very limited perspective, we sometimes have to hold two seemingly opposite biblical truths in tension – a sort of a ‘both-and’, not an ‘either or’ acceptance of God’s truth.

Applying this commandment, given to Moses by a just God, to Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus, puts the Roman Governor in an extremely guilty position before God, the ultimate Judge of all men.  The Gospel records show Pilate to be a weak leader whose own conscience led him to say: t“I find no basis for a charge against this man.” (Luke 23:4), and whose own wife had sent him an urgent message during the trial: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him” (Matthew 27:19), and who nevertheless decided to be swayed by the crowd and put Jesus to death, washing his hands in the process in the hope of exonerating himself.

In the light of Exodus 23:2 & 7, on the Day of Judgement Pilate doesn’t have a leg to stand on!  As the Prophet Micah (6:8) so clearly reminds us all, “He has shown you, O Man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Pilate exercised his ‘free’ will and therefore will be held responsible  and accountable for his action.

Over against this undeniable Biblical truth we have the other biblical truth that everything Pilate did was exactly in accordance with the foreordained PLAN of God, who remains sovereign over all his creation and who does all things in accordance with his own will!

From our perspective, two significant questions arise in our minds as we read the Bible: “Is God absolutely sovereign over everything that happens in the world?”, and “Are we fully responsible, and therefore accountable, to our Creator for everything we do?” … and the answer the Bible gives to both these questions is “Yes”.  Remember, Jesus also said concerning Judas, “The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed.  But woe to that man who betrays him!” (Luke 22:22)

As I wrestle with all this, and as I reflect on my own life performance and on the last six words of the commandment “I will not acquit the guilty”, I am so thankful that there was One, the one who ‘suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died and was buried”, who took my guilt upon himself, as my substitute, and who conquered death and rose again to give me the free gift of Eternal Life, by grace through faith alone.

– Bruce Christian