24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of bthis man's blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
There is a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. that I think of when I read this passage about Pilate acquiescence to the crowd:
"Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency asks the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?
But, conscience asks the question, is it right?"
Day in and day out we all have our little questions about what we should or should not do; how much we should get involved, whether or not we should speak up, what good it would do if we did. We are not that different from Pontius Pilate. We all have within our spheres the choice between sticking our necks out or keeping our heads down, getting our hands dirty or washing them clean. We ought not to throw stones at Pilate. I dare not. He turned over Jesus to prevent a riot; I have turned him over for a mess of pottage.
Earlier this year during Lent I kept saying to the church that Jesus has set his face hard towards Jerusalem and the Cross and we are trying to follow as far and as faithfully as we possibly can. Few set out at all. Others quit when their mother calls. The rest scatter when the authorities arise. All fall short.
And so, in the end it's true: only grace can save us. We can't save ourselves -- not even when we save ourselves.
I know today I will give up, I will give in, I will give out. I'll wash my hands in some way to spare myself the ire of the crowd or the misery of the cross. But for now, I see the Galilean on the Hill and I hear his words, and I think to myself maybe I can get a few yards closer . . .
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