(RSV) Pilate therefore said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.” John 19:10-11

Once again, I find it hard to take just a verse or two and reflect upon it as the events of this historic 24 hours are numerous, poignant, and heavy with meaning. To use the words of the apostle John, “.. were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” We take John as referring to the whole ministry of Christ, but feel this could be said of just these 24 hours. Every believer present on earth today and those who have gone before have their own story as it relates to these events…. and there are billions of these followers of Christ.

The actual crucifixion is horrendous and well depicted by films such as “The Jesus Film” project of Campus Crusade, ‘The Passion of the Christ’ by Mel Gibson, and others. Just the act of physical death repels us to the point that some individuals do not want to see the movies again as they are too graphic. I remember as a teenager seeing the Passion Play in the Dakota Black Hills. That evening a thunderstorm with threat of a tornado passed a few miles behind the plays stage just as the crucifixion scene was taking place. It is a moment I will never forget. It imprinted itself in my soul deeply. It was scary, frightening, and fearful. Death is not a pretty event, even with our attempts to “sterilize” it in a hospital bed. Jesus’ death was meant to be cruel with no attempt to “sterilize” it.

But what struck me the most this year was the arrest, trials, and judgments that happened during the night before His death. If we look at the Scriptures, more verses spend time on this than on the actual crucifixion. It is though the authors are wanting to point out that the matter of man’s heart is weightier than the matter of man’s conduct. The verses quoted above could lead one to think that the Jewish people are guiltier than the Roman governor in the death of Christ, and history has taken it this way. This can be taken as grounds to justify antisemiticism. But I do not see that in this verse because during the Passover feast, people from all over the known world were visiting and present in that crowd of condemners. We know that Greeks were there as they had asked the disciples to show them Jesus. We know that many of the leaders were Hellenists which implies they were as much Greek as Jewish even though they were zealous in the Jewish faith. It was a mixed crowd, not just Jewish, so to use this as a bases for antisemiticism is wrong.

Back to my point of the events prior to the physical crucifixion… When I review the number of sticky notes I have in my digital Bible for these passages, I find the following most troubling:

In Matthew -

Matthew 26:38-39 (RSV) Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”

Matthew 26:42 (RSV) Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.”

Matthew 27:3-4 (RSV) When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”

Matthew 27:11 (RSV) Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”

Matthew 27:18 (RSV) For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

In Mark

Mark 15:8 (RSV) And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them.

In Luke

Luke 22:45-46 (RSV) And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:54 (RSV) Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance;

Luke 22:67-69 (RSV) “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

Luke 23:12 (RSV) And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

Luke 23:20-22 (RSV) Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

in John

John 18:28 (RSV) Then they led Jesus from the house of Ca′iaphas to the praetorium. It was early. They themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover.

John 18:23 (RSV) Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”

John 19:11 (RSV) Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”

Each of these passages has a note with spiritual reflections and insights given to me through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They all deal with our heart guilt which is greater than Pilates. Why? Because it comes from the heart. Condemnation, rejection, revenge, self interest, and crowd conformity are all things which stem from our heart. They manifest themselves through wars, angry demonstrations, cutting off of family and friend relationships, devious business practices, and the list can go on and on. This list is endless, just like there is no bottom to the bottomless pit. A wrong continues to spiral down getting progressively more devious and grotesque. There is not end to it.

We have all done these things to a greater or a lesser degree. We are all guilty. But we do not have to be like Judas who realizing his wrong, threw the thirty pieces of silver back at the high priest council, and went and hung himself. Overwhelming guilt can do that, but we can be forgiven with need to commit suicide be it with or without the asisstance of a physician. We can find the grace of God waiting for us at the foot of the cross. It is ours for the taking. And the depth of this grace is beyond words. Better spoken in poem and song but still not complete. Better shared in communal worship but still not complete. Paul describes it with his words as follows:

(RSV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

God took the sting out of death for us.