Pilate is impressed with what he observes in Jesus, and he half believes in his claim to be the Son of God, and so he seeks to free him. He knows Jesus is innocent of any crime. He also fears the consequences of condemning Jesus if he really is the Son of God. But although he has supreme temporal power in Palestine, yet he is not free to exercise it because of forces which are due to this bondage to sin and Satan.

He has two forces acting on him. Firstly, he is afraid that if he frees Jesus, the Jews will be impossible to govern, riots will follow, and his career as a Roman would be ruined. He would never get another post, and his future would be destroyed. Secondly, by giving in to the Jews he prevents all these problems, but he will have done wrong, and his self esteem will be destroyed, and he also has fears concerning the future and divine retribution which he hardly understands, because his human wisdom would be denying that they have any validity.

The Jews know how to play on his fears in order to bend Pilate to their will, and shout that he would not be a friend of Caesar if he let Jesus go. In consequence Pilate caves in, and hands Jesus over to them to be crucified. What a sad and tragic example of human failure, and the bondage to sin which is the human condition.

The case of the Jews is even more tragic. They were God's chosen people. They claimed to give their allegiance firstly and foremost to God, and his righteousness. As Paul declares in Romans 9:4 & 5 "Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarches, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, for ever praised! Amen." Yet here they were forgetting all righteousness and seeking the death of an innocent person with total disregard for the law of God. They were consumed with hate and prejudice. Their concern was for their worldly position and happiness, and had totally lost sight of eternal issues, and the safety of their souls. They sold their souls to gain the world, and so they lost everything worthwhile and eternal.

Then they were rejecting and hating the promised Messiah whom they had waited for, and longed for, for many hundreds of years. They had become so steeped in the world and selfishness, that they were totally out of tune with true spiritual truth and reality. Hate consumed them, and sin had taken over totally in their lives that they ceased to think righteously at all, and were willing to lose their souls for this goal of getting rid of Jesus.

Yet in their heart they were deceiving themselves that they were serving God, so great was their bondage to sin. So great was this bondage and deception that finally they renounced God and righteousness by declaring they had no king but Caesar. How terrible and devastating was their fall.

How this illustrates the terrible darkness in the world. Jesus is the Saviour of the world, yet the world can't see where their salvation lies. Jesus expresses this truth in John 3:19 where we read "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil".

The deeds of the Jews in crucifying their Messiah are perhaps the worst of examples of this darkness in the world, but the darkness is just as black and impenetrable in those who may pride themselves in being upright citizens, but yet reject Christ and anything to do with him.

As Paul says, it is by the foolishness of preaching that people are saved, but here again even preaching which is powerful and godly will have no effect on this darkness unless God in grace and love causes the darkness to be overcome, so a soul can see their darkness, and repent and see Christ as their light and salvation.

Human nature is the same today as it was in Palestine at this time, so when we look out over the world and see the awful and terrible acts which human beings commit, and the corruption which is so prevalent everywhere, we need to not be surprised, nor need we be afraid. Human nature has always been like this ever since our first parent Adam disobeyed God.

If we know Christ and his salvation we need not fear what man can do to us, for we are in the care of our heavenly Father, and his purposes for us are sure, as well as the best for us. Even when difficulties and trials come we know we are safe in the arms of Jesus. If the sufferings of Jesus were fulfilling a great and blessed plan of love and grace to the world, we can be sure, though in a lesser way, all things in our lives are working together for good, for God's purposes cannot be thwarted.