Introduction: Together Before God

Bad Political Decisions
Alywn Thomson

Wrong Political Expectations
David Porter

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BAD POLITICAL DECISIONS
'It is possible to view Pilate as the archetypal politician, caught on the horns of an age old political dilemma. We know he did wrong, yet his is the struggle between what is right and what is expedient that has occurred throughout history.' Tony Blair

Tony Blair's words reflect the truth that the Easter story is intensely political in nature. The trial of Jesus involves the political authorities, the community's leaders and the will of the people - or some of them. It involves legal and political decisions and, ultimately, it involves a judicial execution.

How was this decision made? Who was involved? What did they say and do? What were their motives? Beyond this, what are the implications for us?

Pilate
Pilate is a man with authority and with responsibilities. It is his duty to maintain control and stability in this outpost of the Roman Empire. This man Jesus, brought to his attention by the local leaders, is just the latest matter he has had to deal with in his time there. What is he to do? Is this man a threat? Evidently, as Pilate speaks with him, he does not see him as much of a danger. Yet because Jesus offends the local population and their leaders he is a threat, for the locals can cause trouble for Pilate.

What is he to do?

Initially, it seems that he prefers not to get involved: Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." John 18.31

Pilate can see that there are no grounds for the charges that have been made. Three times he tells them, "I find no basis for a charge against him." John 18.38; 19.4; 19.6

Pilate, it seems, wants to release him: "But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" John 18.39

But at the same time he is not beyond exercising a little bit of judicial brutality to try and appease the crowd: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. John 19.1

But it was all to no avail.

For the sake of stability, for the sake of his own neck, he takes the line of expediency - Jesus will be crucified. After all, one more dead nobody won't be a tragedy and it might prevent a much more serious situation developing in the future.

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. John 19.16

This man, Pontius Pilate, had power, he had responsibility, he had a tricky decision to make - he tried to persuade, cajole, mock, manipulate, appease. The one thing he failed to do was LEAD.

The Leaders of the People
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will conic and take away both our place and our nation." John 11.47-48

What motivated them? Malice? Hatred? Fear that Jesus represented too much of a challenge to their authority, their privileges? Some were undoubtedly cynical experts at manipulating the crowds - and Pilate - for their own ends.

But perhaps among those are others:

• people with a genuine fear for their people and their nation;
• people with a sense of standing in the line of the great leaders of Israel;
• people with a sense of calling and responsibility before God.

  Yet, those motives, good or evil, led them into tragic misjudgments -tragic for them and for the people, tragic both politically and spiritually.

  These leaders were trapped by the weight of their own history, tradition and position. Whatever their motives - good or bad - they were not willing to examine them. They could judge Jesus but they could not judge themselves. They believed they were better off without him than facing up to what he had to say to them.

  The Crowd
  Perhaps this crowd was not the huge throng we imagine. Yet, while it may not have been sizable, it was certainly vocal, well organised, well led and able to punch above its weight.

  Those calling for Jesus' death had few doubts. Most disturbing of all was their enthusiastic support for the local hero -Barabbas -the fighter, the bard man, the man who would brook no compromise with the Empire and its agents.

  This was a crowd that did not want to be challenged about its own responsibilities, its failings. This was a crowd that preferred conflict and confrontation. This was a crowd that wanted victory.

  They chose Barabbas, the fighter for liberty, over the man, Jesus, who would not let them see the world in black and white, who would not allow them to absolve themselves of responsibility.

  The people in this crowd probably thought Jesus was naive, his message foolish, deluded. The more sophisticated among them may have considered him well-meaning but hopelessly unrealistic. Yet it was they who were naive, to think that the way they chose could ever bring peace, freedom, justice, security.

  And what of the other crowd?

  The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" John 12.12-13

  Were they now screaming for his death? I doubt it. More likely when they saw the drift of things they turned away. It was getting too messy, potentially nasty, they didn't want a scene, didn't want to be involved in this type of thing. While one crowd backed the demands of the leadership confronting Pilate I suspect the great majority of the people in Jerusalem that day were getting on with their lives, staying well away from the nasty business at the governor's palace.

  This other crowd is perhaps more representative of many by us -'walking away', preferring not to get involved, getting on with life while bad decisions are made. But when it all falls apart none of us can hide from the consequences forever.

  The Disciples
  Where are they? They are standing at a distance, denying any association with this man.

  "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not." John 18.17

  As Simon Peter stood warming himself he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you? "He denied it, saying, "I am not." John 18.25

  One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" Again Peter denied it. John 18.26-27

  There were no disciples in the crowd shouting, He's innocent! Let him go! They don't speak for me!

  A few gathered at the cross, most had scattered (John 19.25; Mark 14.27).

  The behaviour of the disciples is a reminder to us of the failure of too many of God's people to stand up and be counted in our community. Too many of us concern ourselves with structures and committees and reports, too many of us prefer to remain silent, to run away, to keep our heads down, to stand at a distance.

  It is a tragedy that some in our community who call themselves disciples have been cheerleaders for the wrong crowd. Others have spoken up, challenging the failures of the politicians but unable or unwilling to challenge their own congregations.

  Pilate, the leaders of the people, the crowds, the disciples all played their part in the story. Eventually Jesus was led away to the cross to be executed. What was the outcome?

  The Outcome
  In the short term Pilate gets out of a tricky situation, the leaders get rid of a troublesome presence. In the short term a political solution has been found based on expediency and pragmatism - a solution has been found at the cost of integrity. In the long term in the providence and grace of God, good comes from evil - death is followed by resurrection and both the promise and possibility of restoration and renewal. Out of Jesus' execution comes our salvation. In the long term politically nothing was achieved - thirty years later the people rebelled against Rome, the land was ravaged, the Jerusalem was destroyed, the people were slaughtered.

  A Reflection
  Reflecting on these verses it is perhaps easy to associate some of the characters we read about with others in our community. It is not so easy to see ourselves in them.

  As we reflect on them from our different perspectives we may respond in different ways to the story. However, here are some responses, some challenges, to think on.

  1. A political settlement which is built on injustice or division or expediency or triumphalism or appeasement, will not last.

  2. We need leadership - from government, from local parties, from churches, from business, from the community, from individual men and women.

  While we recognise that politics is about representation, it is also about vision and leadership. We recognise that politics involves pragmatism and compromise, it also has a moral dimension. We need political leadership, we need moral leadership.

  The future of the people of this country is more important than the unity of governments or parties -whether in London, Belfast or Dublin. It is more important than saving face, more important thin clinging to the warped ideologies -unionist or nationalist - that have been such a bane and brought such conflict and sorrow to the people of this country, North and South, and to the people on the mainland.

  3. We need a mature self-criticism and self-awareness that recognises the ambiguity of our motives, our failures and mistakes, and that resists the categorisation of others we all indulge in from time to time.

  4. All of us - Christian or not - have an obligation not to walk away and leave it to others, not to retreat to the comfort and security of our homes in the 'respectable' areas, not to throw our hands up at the complexities, frustrations and misunderstandings that are inevitable in such a complex and long drawn out process. All of us have an obligation to enter the fray and make a difference.

  Alywn Thomson - ECONI's Research Officer