Sometimes
justice isn’t served by courts. This is especially true when someone has died.
Even the death of the killer does not serve justice. Then there are two
families who have lost out. Where is justice in that? Where is the justice to
the tax payers who paid for the trial? I am sure better things could have been
done with that money. In a sinful world, where sin has affected every aspect of
our lives, complete justice won’t happen until heaven.
This
does not mean we don’t work for justice today. We might not be able to get 100%
justice, but we shouldn’t settle for 50%. We work for the greatest justice
possible, and then we must learn to let the rest in God’s hands. At some point
we must let go. Rioting and destruction of property doesn’t serve justice. It
creates even more injustice. What justice is there for the burned out shop
owners?
Jesus
has finished His religious trial, if you could call it a trial. None of the
testimony was consistent, and none of the charges deserved death, at least
death under Roman law. Blasphemy was punishable by death under Jewish law, but
Rome had reserved that right to itself. So the Jewish leaders had to ask Rome’s
permission to kill Jesus. That is what the trial before Pilate is all about.
They had found Him guilty of a crime worthy of death, claiming to be God, and
now wanted permission to carry out the sentence. But remember, there was no
evidence presented.
This
was really a whodunit without any dunit. But that doesn’t deter the religious
leaders. They just stir up a crowd. They threaten the stability. They go after
publicity. Pilate doesn’t want his reputation to be tarnished by the “Riot of
33”, so he gives in to their demand.
Pilate
knows their motives. They aren’t about justice, but about their own
self-interest. Their power was at stake. Their position in society. They served
because Rome allowed them to serve, so Rome had the final say. They wanted to
stay in power, and they felt Jesus threatened their positions.
So
they get a murderer released back into society. What a great deal! You give up
Jesus who hadn’t hurt anyone, other than some people’s pride, and you get a convicted
murderer instead. No evidence against Jesus, but enough evidence to convict the
murderer. You also get someone who had led a rebellion against the authorities.
Talk about an accident waiting to happen. He had done it once. He will probably
lead another rebellion again, putting the leaders in conflict with Rome again.
They trade current discomfort for possible future rebellion.
And
Pilate gives in to the crowd. Listening to crowds as a leader can be a
dangerous leadership technique. The crowd does not even represent what the
majority of people want, but the volume from the crowd and the immediacy of the
pressure often leads to bad decisions. Crowds certainly don’t serve justice.
Crowds can be whipped up to support a decision that is clearly not in their
best interest.
So
that is exactly what the leaders did. They whipped up the crowd. They served
their own short-term goal of getting rid of Jesus. They would deal with the
future consequences of having Barabbas released at a future date. The here and
now is what mattered. They were getting what they wanted. And that was all that
mattered to them.