Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
Anyone unfamiliar with this story might assume that “this man” would be released. A few verses later, Pilate repeated his ruling, in verse 14 and added: “he has done nothing to deserve death.” Yet verse 16 continues the story with Pilate saying, “Therefore. I will punish him and then release him.” Why punish an “innocent man?”
Shortly after starting a new job, I was involved in conducting a disciplinary hearing. The manager and I were dealing with a senior member of staff who was accompanied by a man who gave the impression that he was “an expert” in Employment Law. It is to my shame that I was biased in my decision-making because the manager, a woman who excelled at her job, had previously indicated that if the senior member of staff was not disciplined, she would resign. The member of staff who had been dismissed then rightly appealed to the Management Committee, who upheld our decision, but sadly advised us privately that they thought the manager and I had “Not made the right decision” but felt they should support us!
In an amazing account recorded in Genesis 18, Abraham, in a conversation with “The Lord”, asks a series of questions, one of which also appears to be a statement, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
It seems to me that we are living at a time when there are many questions to confront us, and it is not uncommon for Christians to disagree on the answers. I have to remind myself that it is not my opinion of what is right or wrong, but God’s. As a Christian, my “Employment” handbook is the Bible, and I would suggest that my conscience may prove to be an additional aide, if only to make me question my decisions.
PRAYER: Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us o’er the world’s tempestuous sea; guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us, for we have no help but thee. AMEN