Pilate was living in a world that was strange to him. He had been dispatched to serve as the Roman governor in Judea in 26 AD. He was a long way from home - a month's journey by sea from Rome. Life in Jerusalem was certainly different from life in imperial Rome. The food and the language were not what he was accustomed to. The customs of these Jews seemed bizarre, to say the least, and to his way of thinking their religion must have appeared fanatical. Things that Pilate had taken for granted as true all of his life were called into question in Judea. We would say that his worldview was being challenged as he now lived in a culture that acknowledged only one God and attempted to order all of life around His commandments. Life sure was different here for Pilate, the sophisticated politician of noble birth. No doubt that he and his wife came here in obedience to Caesar and with the hope that a good performance here would, in time, pay off with a better assignment elsewhere in that vast empire centered in Rome.

But things were to change even more radically for Pilate, as in the wee hours of that April Friday morning, a man named Jesus appeared on his docket. Pilate would come face to face with the Truth and his life would never be the same again.

Jesus was no ordinary prisoner. He is not a man that Pilate wants to deal with. Pilate is not even convinced that Jesus' case belongs in his courtroom. It appears to him that the charges against Jesus are of a religious nature -something that the Jews should handle for themselves. Nevertheless, the Jewish leaders persist in their claims that the case is decidedly political, for Jesus postures Himself as a king, a man who is in competition with Caesar. Pilate, unsuccessfully, tries to hand Jesus off to Herod. Herod interviews Jesus and puts Him back before Pilate.

Pilate, it seems, cannot escape King Jesus. As a governor, Pilate would have been well acquainted with the ways of royalty. No doubt he had seen Caesar back in Rome and stood in awe of his power. In a strange sort of way, Pilate stands in awe before Jesus. Clearly Jesus bears not the slightest resemblance to mighty Caesar. Yet He does have the air of royalty about Him as He stands there in the judgment hall. In fact, as Pilate proceeds to cross-examine Jesus, inquiring of His kingship, Pilate himself is being put on trial. In vain Pilate tries to defend himself against Jesus. Perhaps the Jews would be satisfied if Jesus were given a good beating and then released. Maybe this would quench their blood lust. It doesn't work., as the Jews cry out all the more persistently that Pilate render a death sentence. Surely the Jews would rather have Jesus set free than that notorious convict Barabbas who was plainly guilty of heinous crimes. Pilate tries. He makes the offer. It is steadfastly refused as the crowds scream, "Not this man, but Barabbas!"

Pilate cannot escape. There is no middle ground, no zone of neutrality, when it comes to Jesus Christ. If you are not for Him, you are against Him. Frightened by the thought that if he bungles this case, he might be in trouble with Caesar, Pilate gives in to the desires of the crowd. He gives an order that Jesus Christ be crucified. He washes his hands, but that will not absolve him of his responsibility. How tragic is the way of Pilate! He knew the Truth and yet he failed to act on it!

What happened to Pilate? Historically we know that he was recalled to Rome in 36 AD after charges were brought against him concerning the manner in which he handled an uprising involving some Samaritans. Legends abound. Some say he went insane, compulsively washing his hands. Others report of his suicide. One legend says that the earth swallowed him up. Another tells of his drowning. Yet another relates of how he received the ancient punishment given to those who murder their parents: being sewn up in an ox-hide with a viper, a rooster, and a monkey and thrown into a river. One tradition says that Pilate became a Christian and died as a martyr for the faith. We don't know what happened to Pilate after that fateful Friday in the courtroom.

But what concerns us here tonight is not Pilate, but the one who "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried." His name is Jesus. He is the answer to Pilate's skeptical question "What is truth?" He is the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The truth is that He is the One sent from the Father into our flesh and blood to be our Savior. When Pilate quizzed "What is truth?" he was, in fact, staring the Truth in the face!

You see, the truth about God is the flesh and blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. He came not as another great religious teacher, but as our Brother and our Lord to atone for our sins with His own blood. The Creator and Judge of all the world humbled Himself to suffer under a Roman governor. The death that He died was a real death so horrible that we cannot comprehend it. Joy Davidman, the wife of C.S. Lewis, put it like this: "Our generation has never seen a man crucified except in sugary religious art; but it was not a sweet sight, and few of us would dare to have a real picture of a crucifixion on our bedroom walls. A crucified slave beside a Roman road screamed until his voice died and then hung, a filthy, festering clot of flies, sometimes for days - a living man whose hands and feet were swollen masses of gangrenous meat. That is what our Lord took upon Himself, 'that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them, who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

"What is truth?" asked Pilate. Good Friday gives the answer. Amen.