Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea from AD 26 until AD 37, was faced with a dilemma.  The religious leaders of the day wanted to crucify a young prophet named Jesus of Nazareth.  However, an execution could only happen at the decree of the Roman procurator who governed the province.  They turned to Pilate and demanded a decision.   

Although Pilate had readily sentenced others to death, he was reluctant to have Jesus crucified.  His wife had sent him a message saying, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”  (Matthew 27:19) 

Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, but he was afraid that the Jewish leaders would whip the crowd into a riot if they did not get their way.  Finally, he took a bowl of water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.  “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said.  “It is your responsibility.”  Then he handed Jesus over to be crucified. 

Pilate is typical of many people today.  They don’t know what to do with Jesus.  These people have a feeling that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World, but they aren’t completely convinced.  They are attracted to his message of love, healing, and forgiveness, but they stumble over his call to make him the central focus of their lives. 

Like Pilate, they hope that by doing nothing they will be able to wash their hands of the matter.  However, by trying to sidestep the issue Pilate ended up rejecting Christ and authorizing the crucifixion.  There is a legend that Pilate is in hell, still trying to wash his hands of the blood of Jesus Christ.  

It was not really Jesus, but Pilate, who was on trial that day.  Had Pilate stood for his inner convictions, he might have gone down in history as a hero of the faith.  Instead, he is remembered only for his cowardly deceit. 

Today, nearly 2000 years later, each of us is still confronted with the question of what to do with Jesus.  No one can sidestep the issue.  Only an ignorant person would claim that he never existed.   Even the pagan Roman historians mention Pilate’s authorization of the crucifixion. 

If Jesus is all he claimed to be – the Son of God, the giver of eternal life – then to reject him is to miss the most important thing of all.  But what about those who just ignore him?  Those who think they can avoid the issue by doing nothing make the most tragic mistake of all.  They miss God’s plan for their lives, they miss his forgiveness, they miss his gift of eternal life – and they miss it without ever considering if Jesus really is the Son of God.  

The only way to make an intelligent decision is to seek out the facts, and the primary book of facts about Jesus is the Bible.  The Bible is the composite writings of many eyewitnesses and is supported by other historical documents of that time. For most people, the best way to discover the facts of the Bible is to attend a church of people they trust.  

This Sunday, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week.  Instead of waiting for Easter to go to church and celebrate Christ’s resurrection, why not start a week earlier?  This is a beautiful time of the year to seek God and to discover the fellowship of other believers. Easter is not about bunnies, egg hunts, or fancy clothing.  It is about deciding what to do with Jesus.