Luke 23:1-12
Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. [1]
____________
How important is integrity? Doing the right thing for the right reason in the right way. Doing the right thing, instead of the expedient thing. Doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do.
This passage shows Jesus’ fate seemingly in the hand of three judicial entities: The Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod. They are very different from each other in many ways, but in dealing with Jesus they have this in common: Their decisions aren’t coming from a concern for justice, but rather expediency in order to get what they want.
The assembly brings charges to Pilate. There is no mention of the real charge that He was convicted of, blasphemy, because Pilate would not be interested. So they present charges that have nothing to do with the trial Jesus underwent, but would likely get Pilate’s attention. Expediency and self-serving ahead of justice and integrity.
Pilate seems to be concerned about justice in acknowledging that the charges are groundless. But at his first opportunity, he sends the case away. Pilate doesn’t want to be involved. Later on he will famously wash his hands. The historical truth is that Pilate was already in trouble with Caesar for his heavy handed approach to dealing with Jewish issues. He didn’t want to get involved in this, lest it further shipwreck his career.
Herod just wanted a show. He really doesn’t seem interested in the charges or in securing justice. He wanted to see a sign, and when it became apparent that this was not going to happen, he shipped Jesus back to Pilate.
Self-serving expediency instead of justice and integrity.
So what does this say to me? This text leads me to self-examination on this topic. When do I take the easy way instead of the right way? When does my self-serving get in the way of justice or become matters of integrity? Of course we can see application in this regarding workplace ethics, but also interpersonal relationships, financial management, and so forth.
So my prayer is that the Lord guide my ways today so that I walk in integrity and justice, that I do not serve myself at the expense of others, but rather serve my Lord in all that I do.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 23:1–12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
