MATTHEW 27:11-27

[11] Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”

[12] But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.

[13] Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”

[14] But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

[15] Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.

[16] And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

[17] So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

[18] For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

[19] Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

[20] Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

[21] The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

[22] Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”

[23] And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

[24] So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”

[25] And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

[26] Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged  Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

[27] Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

What to do?  What to do?  What to do?  That’s what you say to yourself when you’ve got a problem.  I bet you know what that’s like.  Maybe you’re wrestling with a problem right now. 

If you are, hopefully it’s not as serious as the problem that a man was dealing with when he went to see a psychiatrist.  “Doc,” he said, ““you gotta help me.  I’ve got a couple of really big problems here.”  “I see,” the psychiatrist replied.  “Why don’t you don’t you have a seat then and we’ll get to work on your first problem.” As soon as the man sat down he launched right in to his tale of woe.  “My first problem is a little unusual,” he said. “I think I’m a Pepsi vending machine.”  “I see,” the psychiatrist said.  Well, the psychiatrist tried every therapeutic technique he could think of to help the man but nothing seemed to work.  Eventually, the psychiatrist became frustrated and completely lost it.  He jumped up and pulled four quarters out of his pocket.  He then shoved the quarters in the man’s mouth and shook his head until the man swallowed them.   “There,” the psychiatrist said triumphantly. “Now, give me a Pepsi.”   The man shook his head and said, “I’m sorry doc, but I can’t.  You see that’s my other big problem.  I’m out of order.”

Life is full of problems.  Some of them are little and some of them are big.  Some of them are simple and some of them are seemingly unsolvable no matter what you do.

When you’re dealing with a really big problem the temptation is always there to do the same thing Pilate did when Caiaphas, the high priest, accused Jesus of being king of the Jews.  After Pilate questioned Jesus, he knew that Jesus was innocent.  Even Pilate’s wife knew that Jesus was innocent.  While Pilate was on the judgment seat she sent a message to him saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man…”  Notice she didn’t say, “Have nothing to do with that self-proclaimed king of the Jews.”  She didn’t say, “Have nothing to do with that trouble maker.”  She said, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man…”  So, Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, but he also knew that things were going to get ugly if he let Jesus go.  So, what did Pilate do?  He gave the Caiaphas what he wanted. 

Matthew says that “when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning…took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.’”  Pilate then sent Jesus to the Cross to be crucified.

Pilate took the easy way out and because he took the easy way out an innocent man was executed.  That just goes to show you that when it comes to dealing with a problem the easy way out is almost always the wrong way out.  I saw that many years ago.  I was still in seminary and working as a correspondent for the Brockton Enterprise.  I was covering a selectmen’s meeting when the building inspector announced that the town hall roof was leaking.  The selectmen instructed the building inspector to investigate further and report back to them.  So, a couple of weeks later the building inspector came back and told them that the roof had apparently been leaking for 30 or 40 years.  They didn’t realize it though, because the selectmen back then decided to solve the problem by putting buckets in the attic.  The problem, he said, was that the bottom of the buckets had all rusted out.  Well, the selectmen put their thinking caps on and after pondering the problem instructed the building inspector to remove the metal buckets from the attic and replace them with brand new plastic buckets.

When you look at what Pilate did that day you realize that more often than not you won’t find the answer to a problem in the easy way out.  You’ll find it in the decision that is difficult and maybe even a little painful.  For example, tell me if this makes sense to you.

It feels like all the love has gone out of your marriage.  The easy thing to do is pretend that it’s just a passing problem and things will eventually work themselves out.  The difficult thing to do is to sit down and have a heart to heart talk with your husband or wife.   You’ve got a gambling addiction.   The easy thing to do is blame everyone else for your problem.  The difficult thing to do is admit that you have a serious problem and go to a Gamblers’ Anonymous meeting.  Your friend at school is experimenting with drugs.  The easy thing to do is just ignore the problem.  The difficult thing to do is go and share the secret with a school counselor.  Then there’s the problem of food.  The difficult thing to do is go on a diet and lose the weight that make you happier and healthier.  The easy thing to do is eat that second piece of chocolate cake and say to yourself, “If God wanted me to be able to touch my toes He would have put them on my knees.”

Here are a couple more examples. You’re angry with someone in your family and you’ve been angry with the person for years.  The easy thing to do is hold onto the grudge.  The difficult thing to do is forgive the person.   The easy thing to do is sleep in late on Sunday morning. The difficult thing to do is get the kids dressed and drive down here on a snow day to hunt for a parking space so you can join everyone in praising the God of our salvation.

Whenever you have a problem, more often than not the answer to your problem lies in the decision that is difficult.  Just look at Jesus.   Just a few hours before they hauled him before Pilate Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying.  He was praying because he had a problem and he had to make a decision.  So, he bowed his head and said, “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me.”  That prayer shows you that Jesus wasn’t a masochistic martyr.  It shows you that there was a part of him that didn’t want to suffer all that agony on the Cross. There was a part of him that wanted to take the easy way out and I can tell you that it would have been easy for him to take the easy way out.  You see I’ve been to the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s located at the base of the Mount of Olives.  So, it would have been very easy for Jesus to climbed the Mount of Olives that night and disappear into the Judean desert on the other side.

That would have been the easy thing to do but Jesus knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do.  That’s why he ended his prayer with the words, “Not my will but your will be done.”

There’s wonderful story that shows you what can happen when you make the decision that is difficult.  The story is about a young man by the name of Kurtis. Kurtis worked in a supermarket in Cedar Falls, Iowa and it was there that he met a woman named Brenda.  Kurtis asked Brenda to go out on a date with him but she said it wasn’t possible.   When Kurtis refused to take “no” for an answer she told him that it was because she had two young children.  Now Kurtis was a determined young man. He told Brenda that he would pay for a babysitter.  So, she agreed.  When Kurtis showed up for their date though Brenda told him that the babysitter had called and canceled. So, she wouldn’t be able to go out with him after all.  The lack of a babysitter, however, wasn’t a problem as far Kurtis was concerned.  “Well,” he said, “let’s take the kids with us.”  Brenda tried to explain to him that taking the children with them wasn’t an option but he kept insisting.  Finally, Brenda brought him into the house to meet her children. First there was her daughter who was as cute as bug and then there was her son.  Brenda’s son was a paraplegic who had been born with Downs Syndrome.  That’s why Brenda was shocked when Kurtis said, “I still don’t understand why the kids can’t come with us.”  Most men would run from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities like that.  Kurtis wasn’t like most men though.  So, they put the kids in the car and went to dinner and a movie.  The kids loved Kurtis and by the end of the evening Brenda knew that she was going to spend the rest of her life with Kurtis. The next year they got married and Kurtis adopted both of Brenda’s children.  They went on to have five more children.    So, what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the checkout girl at the register?  Well, today Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Warner live in Arizona.  Kurt is a retired NFL quarterback and Super Bowl MVP and together he and his wife run the First Things First Foundation.  It’s a Christian organization that works to bless the lives of disabled and less fortunate children. 

Kurt Warner didn’t take the easy way out. Pilate did take the easy way out.  Jesus didn’t take the easy way out.  Who would you rather be like?  What to do?  What to do?  What to do?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 10, 2013