Jesus and Pilate

Jesus was taken before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to be judged. The people accused Jesus of calling himself the Son of God and called for his execution. Pilate interrogated Jesus, but Jesus did not respond to his questions. Jesus told Pilate he was the king of the Jews and that he had come to testify to the truth, to which Pilate responded “what is truth?” He sent Jesus to be judged by Herod, but Herod found no fault with him, so he sent Jesus back. Conflicted, Pilate asked the people what he should do with Jesus, as he had found he’d done nothing wrong. The people asked that Jesus be crucified. Pilate did not want to do this, and asked the people if they would not have him release Jesus instead of Barabbas, a murderer whom the people had asked to be released. Pilate intended to have Jesus flogged then released, but the people continued to shout, “crucify him.” Three times Pilate asked the people if crucifixion was truly what they wanted, and all three times they answered yes, so Pilate delivered Jesus to be flogged then crucified.

 

When I hear the word “judgment,” I think of the ways people judge each other by their exterior, often unfairly. Unfortunately, I’ve found myself that sometimes it seems that there’s no way any of us can escape from judgment. It’s no wonder the phrase “don’t judge me” is as ubiquitous as it is. It seems almost instinctive to human beings to put labels on people based on how they talk, how they dress, what they do for a living, etc. We take what we see on the surface to make quick generalizations about people to save the brainpower we might need to see people from a wider perspective. For example, we’re quick to judge people who might not seem as academically-oriented as us, but rarely do we stop to think about what a person’s life might be like at home or otherwise that they can’t always put academics first. We’re trained, in the true American spirit of capitalism, to judge people for not working jobs we consider respectable and high-paying. Fortunately I think with some reflection we can begin to see people for who they really are at their core rather than pass judgment on them based on external qualities.