Pilate (ii)

Pilate, on seeing Jesus, called him forth
Into his palace and inquired of him:
“Are you the king of the Jews, as you have
Claimed that you are, for I have heard nothing
From Herod’s lips, and yet you say to me
That you are such a king, come tell me now
If what you say is true, tell me the truth
To rid me of confusion and of doubt.”
The Lamb of God, in his reply did sow
More doubt in Pilate’s mind in saying thus:
“Is that something that came from your own mind,
Not influenced from outside thought or speech
Or is your question the conclusion that
You have come to, upon what others may
Have said about me to you, are you not
The one who exercises clarity
Of thought to bring you to a judgement true
Concerning matters which require the same
Clarity of thinking, what say you thus?”
Then Pilate, angered by Jesus’ response
Rounded on him, as he spat forth these words:
“Talk you to me in riddles, can you not
Give one straight answer to a straight question
Which seeks nothing but truth to conquer all
Doubt that does tear my mind in two. I say
To you; am I a Jew? For it was your
People and your chief priests who handed you
Over to me. What is it you have done?”
In his response, the Lamb of God did say:
“My kingdom is in higher realms than earth
Invisible to human thought and sight,
Of vastness without limit and of wealth
Of everlasting portion that cannot
Be subject to decay by moth and rust
Where thieves cannot break in and steal, for this
My kingdom is where love abides, where sin
Is shut out for all time, unending shift
Which governs human lives and which does wait
For no-one as it marches on its course.
Yet in my kingdom time does not exist
For Paradise is an eternal state,
Abode of Yahweh and of blessed ones
Who do His bidding, His royal commands
And He and I are one, the only God
He is my father, and I am His Son
Eternally betwixt by love unbound.
If my kingdom were of this world, then those
Who follow me would come to my aid and
Prevent me from my arrest by the Jews.
Such is the common trait of earthly rule,
To preserve those whose calling is to rule
And preserve those under the ruler’s hand
Against those who would capture or usurp
Power for their own selfish ends but whose
Connivance ends in misery and death.”
And Pilate answered: “Then you are a king!”
The Lamb of God answered: “In saying that,
You are right, for I am a king. And for
This reason I was born and this was why
I came into the world to testify
To the truth. All who are on the side of
The truth, listen to me. My words are truth.”
Pilate asked of him: “What is truth?” There came
No answer from the Lamb of God. Pilate
Went out unto the multitude who stood
There waiting for the answer that they craved
To rid them of the One who looked upon
The evil in their hearts, no pure intent
Was there but hearts of stone, the fruit of which
Was insecurity based on denial
That their own mindsets were at odds against
The purity of wisdom’s righteous pearl.
The chief priests, rulers, and the people who
Longed for nothing but the dear Saviour’s blood
A flock of sheep obedient to the words
As spoken by the chief priests who did lord
Authority and power over them
Status commanding honour and respect
To hold the people captive to their wiles
But whose behaviour earlier had been
Deflected from them by the simple act
Of selfless giving and devotion to
Yahweh by one poor widow who had giv’n
All that she had to keep herself and her
Children from poverty and starvation.
This is true beauty, that rightly commands
By her example honour and respect.
An act of selfless generosity
In which true riches in her heart would be
Recognised in the value of her faith,
A jewel in the crown of Yahweh God.
No honour and respect were to be found
Within the voices raised that demanded
The blood of one so innocent yet who
Would willingly lay down his life for all.
Pilate addressed all those assembled there:
“This Jesus whom you did bring unto me
As if he were a criminal who is
Deserving of death for the crimes that you
Accuse him of, of being guilty of
Inciting people to rebellion
And blasphemy and treason against our
Emperor and of Herod who has sent
Him back to me, for he no guilt did find
Against this man, neither do I find him
Guilty of the crimes which you say he has
Committed in the face of your God and
Tiberius the Emperor Divine
Of Rome by whose authority do I
Administer in this place, now I say
To all of you that I can find no guilt
In this man who in your presence I did
Examine, finding no basis for those
Charges which you have brought against him here.
I know there is a custom honouring
Your Passover whereby a prisoner
Of your choosing shall be released to you.
Do you want me to release unto you
Jesus, who calls himself, king of the Jews?”
Again as with one voice they answered him:
“Release not this blasphemer unto us.
He has no place among us, give to us
Barabbas!” Cruel irony that they
Should choose a murderer who was also
Guilty of insurrection, as opposed
To one who had committed no such crimes
Or other crimes, whose only action was
To point the way to Paradise the blest.
Pilate, while sat on the seat of judgement,
Was sent a message from his wife, which showed
The innocence of Jesus, Lamb of God,
And in the message Pilate there did read:
“This man called Jesus, who has been accused
Of treason, subversion and blasphemy
In this past night has been the subject of
A restless night in which I have suffered
Much in a dream that has invaded each
Direction of my thoughts. When I did turn
To see the light of day within my dream
This vision of sheer beauty which did come
From his face caused a light so blinding as
To blot out earthly vision from my eyes.
The sight of him so dazzling yet so clear
And transparent to show that there was nought
Of evil or malevolence within
His heart persuaded me to tell you that
This man is innocent of such charges
That have been made against him, therefore I
Must say to you to let this man go free,
For I have suffered much because I know
That in my heart, I know that I cannot
Compare with him whose heart is pure within.
Let him go free, he has done nothing wrong
Despite the cries of “Crucify!” from those
Who want his blood, deserving he is not
Of such a fate. I beg you, let him go.”
On reading this, his thoughts did now become
More twisted and confused, for well he knew
That to release the Lamb of God would mean
His own time as the governor would end
For letting one who called himself a king
Be seen as threatening to the emperor
In the eyes of those who longed for the blood
Of Jesus, Lamb of God to be shed, that
In their eyes no treason or subversion
Could cause a greater tyranny to be
Levied against them and that Pilate would
Be spared Tiberius’ wrath and punishment.
Yet Pilate knew that Jesus committed
No crime against the Jews or Roman might
And that to punish and then put to death
The Lamb of God would go against his own
Conscience, for which there would be no escape
From feelings of injustice and of guilt
And yet one path alone had to be trod:
To set him free or send him to his death,
No justice did there seem to be whether
One side be taken or the other one.
A lonely furrow Pilate was forced to
Tread and to bear the consequences of
His sole decision, yet authority
Higher than his would finally hold sway
To bring salvation to those who believed
And took to their hearts Yahweh’s righteousness
To free them from the yoke of sin and bring
Them to the eternal shores of Paradise.
That lonely furrow that Pilate was forced
To follow was created by those who
Had schemed the downfall of the Lamb of God
To their advantage, so it seemed to them
To keep alive for them the status quo
Refusing to admit because of pride
The errors in their teaching, that the Lamb
Of God had laid bare to their eyes, yet they
Would not admit to error lest a fall
From their high standing in the people’s eyes
Would make their words be of no consequence
Or meaning, starved of truth, an empty shell
Resounding like a gong or cymbal clash,
A deafening roar of empty hollow sound.
But for the time the chief priests had control
To make the people call for freedom for
Barabbas, murderer and author of
The insurrection against Roman rule.
Pilate asked of the crowd which prisoner
Of the two should be released unto them:
“Of those in prison under sentence of
Death, shall I release unto you, for both
Are guilty; one against the Roman rule
And one against your law of blasphemy.
Equal are they as both deserving death,
But is it right that one should be released
Whereas the other should face punishment,
When both are guilty, what say you to this?”
The reasoning that Pilate did have need
To make, fell on deaf ears because of what
The chief priests had manipulated to
Their own advantage. Shouted the crowd back:
“Barabbas give us, for he means to us
Freedom from those who rule by tyranny
That we may governed be by Moses Law.
Give us Barabbas, he alone is our
Choice in this matter, nothing less will do!”
Pilate on hearing this, then asked the crowd:
“What then shall I do with Jesus, the one
Who is called Christ, deserves he not freedom
To be your king, for is he not a son
Of Abraham, your founder, which I have
From many quarters heard from your own lips?”
The only answer that Pilate received
Was “Crucify!” Stubborn were they of heart
And fearing also disobedience
Against the chief priests who had stirred them up
Against the Lamb of God to keep their own
Position in the hierarchical
And tribal history of Israel.
Then Pilate to the crowd appealed once more:
“Why should this man be punished, for what crime
Has he committed that he should face death?”
With louder voices from the crowd, there came
The answer as before: “Crucify him!”
In one last response, Pilate appealed to
Them saying: “Shall I crucify your king?”
“No king have we but Caesar!” was the cry
That came to Pilate, who could now discern
That seeds of rioting were bringing forth
Shoots which, if not cut down, would cause uproar
And violence. Then took he unto him
A bowl of water, washing himself free
Of his helpless position, saying thus:
“Innocent am I of the blood of Him
Who I believe as righteous. He is now
Your own responsibility. Take him
Yourselves and crucify him.” They replied:
“His blood be on us, and on our children!”
Pilate then released unto them Barabbas
According to his custom to honour
The Passover, but now the Lamb of God,
Sentenced to death was handed over to
The soldiers for the lash severe to bear
And crucifixion, now the bloody path
Awaited Him whose innocence did mean
Nothing to those who clamoured for his death
Or to the soldiers, for to them this was
Another routine punishment that they,
In military might would carry out.
They took Him from the judgement seat unto
The scourging post, and gruesome task perform.