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Here is my definition of a coward: Someone who is not willing to do the right thing because other people are egging you on to do the wrong thing.
Pilate was a coward. Clearly he knew what the right thing to do was. He was more concerned about keeping the peace and keeping his job than he was about doing the right thing. I’m sure he had no idea that the fateful decision he made to turn Jesus over to be crucified would still be being talked about 2000 years later. I’m sure that he hoped that the mark he left on history would be as “the best governor the Roman Empire ever had” not the man who had the Savior of the world crucified. I’m sure that he had no idea that his legacy would be defined by one bad, people-pleasing decision.
Admittedly, I am a people pleaser. I like for people to think well of me and to like me. But I hope that does not get in the way of doing the right thing when it goes against the grain. I hope at least part of my legacy will be that I was not afraid to the the right thing. I pray that I will have the courage to stand up for right and not take the easy way out, the coward’s way out, of doing the wrong thing when I clearly know the right thing to do.
Next Week’s Passage: John 19:17-27