In the years preceding 1994, the Quaker Oats Company had posted strong financial earnings. At the same time, the company which produced Snapple teas was doing equally as well. So that year the chairman of Quaker Oats pushed his company into buying Snapple for $1.7 billion. As it turned out, it was a huge financial disaster for Quaker Oats. And a few years later its Snapple division was sold for a mere $300 million. That was one sixth of its original purchase price. Needless to say – that executive resigned in shame. Quaker Oats made a bad choice in buying Snapple that year, even though Snapple may have been doing better than Quaker over the last ten or fifteen years.
Of course, it is very unlikely that you or I will ever be faced with a decision of that magnitude – $1.7 billion. On the other hand, there are decisions that we make daily which may be even more important. Just after the Quaker Oats/Snapple disaster there was a 38 year old man walking to his job at a warehouse in Rosemont, Illinois. He decided take a short-cut by cutting across the eight-lane Tri-State Tollway. After successfully negotiating the four northbound lanes, his hat blew off – probably a Chicago Bear’s cap. Without a moment’s hesitation – without thinking – he turned and chased it. That was when the semi-trailer truck him. He no longer needed his hat. The man made several bad choices that day, and at least one of them killed him. Maybe it would be more correct to say it was the combination of choices which killed him. Obviously, a person can lose everything by chasing after nothing.
As human beings we are constantly in the decision-making business. Only rarely are we required to make the really big, life-changing decisions – things like marriage, major debts, transcontinental moves, or $1.7 billion purchases. But we do have to make a great many choices that are not quite as radical. They may not be momentous in themselves, but they can have serious consequences. Things like chasing our Seattle Seahawk cap. Things like shop-lifting, fornication or spreading a bit of cheap gossip. People picture such sins as small, but that is not really the case – they are huge.
In this scripture, we read of a man on the proverbial horns of a dilemma. Pilate was in a position to either take, or to save, the life of Jesus of Nazareth. We may think that his predicament was absolutely unique and could never be repeated. But the fact of the matter is, this situation will be repeated several thousand times on this very day. “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” “Shall I ignore Him, free Him, or take Him home with me? “Shall I believe on Him, and bow before Him, and submit to Him as my Lord and Saviour? “Or shall I do nothing at all, make no decisions, and in effect reject Him?”
We face tough choices on a regular basis; even decisions with eternal reverberations. Let’s consider Pilate, and try to recognize some of the mistakes he made in his particular choice. Are there any guide-lines for handling tough decisions?
How about the obvious – don’t let others make your decisions for you.
Pilate was governor of Judea; placed in that office by the authority of Emperor in Rome. He was a paid professional, whose basic job was nothing but various kinds of decision-making. And he had been at this particular post nearing ten years; he was no novice. He made big choices every day in the areas of government, the military and social issues. The soldier with the rank of private has very few decisions to make in any given day. But his immediate superiors have lots of decisions affecting themselves and those privates. The higher up the ladder a person might be, the more important those decisions become. Until we reach the President, whose decisions are sometimes global and devastating.
Pilate should have known the business of decision-making. But along came the chief priests of the Jews with a man named “Jesus of Nazareth.” I guarantee that Pilate was not unfamiliar with Jesus – after all He had been around for three years. Part of Pilate’s job was to recognize the potential problems there might be out there among those Jews. Pilate listened to the priest’s accusations and tried to interrogate the accused. He was not deaf or blind to what was going on. He realized, for example, that out of envy the Jews brought Christ to the judgment hall – verse 18.
So here was Pilate, a trained and experience decision-maker. He knew the basic facts about both the accused and His accusers. And as far as human authority can extend, he had absolute power over the situation. But he chose to let the wicked men before him make the decision on his behalf. And that was despite the fact that he would have to bear all the initial consequences.
As we are aware, there are a lot of two person sins. Pilate’s sin was a two party equation. It doesn’t appear that he would have gone out and arrested Christ, the way he probably did with Barabbas. He was incited to condemn our Lord; he was urged and pushed. He could have resisted – he should have resisted, but he let someone else make his decision for him.
How many of our sinful decisions are encouraged by a second party, but when reduced to its foundations, the responsibility is entirely our own? The Bible condemns a Christian life lived in love with the world. Often that is a two-party alliance. If your friends convince you to maintain that spiritually adulterous-affair – to love the world instead of Christ, they will be judged for their sins, but you will be judged for yours. Remember – you are the one who shall stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ in spiritual poverty and shame. You can forget about their collusion and complicity, because it will have nothing to do with the judgment against you. That is just one example – spiritual adultery – but what about a hundred others kinds of sin? Don’t let others – friends, foes, sinners – push you into making unwise choices.
Something else to remember about decision-making: Look beyond the superficial.
Here came the Lord Jesus to Pilate. His hands were bound – so obviously, he must be guilty of something. And His clothes were not from Macy’s or some store on Hollywood Boulevard. His face was puffy from the beatings which the Temple guards had inflicted upon Him. Perhaps there was the hint of a black eye developing, and His hair was matted with a bit of blood. He was being accused by some of the highest civilian officials in Judea. And not just accused, but denounced with such hostility that Pilate was obligated to consider the charges. Christ’s friends had deserted him, and for whatever reason, He had no defense attorney. Then as He was interrogated, He didn’t even respond or reply. The circumstances certainly indicate, either guilt, or at the very least a contempt for authority.
But obviously, none of these things had any relationship to the case. Whether the Lord had been arrested or beaten doesn’t prove or disprove any guilt. The fact that His disciples had forsaken Him, says something about them, not about Him. His appearance had nothing to do with His choice, but even if it were true, that had nothing to do with the charges against Him. Pilate, your job is assess the facts, not the illusion or appearances.
And today a visitor walks into the Calvary Independent Baptist Church, looking around at us. He sees no lawyers, doctors or university professors. In fact he doesn’t see a great many people at all; we are few in number. And it doesn’t appear that there is much of the world’s wealth in our pockets. He hears the preacher exhort him to yield to the Saviour and serve Him according to the principles of the Word of God. This visitor weighs the exhortation against the circumstances and concludes that they don’t appear to match. So he walks away, rejecting the message of the Word of God which he heard that day. He has made a poor choice. He has taken only a superficial look at some poor sinners saved by grace. But he hasn’t looked, really looked at the Saviour, He hasn’t studied the real facts in the case. Perhaps he heard the Word of God, but he certainly didn’t examine what it said. And so he makes a very poor choice which may affect his entire eternity.
We all need to look beyond the superficial towards the substantial.
Another wise consideration in decision-making is that of listening to good counsel.
I don’t know if Pilate married his wife for her looks, her brains, her money or for something else. But I have found that every wife is intelligent – especially in her areas of speciality. As Mrs. Pilate was sleeping, the night the Jews seized our Saviour, she dreamed. I don’t put much stock in dreams, but some people think that they are more important than the Bible. I don’t know how this dream came to develop in the subconscious of this woman. It might have been too much Italian sausage on her pizza night before. Or was this a revelation that Jehovah laid upon her heart? If so, why didn’t the Lord give it to her husband as well – or instead of – her. This might have been to test his decision-making and advice-taking. Anyway, in midst of the judgment of the Lord Jesus, Pilate’s wife visited him: “Have thou nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.”
We don’t always have opportunity to ask the opinion of others before making many our choices. That man who lost his hat on the freeway in Illinois, didn’t have the opportunity. I’m sure that the trucker would have advised him to forget about the hat. We don’t always have the opportunity to ask for advice.
But there is a way for the Christian to always have good counsel. First of all, fill yourself with the Word of God. Read the Bible from cover to cover, again and again – throughout your life. And memorize a verse or two every few days – to implant God’s word in heart. With the Bible deep down in your soul, you have more than just a book of wisdom. In the Revelation of God you have, in a sense, a piece of the Lord Himself. And then, seek for the Lord’s direction and blessing every day – pray. In the morning, ask the Lord for His help for all the decisions that you’ll have to make that day. The simple choice of what route to take could mean the difference between getting to your destination or getting hit by a truck. And the Lord can give you those directions – by simply planting a suggestion upon your heart. I am absolutely convinced of Lord’s blessing in this very thing. With the Word of God and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, every child of God has access to the wisest counsel possible. Furthermore, often when some choice stands in front of us, we will have time to specifically ask for the Lord’s direction. Unlike the man on the Tri-state Tollway, most decisions don’t require instantaneous answers. Usually we can take a moment to pray and to wait for the impression of the Lord upon our hearts.
Listen to good counsel – listen to the Word of God. Is that job which you are considering scripturally acceptable? Is it going to keep you from the House of God? Which of these three sins should I choose? None of them, obviously. Should I attend a church which preaches major false doctrine? Should I attend church at all? What does the Bible say about such things? What do my saintly friends think about such things? You have questions? The Lord has answers.
Another couple of aides in decision-making are:
Stop when you know the right answer and simply make your decision.
Pilate knew what he should do, but he hesitated and in that hesitation he was hit by a truck. He tried to convince the Lord’s enemies to see things as they should have seen them. What a waste. He refused to simply put his foot down and stand up: “I order this innocent man to be released.”
Please don’t look at me and think that I am pretending to be an expert in each point in this message. I am as much a fool as the next man, but I usually try to do the right thing and make the right choice. For example, there are several reasons why I don’t linger down stairs after Sunday School. I often have to go down there to give someone the scripture reading for that day, but I don’t stay. One reason that I don’t linger is because someone needs to greet the visitors who might come in. But the primary reason is that I might find it difficult to resist the snacks which are brought in. If I eat one cookie, I know that I will want another. I know from experience that wanting a second snack often means eating a second snack. Then pretty soon, I’ll not be fit enough to properly stand and preach. A heavy stomach is not a good pulpit from which to preach. Pilate, knew what to do, but he delayed too long in the quicksand of indecision.
When you know what to do, do it without delay.
And then finally, remember that you can’t always be popular and right at the same time.
As the governor debated the matter with himself the Jews, those priests, were working the crowd. They planted some agitators in the mob, and soon there was some deranged chanting. Those same citizens who were praising the Lord just a few days ago, were now being pushed by the priestly agitators – “Crucify him, crucify him. “We want Barabbas, We want Barabbas.” But why? There was no logic in the empty brains of that treacherous crowd. But the politician in Governor Pilate couldn’t ignore the babble of the rabble. In order to maintain his assumption of popularity and his tenuous acceptance by people who really hated him and wished him dead, he made his choice according to their chanting. “Then released he Barabbas unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” – verse 26.
The Scriptures make many obvious exhortations in this regard: For example, it says, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” – Proverbs 1:10. It says, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” – Exodus 23:2. Popularity is a ruthless dictator or a treacherous siren. Popularity is a form of success that’s seldom worth the things we have to do in order to attain it. It may come without any desire on our part to have it, as we see in Jesus. But it may leave more quickly than it arrives, if we don’t work to maintain it. And when a person sells truth or principles for popularity, he is soon going to be bankrupt. Popularity is as permanent as a drop of dew on blade of grass.
Pilate has gone down in history as a fool, because he caved in to making a bad decision. Don’t join Pilate there in the trash-heap of history. First, be sure that you say “yes” to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then secondly, say “yes” to the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can join the category of Pilate by denying the commands and exhortations of Bible. You know that chasing your hat and personal pleasure puts you in the path of the truck. It is never too late to starting making right choices. It is time to put the Lord first in your life, and time to start living abundant life. Sure there will be cost – but the ultimate revenue will far exceed the expense.
In the Old Testament, as the life of Joshua was coming to a close, he could see the end of an era. With Moses gone and the people of Israel settling into their new Promised Land homes, ease and luxury were at their fingertips as never before. With exceptional wisdom Joshua asked “Does it really seem evil unto to you serve the Lord? Will it be the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood. Or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell?” Would to God we all could say, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”