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When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

It is a terrible thing for a person to be condemned and sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. Even if the victim of a miscarriage of justice is later proved innocent and released from prison, the injustice cannot be completely undone. Even though the state makes some financial amends, nothing can restore the years of freedom lost in prison. It must be difficult for one who has been the victim of such injustice to keep from becoming horribly bitter.

In the text for this evening we see an even greater tragedy. This is the condemnation and sentencing to death, not merely of an innocent man, but of the sinless Son of God. Here was no ordinary case of mistaken justice, but a deliberate and calculated plot to thwart justice. Our sense of honesty and fairness revolts at this sickening scene in the Roman praetorium.

But as we look more closely at the people involved in this shameful episode, we know that they do not stand alone. To some degree, all the motives and attitudes that we find at work there are still with us today - hatred, prejudice, false accusations, envy, dishonesty. These sins bind men of today to those men of 2,000 years ago. These things also raise their ugly heads in our hearts and lives. We must constantly battle to keep them under control. Therefore it is not out of place to ask

WERE YOU THERE WHEN HE WAS CONDEMNED?

We observe that as Jesus only a short time before was condemned by the church, He is now condemned by the state.

Pilate, the Roman governor, admitted that it was within his arbitrary power to release or to crucify the innocent Christ. In spite of his better judgment, he chose to condemn an innocent man in order to save his own position. He was a politician in the bad sense of that term. With a pathetic show of right he washed his hands before the clamoring mob, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

This was not the only instance in which Christ and His church have been condemned by the state. Others soon took Pilate's place. For 300 years the Roman emperors condemned Christ and His followers as persons dangerous to the state. The Christians were hunted down and put to death. The sands of the Roman arena ran red with the blood of these martyrs. In our own times atheistic communism has condemned Christ as dangerous, branding the Christian religion as well as others as "the opiate of the people." Christian altars have been desecrated, churches turned into museums and other public buildings, Christians persecuted and "liquidated." Perhaps more recently the persecution in our Country is more subtle, but Oh is it there. Outlawing prayer in schools, arguing over the placement of religious symbols in public places. Other examples could be cited to show how in the course of history Pilate's sin, in essence, has been committed again and again.

We rightly abhor all condemnation of Christ by the state. But let us remember that we as Christians in America have a unique responsibility for our government. The relationship of church and state should of course be vitally important to all citizens, particularly to the Christians. If by indifference to our civic duties and responsibilities we permit government to fall into the hands of unscrupulous men so that justice, honesty, fairness, and truth are violated, are we not inviting and abetting the" condemnation of everything Christ stands for? Will not the work of the church, the cause of Christ's kingdom, be made more difficult? In many ways, without our thinking, we may become guilty of condemning Christ and His cause, not so much by sins of commission as by sins of omission. In the end, however, is there any real difference?

The condemnation of our Lord by a representative of the Roman state should remind us that we cannot be content scrupulously to avoid condemning Christ. We should the more vigorously preach Him, confess Him in our lives as Christian citizens, and be ready to serve Him in public office, if we have the ability and opportunity.

But look again at the Biblical scene. We observe, furthermore, that Christ was condemned not only by an official of the state, but just as much by the people.

When Pilate hypocritically washed his hands of Jesus' blood, the people shouted, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" A terrible thing to say! On Palm Sunday, a few days before, some of these people doubtless had acclaimed Him with Hosannas. What made them change? "The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus" (Matt. 27:20). In their judgment of Jesus the people were influenced, prompted, goaded by others. Their mistake was that they let others do their religious thinking for them.

This is a common mistake. Jesus warns against it. Once when He asked His disciples, "Who do say the Son of Man is?" He immediately followed with the question, "Whom do you that I am?" (Matt. 16:13, 15.) We must know Him for ourselves. But our faith in Him, our thinking about Him, must be based on God's Word and not on man's. Some people are guided in their religious thinking by what prominent people think. If a scientist, or movie star, or philosopher, or explorer expounds the subject of religion, many people will go along with it because a very important person has said so. Well-meaning Christians sometimes adopt the same attitude. They believe what they do because their parents or church or pastor teach it. The teaching may be correct, but the teachers are not the ground of faith. Our religious thinking must be based solidly on God's Word. To build otherwise is to court disaster. Remember, the people in Pilate's court condemned Jesus because they let others do their religious thinking for them.

Furthermore, we see in this crowd another common human failing or sin. That is the inclination to judge and condemn our neighbor without just cause. How often don't we misjudge a person's remarks or actions and put the worst construction on them. Or how often don't we listen to prejudiced reports and then condemn I Jesus cautions us: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37). He knows what it is to be condemned by cold, loveless, misguided judgment. It was also this sin of man that added to His great suffering.

Can we honestly say that we have never had any part in these sins which were involved in the condemnation of our Lord? Surely, our heart tells us we were there. It is only when we admit that we were there, that it was also for our sin that He suffered and died, that we can see Him as our Savior. It is only after we have acknowledged our sin and repented of our sin that we can say of Him, as Paul did, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). This means that in Him, by His innocent suffering and death for the sin of all mankind, I too can find pardon and peace. By His condemnation He freed us from condemnation, so that. there is now "no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

(Rom. 8:1)

How can we explain the magnitude of God's grace in Christ? We of course cannot; we can only wonder at it. But our wonderment must soon give way to the question, Can't I somehow make amends for the sorrow and the pain that sin - my sin - has

caused Him? The answer again is: No, you never can. He has made the atonement for that before God. For this we are forever indebted to Him.

But there are ways in which we can show our grateful love to Him. First, we can watch and pray that we do not in any way condemn Him anew. We can also be patient and forgiving toward those who criticize and judge us mistakenly and unjustly. General Robert E. Lee was once asked by the President what he thought of another officer called Whiting. "Whiting? Why, a very fine officer, Mr. President. One of the ablest men in the army," Lee replied. The President looked surprised. "But don't you know," he continued, "that General Whiting has been saying some very unkind things about you?" "Oh, yes," was the reply, "I knew that. But, Mr. President, you have asked me what I think of General Whiting, not what General Whiting thinks of me." The Christian, like his Lord, when he is reviled, will revile not again.

We can show our love to our Lord by defending those who are unjustly condemned and by speaking the truth one with another. This is the acid test of our love for Christ, namely, our Christian concern for others. No amount of tears over our sin and over the suffering it has caused Christ the Redeemer will mean anything if our love does not go out to those whom He redeemed and who are precious in His sight. .

Let us this evening, as we see again the tragic spectacle of the innocent Christ condemned to death for our sins, ask His help to be more loyal to Him and to His church; to speak more boldly and positively in His behalf; and to defend our neighbor when he is unjustly condemned. For in this, too, His blessed word applies: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.