Monthly Archives: June 2020

So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”(Matthew 27:24)

Pontius Pilate, was the Roman governor of Judea from approximately 26-36 CE; roughly the time of Jesus life and ministry. Pilate, by most accounts was a Roman knight who, through obedience and faithfulness to the emperor, sought higher status in the Roman empire. He worked up through the ranks from courtesan to prefect in the “troubled” prefecture of Judea. His place in history was cemented in that he presided over the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.

While Pilate is one of the few verifiable (by Western standards) historical figures in the New Testament, his last years after the pivotal Good Friday “incident” remain a mystery. However, his behavior in the trial provides a very important point of reflection for us to consider. 

As we read all of the Gospel writers, we hear that Pontius Pilate is generally a good man, one who follows the law and seeks the peace. After all, you cannot advance in the imperial ranks if you preside over dysfunction. The text is clear, when Jesus is brought to him, Pilate examines him and “finds no fault with this man”. He attempts to do what he can under Roman law to set the man, Jesus, free. And it is that action that creates the problem. For the text tells us that when Pilate pushes against the crowds wishes, that’s when he has to face their anger. 

Pilate crumbles in the face of the aggression of the crowd. At the moment of greatest need for leadership; for the rule of law, and the establishment of reason for the innocent, Pilate “washes his hands”. 

This is what I call, “the Pilate Syndrome” or “the Pilate Problem”.

This is a problem and malady that has faced many people throughout history. Its a curious condition that strikes well meaning, good spirited, law abiding, and even bible thumping people. It strikes usually at the moment of greatest need and in the most specific of circumstances. Usually when there is a distinctly moral dilemma facing the individual or the leader, the Pilate Problem sways them to ignore the decision of greatest moral clarity and instead capitulate to the position of neutrality and contrived ignorance.  

For America, white supremacy and its lattice work of socio-political support are the moral decision of our day. Throughout the 244 year history of the republic and the near 400 year history of Black people on the continent, the racial construction of whiteness and Blackness have been the moral dilemma of every major historical figure in power. From Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, to Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, to President Wilson’s resegregation of federal offices to the current president’s speech on Charlottesville, leadership in America (primarily of white persons), have exhibited all the symptoms of the Pilate Problem.

(You know, I could make a case about how this malady may inflict those who also look like Pilate, but perhaps that is just mere coincidence.)

Whether it is “hand washing” or #whitesilence, the problem is still the same. There comes a time when those in positions of authority, are called to address the moment, to speak to the crowds and lead. Pilate refused to lead for fear of his future governmental appointment. Leaders in white institutions, structures and organization have also refused to lead for similar reasons. 

Perhaps the Good News is simply this: the key to overcoming the Pilate Problem is not just in Pilate’s hands (clean though they may be). Its in Jesus’s witness. For you see what makes Pilate a historical figure and one who becomes the exemplar of inaction and impotence, is the clear eyed, stiff backed, brown man with curly hair named Jesus. The innocent man condemns the governor to the historical books as a coward who is afraid of the governed and afraid to stand up for justice. Jesus’ witness reveals the cowardice of Pilate’s position.

In our current day, it is the ongoing witness of hundreds of thousands of stiff backed, clear-eyed multicolored protestors across the country, standing up to America’s historical pathology of the Pilate Syndrome that has finally caused movement. Shame is part of the regimen for treating the Pilate Syndrome. Companies, governments, and even “Karens” all over the country are shamed into doing what is right. And while this isn’t the ideal, it is the start of the hard cure.

The only panacea for this condition is bravery in the midst of befuddlement; morality in the midst of malaise, and leading when you are all alone in the crowd. The more that we all speak through our witness, the more the we can see the vision in order to overcome the malaise of this cowardly condition.