the guest pianist played for the dance during the Time with Young Disciples, which set the tone for the sermon. Throughout the "Dancing with Jesus" series, but particularly the past three weeks, the added elements of puppet, music, and dance instructor have really enhanced the sermons.
I enjoyed preaching this sermon. I had been at a preaching conference all week, which impacted my sermon. Although I had already outlined much of the sermon before the preaching seminar, I was much more open to telling the stories and not explaining them because of conversations at the preaching seminar about letting people interpret stories for themselves, instead of choosing one meaning from the story for the listener. As usual, it is harder to cut back words than add words to a sermon!
“Dancing with Jesus: the Pilate Shuffle”; Matthew 27: 11-26; July 23, 2023; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp
Matthew 27: 11-26 1Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” 12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” 14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” 20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” 23Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” 24So 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.” 25Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
Move 1:
a. C. S. Lewis wrote: "A person cannot remain just 'a good egg' forever. Either one must hatch or rot.”
Moments in life arrive when we have to either stand up for what we believe or not.
Pontius Pilate faces that moment as Jesus stands before him.
Not only a question of “Do you believe this guy is the Messiah,” as some call him.
or is he someone who should be crucified.
b. thus the Pilate Shuffle - testing different responses and trying to shuffle away from making a decision.
c. Pilate has to cut through all the noise around him and decide.
1. Lots of noise from the crowds - they clamor for Jesus to be crucified.
Pilate gives them an option, hoping they will go another direction, but they stand firm: “Let him be crucified!”
2. Pilate’s wife weighs in - I had a bad day because of a bad dream about this man
this innocent man, by the way,
have nothing to do with him.
3. Other officials - the gospel of Luke tells us, “that That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this, they had been enemies.” (Luke 23: 12)
4. Pilate sort of shuffles around - tries to split the difference
I wash my hands, I am innocent
But we’ll go ahead and crucify him!
And, by the way, after Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate sends guards to the tomb to make sure no one steals the body or nothing miraculous happens.
Move 2: there come times in our lives when we have to cut through the noise and decide: this is what I believe, so this is how I must act.
a. No more shuffling, no more trying to play all sides, but standing and declaring your position.
1. Not because you have all the answers.
2. Maybe not even because you are certain of the answer you have.
3. But because circumstances call on you to stop shuffling and take a position.
4. like Pilate, we find there is a lot of noise in our world.
5. Like Pilate, no easy answers.
6. but a call to place your faith,
to live your life,
to respond to a certain situation,
as a follower of Christ.
move 3: three stories
a. First one comes out of our own history as Protestants.
Story of Martin Luther.
On October 31, 1517, Luther posts his “95 Theses”
For the next three years, Luther was urged to recant his statements, the “95,” and his other writings and teachings. He refused.
The church was fast running out of options as to what might be done about this brash German troublemaker. In January 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. By mid-April, Luther found himself answering allegations of heresy at the now-famous Diet of Worms, an assembly of princes and prelates overseen by the Holy Roman Emperor, with the strong possibility that the 37-year-old excommunicant would be burned at the stake. Luther was, again, given an opportunity to save himself. All he had to do was “recant,” and all would be forgiven.
He responded with these now famous words, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound.
Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.” (https://columbiametro.com/article/here-i-stand-i-can-do-no-other/)
b. Perhaps you have seen the movie Risen.
It follows the story of Clavius, a Roman centurion captain. i
After overseeing the deaths of several Hebrew prisoners, including the revolutionary Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth), he finds himself assigned by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to guard the cave where the supposed messiah's remains are being stored. The two exhausted soldiers he assigns to the task get drunk and fall asleep, and the next morning the remains are gone. This is a PR nightmare for the Romans. Throughout the land there's talk of a miraculous return, and although Pilate and his underlings seem properly spooked by the prospect, at first they treat it mainly as a management problem: the emperor is set to visit soon, and when he arrives the territory needs to be firmly under Roman control, not battling insurgents energized by news that Yeshua is still out there. (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/risen-2016)
Late in the movie Clavius who is tracking down the disciples had joined them on the beach at the Sea of Galilee where the resurrected Christ joins them (the movie seems to be following the Gospel of John at this point).
The camera moves away from the disciples and reveals a man with leprosy being discarded on the ground, banished from being around anyone.
As this is happening, the centurion has a conversation with one of the disciples.
“Did you know Jesus was going to be raised from the dead?.”
“he had told us, but we doubted.”
“Why then do you believe?”
“Watch this,” the disciple responds, and they watch as Jesus heals a man who had been isolated and ostracized for his leprosy.
The miraculous sign was more than the healing in the moment – it was the reason for disciples to believe, to act on their belief.
c. it was Easter morning at the church I served in KY. I had been serving there for a couple of years.
As I expected, the sanctuary was packed. Lots of people were not usually there. Most of them I knew – either as members of the congregation who did not make it to church very often or people from around the town.
But over on the left side of the sanctuary was a younger man and woman with two young girls. Presumably husband and wife. I did not know them, nor did I recognize them. That caught my attention, I suppose, as well as the fact that their youngest daughter looked just a year or two older than my young child Caitlin.
As they leave, the man introduces himself, his wife, and his two daughters to me. Then, he looks me in the eye and says quite sincerely, “It's time we started going to church. We'll see you next week.”
I said something like, “That will be great.”
what I really wanted to say was, “Yeah right.” It had not taken me too many Easter services to hear the promises to return, all the while knowing that the next Sunday would arrive as one of the poorest attended Sundays of the year.
but, lo and behold, a week later he and his family were there. And the week after that, they were there. And I suspect that over the next four years or so that I served that congregation that family was in worship as many weeks, if not more.
I wish I could say it was the sermon that Easter morning that inspired them to change their Sunday morning habits, but I suspect it was not.
Maybe it was hearing the story of Christ's resurrection and desiring to connect to the power of the living Christ.
I never did find out the rest of the story. I did ask him a few times.
He always had the same smile and the same answer, “it was time.”
Conclusion: Pilate did not seem to find that time.
Will you?
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