‘I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM…….’

John 19 : 1-4

‘ So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the man”’

Earlier on in chapter 18, after questioning Jesus the first time, Pilate had already declared to the Jewish leaders his conviction over Jesus. “I find no fault in Him”, he said, and even offered to release Jesus to them as part of his annual custom of releasing a prisoner during the Passover. The Jewish leaders refused his offer and Pilate went back inside to Jesus. 
‘I find no fault in Him’, he had said, and to confirm this what did Pilate do? He took Jesus and scourged Him; he allowed his soldiers to further torture and mock Him, and in that humiliation and pain, with a bloody face and body, he presented Jesus once again to His accusers .. as proof that he found no fault in Him? I’ve always wondered how much more Pilate could have done to further the cause of the Jewish leaders if he had actually found fault in Jesus. Faced with such ‘proof’ of faultlessness, it is no surprise that the mob were encouraged to call for Jesus’ death. After all, what was there to fear; if even the governor who had found no fault in Him could have already begun to punish Him the Jewish leaders who did find fault in Him were justified in crucifying Him.

Pilate’s behavior is not unlike what happens with those of us who claim to find no fault in Christ. Our live styles in many cases do just as much damage to the cause of Christ as Pilate did with His ‘proof’. We declare that God is love, but we are quick to judge and condemn even fellow Christians, and crucify the unbelieving that Jesus gave His life for. We have become so wrapped us with ourselves and the desire to make money and make ‘it’, that we can no longer hear nor respond to the world’s cry. We declare that God is our helper, and then go ahead to tell or live lies in order to help or pursue our cause. We insist that we trust Him and are willing to follow His leading and how do we prove that? We bribe, - no we pay- what it takes to get our own way, we give Him glory for telling a lie successfully, and getting what we want; or on the other hand, we run from pole to pole in fear searching for ‘solutions’. We declare that humility is from God, and our pride does not allow us to accept correction or criticism.……... I am sure we can all add to the list if we think of it hard enough. 
Do we still wonder why the world continues to find fault in Him?

It is time to rethink our professions to Jesus, and the consistency of our actions with those professions. We should consider the implication of our actions on the cause of Him on whose side we claim to be on. We should do this reassessment with the help of the Holy Spirit, and ask Him to help us see what we have hitherto closed our eyes to - the extent of damage we have done to the cause of our Christ. There is mercy and grace to be found in the presence of God if we go before Him with true repentance and a desire to be different. Let the image of Jesus we present as proof to the opposing world be the representation of all we profess – A King in whom there is no fault indeed!

By Biodun