power among the Jews, seeing
this and perceiving that he was inclined to change his mind as to what
he had done, but that he was not willing to be thought to do so,
appealed to the Emperor."[26] This sheds light on the whole conduct of
Pilate during this trial--his fear of the Emperor, his hatred of the
Jews and desire to annoy them, his vacillation and yet obstinacy; and we
see that the mode the Sanhedrim now adopted with Pilate was their usual
mode of dealing with him: now, as always, they saw his vacillation,
disguised as it was by fierceness of speech, and they knew he must yield
to the threat of complaining to Caesar.

The very thing that Pilate feared, and to avoid which he sacrificed the
life of our Lord, came upon him six years after. Complaints against him
were sent to the Emperor; he was deposed from his office, and so
stripped of all that made life endurable to him, that, "wearied with
misfortunes," he died by his own hand. Perhaps we are tempted to think
Pilate's fate severe; we naturally sympathise with him; there are so
many traits of character which show well when contrasted with the
unprincipled violence of the Jews. We are apt to say he was weak rather
than wicked, forgetting that moral weakness is just another name for
wickedness, or rather is that which makes a man capable of any
wickedness. The man we call wicked has his one or two good points at
which we can be sure of him. The weak man we are never sure of. That he
has good feelings is nothing, for we do not know what may be brought to
overcome these feelings. That he has right convictions is nothing; we
may have thought he was convinced to-day, but to-morrow his old fears
have prevailed. And who is the weak man who is thus open to every kind
of influence? He is the man who is not single-minded. The single-minded,
worldly man makes no pretension to holiness, but sees at a glance that
that interferes with his real object; the single-minded, godly man has
only truth and righteousness for his aim, and does not listen to fears
or hopes suggested by the world. But the man who attempts to gratify
both his conscience and his evil or weak feelings, the man who fancies
he can so manipulate the events of his life as to secure his own selfish
ends as well as the great ends of justice and righteousness, will often
be in as great a perplexity as Pilate, and will come to as ruinous if
not to so appalling an end.

In this would-be equitable Roman governor, exhi