Pilate Under Peer Pressure-John 18

For sermon notes: https://libertycf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/LCF-Pilate-The-Prefect-Who-Punked-To-Peer-Pressure-John-1833-40191-16-4-12-25-Palm-Sunday-3-1.pdf

In this episode of Lifting US Up in Liberty, Pastor Earl Wallace walks us through the powerful and troubling account of Pontius Pilate and his encounter with Jesus Christ, found in John 18 and 19. Pilate stood face to face with truth itself—Jesus—but lacked the courage to act on what he knew was right. Instead, he gave in to political pressure and public opinion.
We see Pilate ask Jesus, “What is truth?”—a question many still ask today while ignoring the answer standing right in front of them. Pilate’s failure wasn’t just legal; it was moral and spiritual. He knew Jesus was innocent, but the fear of losing approval from the religious leaders and Caesar made him cave. He chose safety over integrity and went down in history as the man who gave Jesus over to be crucified.
This episode also challenges Christians to not compartmentalize their faith—to stop being one person at church, another at work, and someone else in front of family or friends. Christ’s lordship is for all areas of life. We are to be the same person wherever we go, bearing witness to truth no matter the cost.
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5 Key Points:
• Pilate Faced Truth and Buckled: He knew Jesus was innocent, yet gave in to the crowd’s demands out of fear.
• Religious Leaders Were Ceremonially Clean but Morally Corrupt: They prioritized rituals over righteousness, mirroring what many institutions still do today.
• Jesus’s Kingdom Is Not From This World—But It Rules Over It: Christ’s kingdom is spiritual, eternal, and righteous, and it speaks to all earthly systems.
• God’s People Perish for Lack of Understanding: Isaiah and Hosea warn us that ignorance of God’s truth leads to destruction, including generational consequences.
• We’re Called to Judge Righteously: Jesus doesn’t say “never judge,” but to judge according to fruit, not just words—a crucial distinction for political and personal life.
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Why You Should Listen:
If you’ve ever felt pressured to stay silent about your faith at work, school, or in front of family, this episode is for you. Pilate’s story is a cautionary tale of what happens when we let fear and people-pleasing override what we know to be right. You’ll be challenged to live your faith consistently—everywhere, all the time.
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Why This Episode Matters:
This episode reveals the quiet dangers of compromise and how easily we can betray truth if we’re not grounded in it. As political, religious, and cultural pressures increase, believers must be bold enough to stand for truth—even when it’s unpopular. Learning from Pilate’s failure helps us walk in the freedom of integrity and righteousness.

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