The God of Six Chances

"Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice."
- John 18:38

God didn't rush the verdict-
He interrupted it at every turn,
giving Pilate room to choose
what was right,
even though it held risk.

The six trials of Jesus aren't
just a story about His suffering.
They're a story about how God
extended patience and mercy
to Pilate, the one judging Him.

The first chance:
Pilate examined Jesus
and found no fault (Jn 18; Jn 19).
To stand before innocence
is itself a call to truth.

The second chance:
He sent Him to Herod (Lu 23)-
a way to shift the weight-
yet the verdict returned untouched.
Providence placed innocence
back into his hands.

The third chance:
Pilate tried compromise
through the scourging-
a Roman torture designed
to weaken a man before a cross.
He hoped the sight of a tortured Jesus
would appease the crowd
and release him from the verdict.

The fourth chance:
A warning through a dream-
his wife's urgent plea:
"Have nothing to do
with that righteous Man" (Mt 27).
Sometimes heaven speaks
through the one beside us.

The fifth chance:
He faced the crowd
(Mt 27; Mk 15; Lu 23; Jn 19),
torn between freeing Jesus
and pleasing them.

The final chance:
The basin.
The water.
The symbolic washing (Mt 27).
Hands were cleansed,
but blood stains remained.
Did he really think water
could shift the blame
or wash away his guilt?

And still-
in the face of such truth,
God had given Pilate
not one chance,
but six.

You may not know this about Jesus,
but on that dark day, He
remained the only One free-
from fear,
from bias,
from the darkness
that shaped other hearts.
The only light in the room.

Because salvation never rested
on the courage of a governor,
but on the obedience of the Son-
the true Judge
who stepped into judgment
so we could step into grace.

This isn't just history.
It's a mirror.

I'm not sure why this is hard to say,
and yet it feels important to say:
God still gives us chances to judge Jesus-
truth revealed,
warnings spoken,
conscience stirred,
mercy giving time to choose.

Because sooner or later,
the truth stands before us,
and the choice we've avoided
becomes the choice we must make.

.