“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

John 19:12-16

“From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,”

When I traveled in Arabic countries this saying was very common: The phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  Is that what is taking place in the above quote?  I was blessed to have the gulf area as part of my assignment and you were told as a businessperson that if you travel to Israel, ask that they not stamp your passport but add a page that could be removed.  The Saudi and others in those regions have a great hatred for Israel and that hate will be passed on to anyone whom they believe is a friend of Israel. 

Throughout history, in World War II both England and USA became allies with Russia, this is the account; “During the Second World War, said foreign policy was often on display within the Allied powers.  On the European side of the war, tension was common between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. The fiercely anti-Communist Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that, "if Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons," in support of British aid to Soviet forces.   In addition to Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was wary of Joseph Stalin and his dictatorial regime, but realized the Soviets were necessary for the Allied war effort.”

It does not seem that Pilate is on the same page with the Jewish authorities, in fact Pilate only sees Jesus as a problem, not an enemy of his or Rome’s.  So when Pilate said to that group, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, I find no guilt in him.”  It was the reply of the leaders of the mob that frightened the governor; “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”  (John 19:7 ESV)  He what! That day the Roman procurator of Judaea wanted to be anywhere but there, and it is reported that Pilate’s wife had a dream, and it is recorded in Matthew’s gospel. “Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”  (Matthew 27:19 ESV) 

So why did Pilate wash his hands of a righteous man?  It was not because he liked the Jews, nor was it because he respected their customs or religious beliefs, it was done out of fear.  Pilate had no fear of the Jews, and it seems as if he had little fear of God, but the Jews knew whom he did fear and that was Caesar.  This was the line that the Jews used to close the deal; “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” (John 19:12b ESV)  And that day fear reigned supreme, and Jesus became an enemy, and so the saying is correct: “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

But what about the Jews, did they not hate the Romans, did they not dream of the day the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem with his army of angels and free them from the Romans.  Moses had told them that God was their King, and yet Jesus without an army was rocking the religious world, and they feared that if he was allowed to live, Rome would remove them as the shadow government, and they would no longer be the big dogs and hold a place of honor.  This is what John’s gospel reported; “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:14-15 ESV)  And on that day that saying once more held true; “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice