Now Pilate, whatever other faults he may have had, was not lacking in the Roman sense of justice, but that sense of justice, being unsupported either by moral principles or by religious faith, was at the mercy of purely personal considerations.

It is commonly imagined that it does not matter what one believes, as what one does.  Pilate’s trial of Christ is a good example that the exact contrary is true, that people’s actions accurately reflect their beliefs.

Unless we are convinced that what is right must never be sacrificed to what is wrong, and unless we take that as our guide in life, we shall find that in practical matters our conduct will be decided by the circumstances of the moment.  We shall then be swayed by such considerations as fear of incurring unpopularity or ridicule or by a desire to gain personal prestige or advantage.

All the time we take our stand on the solid ground of what is right and true, no matter how difficult the right may be, we know exactly where we are.  But directly we shift from that position and allow other motives to play their part and influence our thinking, then no amount of obstinacy will save us, for so often obstinacy is just a self-willed pride in not giving way, and as we all know, we pocket our pride if sufficiently powerful pressures are brought to bear.