November 5: Insight Post by Rusty Coram

  -   November 5, 2025

Truth in the Midst of Injustice: Jesus speaks of His kingdom of truth when questioned by Pilate, demonstrating that even in the face of injustice, His focus was on proclaiming truth. We are reminded that our allegiance to truth should not waver, even in difficult situations.

Wednesday Verse

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. Ephesians 6:14 (NLT)

Wednesday Questions

Am I willing to stand for truth, even when faced with opposition or personal cost? How can I strengthen my commitment to uphold truth, trusting that God’s righteousness will support me in challenging situations?

Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram

Blame shifting is when someone finds a way to blame someone else for their failure or shortcoming in order to take the focus off themselves. In our reading today, we see what may be the most colossal example in history. Pilate, the governor of Jerusalem, was told by the religious leaders who arrested Jesus to condemn Him to death and execute Him, since they didn’t have the authority to do so. After examining the situation and interviewing Jesus, Pilate resists, only to get major pushback and the threat of public rioting, which could create problems for Pilate with his superiors. We then read:

“Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

²⁵ And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!” ²⁶ So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.” Matthew 27:24-26 (NLT)

Pilate knew that, as governor, his job was to enforce the law, but his commitment to keeping his job was more important to him than fulfilling it. To protect his position, he was willing for an innocent man to be executed. His declaration that “I am innocent of this man’s blood” didn’t remove his guilt. He could have ceremonially washed his hands a thousand times, and his guilt would remain. It’s pretty easy to see Pilate’s complicity in leading to Jesus’ crucifixion, but we should let this be a clear reminder of the temptations to blame shift that we face. “You made me so mad…” “If you hadn’t done _____ then I wouldn’t have ______ “ or “everyone else is doing it so what’s the big deal?”  We have a ton of ways that we try to justify our bad choices and have others take the blame. A proverb that rightly calls this out says:

“We can always “prove” that we are right, but is the Lord convinced?” Proverbs 16:2 (Living Bible)

Pilate may be the poster boy of blame shifting, but we are all faced with the temptation.

Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor

New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org