Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 23:20-22

"And Pilate spake unto them again, desiring to release Jesus; but they shouted, saying, Crucify, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and release him." — Luke 23:20-22 (ASV)

Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spoke again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said to them the third time, Why, what evil has he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

He thinks a great deal of his own inconsistent conclusion, and so many men do. When they come to a conclusion, bad as it is, contradictory, they will stick to it. Adhering to nothing but wrong, like a pendulum swinging between right and wrong, was this Pilate. Yet he will keep on the swing. He is only steady in that—I will, therefore, chastise him and release him. Oh, dear friends, it would be better for you to come to a thorough decision one way or the other—Christ, or no Christ; true religion, or no religion; but to halt between the two is a lame business that will be ruinous to you.