What Shall I Do Then with Jesus? The Question Every Soul Must Answer

Pilate's question in Matthew 27:22 echoes across centuries with undiminished force: "What shall I do then with Jesus?" We comfort ourselves believing we would judge differently than Pilate did, yet this question demands our answer with greater urgency than his. Pilate acted with limited knowledge; we possess the full light of Christian revelation streaming upon that Divine face across two millennia.

While Christ remains popular—when following Him means safety and rejoicing crowds—the question poses no difficulty. But there come terrible moments in every soul's Passion Week when competing claims clamor for allegiance. A wild, frenzied mob of passions, prejudices, indulgences, and sins raises murderous clamor, demanding we surrender Christ for some other popular idol.

T. de Witt Talmage identified four inadequate responses: silent indifference, active rejection, viewing Christ merely as a helpful companion or physician for blind eyes and deaf ears, or—most dangerously—treating Him as a cheerful passenger rather than Lord. Only one response remains: taking Him into your heart completely. Trust Him. Love Him. What more could He accomplish for you than He has already done?

Yet the question transforms. In eternity's reckoning, Pilate's question reverses itself. No longer will we ask, "What shall we do with Jesus?" Instead, with all the bells of eternity ringing at the burning of the world, Christ will pose the final inquiry: "What will Jesus do with us?"