Tuesday, March 28, 2017
John 19:13-14 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.
CRUCIAL HOUR
Whenever a judge passes sentence, it is a crucial time for the prisoner. But when Pilate passed sentence upon Jesus, it was a crucial hour for Pilate.
You see, the verdict of the court had been "not guilty." Pilate had declared it more than once. Moreover, Pilate knew right from wrong, and knew there was a God. But when the Jews brought up Caesar's name, it was no longer Jesus on trial, but Pilate himself who was being threatened. He knew that there were charges that could be made against him before Tiberius Caesar. And so Pilate succumbed, not because of ignorance, but because of pressure, pressure that he himself had helped to create by his past actions.
And what about us? We, too, have past sins that could be brought up against us, don't we? We too have fears about losing our position in the eyes of other people, not to mention possessions and power.
Yet in the hour of sentencing, the way of the cross was set before Jesus, and now He says, "Trust me. I gave my life for you. I will never desert you. I will be with you always. Follow me. Do not run away or try to shift the blame for those past sins. Repent of them. They were laid on me. There is forgiveness for them. I give life to those in the grave, those whom positions and possessions and power and friends can never help. Trust me. Come follow me."
