Verses: John 19 : 1 - 16
My thoughts about the verses:
It is amazing to look what is happening at this point of the story. Pilate who was not Jewish could not find anything to sentence Jesus to death. He had his men whip Jesus. They made a crude crown out of thorns and placed it on his head. Yet, there was no reason to crucify him. He only caved in after pressure from the Jewish leaders.
They were so afraid that Jesus would lead a rebellion and this would upset Caesar. Amazingly they were more afraid of the worldly ruler than the God they served. Yet, they were part of the plan. See the followers had to take part in the death of Christ. If it had been done because he was guilty of a crime then he would not be the true sacrificial lamb. The entire story is to fulfill the promise made to Abraham that a greater lamb would come and there would be no more need for sacrifices.
I know that we often get confused in our day to day life. We put others before God. We look at the world and think what they have is more important than a spiritual connection with the Creator. Yet, how many of us would have been at the palace asking for Pilate to crucify Jesus. I would dare say that there are a lot of us that would have sided with the church leaders.
I mentioned this before but it is important to note that church leaders are human. They make mistakes just like the rest of the world. They do their best to serve God and share the gifts that they have been given. Yet, there are times that church leaders stray from the path that they need to be on. We can often be fooled into thinking that things should be one way because the leaders have said so.
The main thing that I see out of this scripture is to stand your ground. When you feel something is not right do not cave to the pressures of others. Often times that caving any separates you from the peace you have with God. Do not let others intimidate you into doing things that you feel are not appropriate. Instead work hard and focus on living a Godly life. Let yourself be immersed fully in the spirit so that when the time arises you can stand up for what you believe.
Plate caved in because he did not have the faith he needed to stand up to the mob. See Pilate himself was manipulated by the leaders into hanging Jesus on the cross. Yet, Jesus gives him an out to his part in his own death. Jesus tells Pilate that he is not as guilty as those that brought him to him to die. Pilate did everything that he could to release Jesus because he saw him as an innocent. Yet all of a sudden when he feared that they were going to get Caesar involved and he would also be charged with treason he agreed and let them take Jesus to the cross.
My favorite play is Jesus Christ Superstar. In this play there is a song in which Pilate had a dream in which he is faced with the upcoming trial. He doesn't know what it means but it wakes him from his sleep and puts fear in his heart. The part of the song that sticks out to me is the last verse. "Then I saw thousands of millions crying for this man and then I heard then mentioning my name and leaving me the blame." (Webber). Pilate was aware what was happening even though the Jewish leaders didn't. He feared that people would see him as the bad guy. Yet, in reality I feel like he found his faith in this trial. He felt that Jesus was innocent and it is amazing to think that he knew it was wrong even though the leaders did not feel this way.
What we can learn from this even is not to give into peer pressure. If we feel that something is wrong then don't do it. Keep your eyes focused on God and know that standing up to things that you feel are wrong is OK. You do not have to go along with things that are out of boundaries. So if you feel that things are wrong then stand up to the crowd. They may give you a hard time but know that if you do what Christ would do you are in the right. Being a Christian means that there will be many times that you will stand out from others around you. The Holy Spirit will lie on your heart what needs to be done. That small voice that you hear saying this isn't right is Jesus. That whisper that you hear that says step up against the crowd is the Holy Spirit guiding you. When you do these things you will have rewards outside this Earth.
Prayer:
Dear God thank you for being the love of our life. Thank you for helping us is the servant that you desire. We praise you for becoming the sacrificial lamb. We know that you died without a blemish and we thank you for the gift that you give us. Dear God we ask you right now that you help us stand up to peer pressure. Help us keep focused on you. Help us become the person that you desire. In your Holy name we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you stood up against the crowd? Are you willing to put Christ desire before the masses? Have you allowed the Savior into your heart? What is the Holy Spirit telling you to do today?
My thoughts about the verses:
It is amazing to look what is happening at this point of the story. Pilate who was not Jewish could not find anything to sentence Jesus to death. He had his men whip Jesus. They made a crude crown out of thorns and placed it on his head. Yet, there was no reason to crucify him. He only caved in after pressure from the Jewish leaders.
They were so afraid that Jesus would lead a rebellion and this would upset Caesar. Amazingly they were more afraid of the worldly ruler than the God they served. Yet, they were part of the plan. See the followers had to take part in the death of Christ. If it had been done because he was guilty of a crime then he would not be the true sacrificial lamb. The entire story is to fulfill the promise made to Abraham that a greater lamb would come and there would be no more need for sacrifices.
I know that we often get confused in our day to day life. We put others before God. We look at the world and think what they have is more important than a spiritual connection with the Creator. Yet, how many of us would have been at the palace asking for Pilate to crucify Jesus. I would dare say that there are a lot of us that would have sided with the church leaders.
I mentioned this before but it is important to note that church leaders are human. They make mistakes just like the rest of the world. They do their best to serve God and share the gifts that they have been given. Yet, there are times that church leaders stray from the path that they need to be on. We can often be fooled into thinking that things should be one way because the leaders have said so.
The main thing that I see out of this scripture is to stand your ground. When you feel something is not right do not cave to the pressures of others. Often times that caving any separates you from the peace you have with God. Do not let others intimidate you into doing things that you feel are not appropriate. Instead work hard and focus on living a Godly life. Let yourself be immersed fully in the spirit so that when the time arises you can stand up for what you believe.
Plate caved in because he did not have the faith he needed to stand up to the mob. See Pilate himself was manipulated by the leaders into hanging Jesus on the cross. Yet, Jesus gives him an out to his part in his own death. Jesus tells Pilate that he is not as guilty as those that brought him to him to die. Pilate did everything that he could to release Jesus because he saw him as an innocent. Yet all of a sudden when he feared that they were going to get Caesar involved and he would also be charged with treason he agreed and let them take Jesus to the cross.
My favorite play is Jesus Christ Superstar. In this play there is a song in which Pilate had a dream in which he is faced with the upcoming trial. He doesn't know what it means but it wakes him from his sleep and puts fear in his heart. The part of the song that sticks out to me is the last verse. "Then I saw thousands of millions crying for this man and then I heard then mentioning my name and leaving me the blame." (Webber). Pilate was aware what was happening even though the Jewish leaders didn't. He feared that people would see him as the bad guy. Yet, in reality I feel like he found his faith in this trial. He felt that Jesus was innocent and it is amazing to think that he knew it was wrong even though the leaders did not feel this way.
What we can learn from this even is not to give into peer pressure. If we feel that something is wrong then don't do it. Keep your eyes focused on God and know that standing up to things that you feel are wrong is OK. You do not have to go along with things that are out of boundaries. So if you feel that things are wrong then stand up to the crowd. They may give you a hard time but know that if you do what Christ would do you are in the right. Being a Christian means that there will be many times that you will stand out from others around you. The Holy Spirit will lie on your heart what needs to be done. That small voice that you hear saying this isn't right is Jesus. That whisper that you hear that says step up against the crowd is the Holy Spirit guiding you. When you do these things you will have rewards outside this Earth.
Prayer:
Dear God thank you for being the love of our life. Thank you for helping us is the servant that you desire. We praise you for becoming the sacrificial lamb. We know that you died without a blemish and we thank you for the gift that you give us. Dear God we ask you right now that you help us stand up to peer pressure. Help us keep focused on you. Help us become the person that you desire. In your Holy name we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you stood up against the crowd? Are you willing to put Christ desire before the masses? Have you allowed the Savior into your heart? What is the Holy Spirit telling you to do today?
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