The crowd knew what to ask for; the priests had stirred them up to demand the release of a well known criminal.
The governor wanted to release a different prisoner, one whom he had found to be innocent. But the crowd shouted back, “No, not Him!” They wanted the criminal! (verses 38-40.)
Surely those people must have realized that their priests were not what they claimed to be. Anyone who wanted such an injustice to be done could not be on the side of God!
The governor brought out the innocent Man. What a horrendous sight - He was was horribly battered and bleeding, they had even been plucking the beard from His cheeks, and spitting all over Him - He was unrecognizable. “Here is the Man ...I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
There stood Jesus of Nazareth, wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe. (John 19:4-5.)
All this had been described in detail by the prophet Isaiah over 700 years earlier! (Isaiah 50:6. 52:14. 53:1-7.) Long before Jesus had been born into this world He had known this was how He would be treated! And still He had come to us from Heaven!
“As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’”
Pilate knew that “it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him,” and now he had to decide what to do! (Mark 15:9-10.)
Today it is YOUR TURN to decide what to do about Jesus!
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, claims to be the one and only Priest and Saviour whom God has given for sinful mankind. Yet some religious leaders and priests still expect you to accept evil men in the place of Jesus! Some want you to believe that Jesus’ once-and-for-all sacrifice was not enough, and they want Jesus to still be taken in their wicked hands and be offered up as a sacrifice over and over again! (Hebrews 10:10-14.)
How could anyone ever go along with the instructions of sinful men rather than accept Jesus, the Son of God, as the true Priest and Saviour?
Pilate did! And so did those wicked people! And they thought Jesus was completely at their mercy!
Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above.” (verse 11.)
You see, once, and once only, God was going to allow wicked men to do what they wanted with Jesus. By allowing this to happen, God was making it possible for His perfect Son to willingly be “sacrificed once for all when He offered Himself.” (Hebrews 7:24-27.)
Do you know why God allowed this to happen? It was so that HE could free the guilty! You and I are guilty and condemned, because of our sin. But because Jesus was willing to be sacrificed “once for all”, He can offer every sinner who trusts in Him forgiveness and acceptance with God!
Don’t you be on the side of those today who still want Jesus to be offered as a sacrifice day after day! Jesus will NEVER AGAIN be offered up in sacrifice for sin! God only allowed it "once for all"!
Read of their wicked response to Jesus in John chapter 18:28 – 19:16.
John Nixon, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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