Jesus carried out His father’s will
Luke 23:1 – 5
23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.’
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no basis for a charge against this man.’
5 But they insisted, ‘He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.’
Here we see the religious leaders bring Jesus before the civil authority – Pilate. This is probably because only Pilate had the authority to impose a sentence of capital punishment.
The religious leaders know Pilate won’t care about a ‘religious’ reason to convict Jesus – so instead they mention political crimes – i.e., diverting the nation away from Roman rule, and challenging Caesar.
Ultimately, we know that Pilate will do what the religious leaders ask, but not out of a sense of justice: instead, Pilate wants calm to be restored. He knows the religious leaders won’t be satisfied until Jesus is killed. We see Jesus, who knew his destiny, not seeking to escape judgement but instead carrying out his Father’s will.
Head: do we find it easy to let the world’s standards affect how we view Jesus?
Heart: in our desperation to sin & get what we want, do we care if others are hurt?
Hands: does how we live show any ‘evidence’ that we are followers of Christ?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your son Jesus and his death on the cross to save us from our sins. We are sorry that we so often seek to have our faith conform to the ways of this world. In your mercy, by your Spirit would you help us to live lives that are different to those around us because we are following your will.
A song to listen to: Hands On
Oliver Meehan
Living Church Creek Road
