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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, April 5, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Jesus Is Questioned by Pontius Pilate [1] Bible Verse :John 18:28-38 "Early in the morning they led Jesus from Caiaphas’s house to the Roman governor’s palace. They would not go inside the palace, because they did not want to make themselves unclean; they wanted to eat the Passover meal. So Pilate went outside to them and asked, “What charges do you bring against this man?” They answered, “If he were not a criminal, we wouldn’t have brought him to you.” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we are not allowed to put anyone to death,” the Jews answered. (This happened so that what Jesus said about how he would die would come true.) Then Pilate went back inside the palace and called Jesus to him and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “Is that your own question, or did others tell you about me?” INRI King of the Jews Pilate answered, “I am not one of you. It was your own people and their leading priests who handed you over to me. What have you done wrong?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it belonged to this world, my servants would have fought to keep me from being given over to the Jewish leaders. But my kingdom is from another place.” Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus answered, “You are the one saying I am a king. This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.” " Message:
The Jews bring Jesus to be tried by Roman law, since they are politically ruled by a Roman governor. Their strategy is to show that Jesus is fomenting a political rebellion against Rome, a capital crime. But Jesus tell Pilate the truth — basically, he lets Pilate know that he has no desire to become what Pilate would call a “king”, even though he calls heaven a “kingdom”.
John’s account of Jesus’ trial is heavy with irony. The Jews, who are dragging the Son of God to be killed, do not want to make themselves “unclean” by entering a Roman household. Then, they want the Romans to execute Jesus for them, again, because they do not want to soil their hands with the sin of murder. They cannot kill Jesus because the high priests are supposed to be holy men, so with unmitigated hypocrisy, they arrest him and try to convince Pilate to convict and execute him under Roman law.
But Pilate is a clever and educated man with at least some shred of integrity. He recognizes Jesus’ rhetorical skill, for Jesus runs him around in circles. And instead of infuriating him, Jesus’ answers pique Pilate’s curiosity.
Universal King Christ
Jesus will not confess to being a “king”, because the meaning of “king”, to Pilate, is a temporal political ruler. He does confess that He has a “kingdom” but contrasts His kingdom, which is neither political nor even one of this world, to the sort of kingdom that would present a threat to Rome.
Pilate is often depicted simplistically in the Passion story, but he is actually not the main villain (although he is wicked enough). He is a heathen and will not save Christ, but he balks at being used as the tool of the Sanhedrin. He will ultimately understand what Jesus is saying and decide correctly that He is not guilty of breaking Roman law. Caiaphas’ scheme to have Pilate do his dirty work for him will almost fail.
But Pilate, although he has nothing against Jesus, is as corrupt as politicians have been since the dawn of time. He would rather kill an innocent man than see a disturbance among the crowds in Jerusalem for the Passover; so even though he washes his hands, it is hardly sufficient to take the blood off of them. Christ will be crucified by Roman soldiers; and if Pilate does not instigate it, he permits it.
Meditation : Prayer : May the God of hope fill me and all of us with the joy and peace that comes from believing, so that we may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.....Amen |
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