The Movements of a Mob

Friends,

“No fault” is a kind of automobile insurance that provides that each driver must collect the allowable amount of money from his or her own insurance carrier subsequent to an accident regardless of who is at fault.  No-fault insurance is required by statute in a number of states.  The term “no fault” is also used colloquially in reference to a type of divorce in which a marriage can be dissolved on the basis of irretrievable breakdown or irreconcilable differences.  This can happen without a requirement that either party prove that the spouse was guilty of any misconduct causing the end of the marriage.  How convenient that we live in a society that can claim that we can get out of difficult circumstances without having to recognize whether any individual has any “fault” in a case?  There is a sad irony involved in this phrase…because we live in a society where many people do not have any accountability for their negative or destructive actions.  But…what our culture may deem as “a good possibility,” does not translate into the spiritual realm.  When we consider our lives as human beings, we all have “fault” as it relates to sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  We cannot escape this designation by saying, “Hey, I went down to my insurance company as was able to get a no fault disclaimer for my personal behavior…what a great deal, huh?”  Fortunately, for you and for me, Jesus paid the price for our faults, as well as for all of our trespasses and sins.  He alone…the one who truly had no fault in Him…is able to cleanse us and make us as people who have “no fault.”   So, there is a spiritual solution for our wrongs…and it is found in Jesus.  We are going to continue to consider Jesus’ trial before Pilate.

As we saw in our previous message, Pilate could find no fault with Jesus, so he sent Jesus to Herod, who in turn could find no wrong, so he sends Jesus back to Pilate.  The fact that Herod finds nothing worthy of death in Jesus encourages Pilate to confront the Jewish leaders and seek to release the prisoner.  He summons the chief priests and the rulers and tells them that he finds no guilt in Jesus, and that Herod, likewise has found no guilt in Jesus.  The next step would be to punish Jesus and then release Him.  The Jews have already made it clear that they want Jesus to die (John 18:31)…and yet, Pilate is still feebly trying to do what would be the noble thing.  Hoping to strengthen this suggestion, Pilate offers to bargain with the Jewish leaders. At the Passover, it was custom for the governor to release a prisoner and please the Jews…so, why not release Jesus?  Or, he could release Barabbas…but, why would the Jews want Barabbas free?  He is a robber (John 18:40), a notorious prisoner (Matthew 27:16), an insurrectionist and a murderer (Luke 23:19).  Who in their right mind would want that kind of prisoner turned loose?  Incredible as it seems, the crowd…in a case of mob mentality…asks for Barabbas’ release. The people are persuaded by the chief priests and elders whose religious convictions have no interest in justice or mercy.  An ironic note to the story is that…the name Barabbas means “son of the father”, and he is released as the genuine Son of the Father takes his place!

Pilate tries to placate the mob by having Him beaten, but they cry out “Crucify Him!” Jesus is innocent, but He is treated as if He is guilty.  Pilate calls Him the “King of the Jews” (John 18:39), so the soldiers decide that the king should have a robe and a crown. In another irony, sin is what brought thorns and thistles into the world, and the Lord is now going to wear a crown made up of these items.  And the verbs in 19:3 indicate that the soldiers repeatedly come to Him, mock Him and beat Him with their hands.  Pilate comes out a third time and brings Jesus with him, thinking that a beaten, scourged Jesus might elicit some sympathy with the crown…but to no avail.  The religious leaders are not at a loss for a reply, as they say – “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because He made Himself (to be) the Son of God” (19:7)  Pilate is impressed with the words and demeanor of Jesus…he has never met a prisoner like Him before. He certainly has a lot of questions running through his mind concerning who this guy really is(?)…and it frightens him.  In addition, Pilate’s wife sends him a curious, strange message saying that he should have nothing to do with Jesus. (Matthew 27:19)  Jesus’ silence before Pilate and Herod is a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7.  Pilate’s words reflect fear giving way to worry and anger. When he says that he has authority over Jesus, it is, once again, ironic.  Pilate really is not bargaining from a position of strength, but weakness. If he has the authority to release Jesus, why does he not do it?  We have to remember that Pilate is not interested in spiritual truth, but his priority is to maintain peace in Jerusalem. 

Jesus does finally speak in 19:11…and His words reveal His faith in His Father and His surrender to His will.  All genuine authority comes from God, and Jesus reminds Pilate that the only reason he has so-called authority is because it is delegated to him by God.  So, in one final, mighty effort, Pilate tries to get Jesus released…but, the Jewish leaders pull their trump card by saying, “If you do this, you are no friend of Caesar’s.”  This accusation is too much for the governor, so he gives his official verdict and hands Jesus over to be crucified. Matthew tells us that Pilate washes his hands before the crowd. Yet, this action cannot cleanse his heart.  The final words of the crowd add further insult, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Douglas Twitchell shares this -- Life is like a roller coaster. You and I have heard this statement before, but I don’t believe it is accurate. When people say "Life is like a roller coaster", what they mean is, it has its "ups and downs". But really, this is not a good analogy, because when you're riding a roller coaster, it is all thrills and excitement...and the "ups" are actually less thrilling than the "downs".  No, life is not like a roller coaster. It is more like waiting in line for a roller coaster. While we are here on earth, for the few years that we have, we are simply waiting in line for the real excitement, which is our eternal life with God…and unlike a roller coaster, it is a thrill that will never end.  According to Jesus, most people believe this mortal existence is all that we have. But when we lose sight of what is waiting for us at the end of our mortal existence, we lose sight of purpose, and life becomes pointless.  Who would stand in line for three hours for a non-existent roller coaster? Without an eternal view, we have to convince ourselves that we are having fun right now, and life has to be about squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of the now. An eternal perspective of life is especially important when we face trials and difficulties. The individual who has no eternal perspective is bowed down and even broken by circumstances. But the person who understands the perishable nature of this life and the imperishable nature of the life to come, can find strength to suffer through difficult times, knowing that their trials and troubles will come to an end.

Dr. Stephen Felker from a sermon entitled, “Jesus before Pilate and the Mob,” says Pilate asks one of the great questions of life, “What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?” (Matt. 27:22). Asked 2,000 years ago by this man Pontius Pilate, it is the great, ultimate question of life. It is the question that every one of you will answer sooner or later.  It is the question of destiny. Answer this question correctly, and everything else will ultimately be right. Answer this question wrong, and ultimately everything else will be wrong.  Now, there are really only two things you can do with Jesus. You can accept Him or reject Him. You can confess Him or deny Him. There is no middle ground with this.  Jesus said in Luke 11:23, “He who is not with Me is against Me....”  What have you done with Jesus?

Blessings, Don

Questions and Denials

Friends,

Bernard Ebbers is probably a name you do not know.  As the founder and CEO telecommunications giant, WorldCom, Ebbers was sitting pretty – until he brought down his own company thanks to his own corrupt practices and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.  WorldCom went deeply into debt after the company made a series of acquisitions that made it financially insolvent.  Ebbers was convicted of committing accounting fraud to the tune of $11 billion dollars, lying to his investors to keep the struggling company afloat. He also had the distinction of making TIME’s list of crooked CEOs…not exactly a glorious designation.  TIME also stated that the Securities Exchange Commission investigated $400 million that WorldCom had loaned to Ebbers.  This is a sad story, and it just goes to show that there are people in this world who are willing to get rich, get popular, and get status through any means necessary.  It would be nice if this was some late-breaking news story concerning something that just doesn’t happen very often…unfortunately, there are a dozen former CEOs just like Ebbers who tried to swindle the public.  But, as Solomon says, there is nothing new under the sun, and so we come to another corrupt CEO from the time of Christ…and this person was worse, because he was also a religious leader.  And we could just as easily pull up a list of corrupt religious leaders from recent to distant history as well, but we will save it for another day…you’re welcome.  Annas is probably the most respected and powerful of the Jewish authorities at this time, even though he is no longer high priest. He had been the high priest (A.D. 6-15) until he was removed from office by the Romans…and now, his son-in-law, Caiaphas, is the high priest.  God had originally ordained that one man serve as high priest for a lifetime, so it easy to see that the Jewish religious establishment is a mess to say the least. We will talk more about this as we go.

As we noted in a previous message, Jesus deliberately gives Himself over to the enemy.  Now, they bind Him and lead Him to the house of Annas, the former high priest who still has political and religious clout (John 18:12-27) .  The “trial” before Annas is more like an informal hearing.  It is plainly illegal and brutal.  It is hard to imagine a guard today being allowed to strike a prisoner, or a man who does not hold any kind of office interrogating a prisoner.  Annas is looking for some kind of evidence on which to base an accusation that would lead to a verdict of capital punishment.  What kind of teaching has Jesus been doing?  What about His disciples…what are they up to? Didn’t one of them use a sword to cut off Caiaphas’ servant’s ear? 

Jewish law demands that witnesses be called before a prisoner is questioned. Annas defies the law on several fronts.  At least a half-dozen points of order are ignored in the proceedings…among them -- the trial takes place at night, during the week of Passover, behind closed doors, and away from the temple, and so on.  Jesus knows His rights, but He does not insist on them.  He is an example to us when we suffer unjustly. (1 Peter 2:19-25) 

At the same time that this is taking place, there is drama concerning Peter that is unfolding.  Jesus has already predicted that his close disciple would deny Him three times (John 13:38, etc.)  He also shares that Peter will be restored to fellowship and service. (Luke 22:32)  Peter follows the crowd when he should have been taking a flight on SW Airlines and getting away (18:8).  Had he done so, he…in all likelihood…would not have denied the Lord.  While we certainly admire Peter’s love and courage, we cannot agree with his actions…for he walks right into the temptation that Jesus warned him about while they were in the Garden.  “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak," Jesus said. (Matthew 16:41) 

We do not know who the other disciple is that is with Peter in the courtyard of the home of the high priest.  And, we don’t really even know how they have access to be there.  Nonetheless, the other disciple is likely John.  Peter gradually moves into the place of temptation and sin.  He is already in the courtyard, but he comes to stand with the enemy by the fire, and before long, he sits down with them.  It is now too late…and within a short period of time, he will deny that he has known Jesus three times.  A servant girl is the first to ask him if he is one of Jesus’ disciples. The original Greek text indicates that she expects a negative answer, and this is precisely what she receives – Peter tells her “no”.  Peter stays by the fire…which is amazing, and ironic, given the cold that is entering his heart. And another servant girl asks him the same question.  The pronoun “they” suggests that others are getting on board with the line of questioning. Once again, Peter denies knowing Jesus.  The third question comes from one of Malchus’ relatives.  As we remember, Malchus is the guy whose ear Peter lopped off – so, this is surely an awkward situation.  Here the original Greek indicates that he expects an affirmative answer.  This guy would probably know the guy who wielded the ear removing sword, as he was likely standing near Malchus when Peter did it.  At this point, Peter’s resistance breaks down completely, and he begins to curse and swear. (Matthew 26:74)  This doesn’t mean that Peter lets loose a bunch of expletives like a sailor (or a fisherman), but that he put himself under a curse in order to emphasize his statement.  He is on trial, so to speak, and so he puts himself under an oath to convince his accusers that he is telling the truth.  It is at this point that the rooster begins to crow, just as Jesus had predicted. The crowing of the rooster reminds Peter of the Lord’s words, and he goes out and weeps bitterly.  The crowing rooster also indicates, once again, that Jesus is in control.  It will also serve as an invitation for Peter to come to repentance, which we will come back to later.

Chuck Swindoll shares this -- Jesus was the only person to live His entire life without doing anything wrong. Yet, He was arrested, tried, convicted, and condemned to suffer a punishment normally reserved for the Roman Empire’s worst criminals. His arrest was a betrayal and His trials a farce, His convictions illegal and His punishment a travesty of justice. Yet through it all, He remained calm, He answered questions honestly, He spoke the truth with dignity, and He calmly resolved to allow the Father to vindicate Him at the proper time. We would do well to imitate Christ in our response to the injustices we experience in our lives.

How do we respond when we are under fire?  How do we deal with stress and difficulties?  It is certainly a growth process. I know from my own life that there have been times when I did not deal with such matters as well as I would have liked, and this is primarily because I was not in the spiritual place that I should have been at the time.  Peter certainly made a number of mistakes, because he was not in a proper spiritual place, nor was he thinking clearly…so, when temptation came knocking on the door of his heart, he gave in and sinned.  We all have choices to make…usually every day…as to how we are going to process matters, as it relates to trials and temptations.  I hope and pray that we continue to grow in how it is that we respond to negative situations and circumstances, and that we will not give in to pride, but seek to do the Lord’s will.  To quote the inimitable Mr. Rogers -- “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” (Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember)  Good words to live by.

Blessings, Don