Lent Devotional Day 40

Day 40
Sunday, April 2

John 18:29 - 19:15
29 So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What charge do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered, “If he had done nothing wrong, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.” 31 Pilate responded, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your Law.” The Jewish leaders replied, “The Law doesn’t allow us to kill anyone.” (32 This was so that Jesus’ word might be fulfilled when he indicated how he was going to die.)

33 Pilate went back into the palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others spoken to you about me?” 35 Pilate responded, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your nation and its chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”

37 “So you are a king?” Pilate said. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.” 38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. After Pilate said this, he returned to the Jewish leaders and said, “I find no grounds for any charge against him. 39 You have a custom that I release one prisoner for you at Passover. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”

40 They shouted, “Not this man! Give us Barabbas!” (Barabbas was an outlaw.) Jesus is whipped and mocked as king
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19 Then Pilate had Jesus taken and whipped. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. 3 Over and over they went up to him and said, “Greetings, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

4 Pilate came out of the palace again and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look! I’m bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no grounds for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here’s the man.”

6 When the chief priests and their deputies saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find any grounds for a charge against him.” 7 The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a Law, and according to this Law he ought to die because he made himself out to be God’s Son.”

8 When Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back into the residence and spoke to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus didn’t answer. 10 So Pilate said, “You won’t speak to me? Don’t you know that I have authority to release you and also to crucify you?” 11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. That’s why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” 12 From that moment on, Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

However, the Jewish leaders cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t a friend of the emperor! Anyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes the emperor!” 13 When Pilate heard these words, he led Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench at the place called Stone Pavement (in Aramaic, Gabbatha). 14 It was about noon on the Preparation Day for the Passover. Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Here’s your king.”

15 The Jewish leaders cried out, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate responded, “What? Do you want me to crucify your king?” “We have no king except the emperor,” the chief priests answered.

Reflection
It’s difficult when people take rumors or stories that they have heard and change
them, even just to make it sound more exciting. Some Roman people took Jesus’
messages about God and his kingdom and changed them. They claimed that Jesus
declared he was a king. When they were not actually sure what he was. This
embellishment resulted in his crucifixion.

Today this might look like watching someone make a bad decision and not
stopping it. Not speaking up for the truth with the fear that you will be judged for
stating the unpopular opinion. Each of us runs into this problem in our lives.
Either through friends or social media we see and hear things and believe them
without giving them a second thought.

Maybe next time you hear a story, it’s worth pausing to think about what you
really believe. We can always ask God to help us look for the truth when so many
un-truths present themselves. We can ask God to reveal anything that may be blocking our view. Asking God for help strengthens us and leads us in the right direction.

By Josie Pirtle