Thursday, July 30

John 19:1-16 (NIV)

John 19:1-16 (New International Version)


1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.


4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"


6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."


7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."


8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"


11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."


12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."


13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.


15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.


16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.


Devotional


While there’s a lot we could say about this passage, what stands out the most is the confidence Jesus has. Here he is standing before the person who has the power to have him crucified and he plainly tells Pilate that the power Pilate has is only because God allowed him to have it. Jesus puts things in perspective.


The challenge in this is for us to recognize where all things come from. Do we have a sense of humility realizing that our health, or our families, or our living in America are ours only because God wills it?


Prayer


God, thank You for all You are. I recognize that it is You that has ultimate power and control over everything that concerns me. Help me to be thankful for every blessing and keep me from living as if I deserve it; but to see that they are gifts from You. In Jesus name, Amen.

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