John 18:33-38 NLT
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.
“What is truth?”
This is going to be a question that every human being will have to answer. The question is… how will we respond? What will we do with Jesus?
This weekend was Easter weekend, and the message our Pastor preached was about the different responses that three people in the Gospel of John had with Jesus.
The first person was Pontius Pilate. He was the Roman ruler in Judea and the only one who could sentence anyone to death. The religious leaders brought Jesus to him to be tried for false accusations out of jealousy.
Pilate upon his examination of the facts came to the conclusion that “He is not guilty of any crime.”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify Him!, Crucify Him!”
Pilate had previous experience with this mob. When he first entered into the area, Pilate brought soldiers and busts of the emperor near the temple and the Jewish people rioted and there was blood shed. Pilate got word from Rome that this was never to happen again.
So after trying to reason with the mob, it was custom every year that they release a prisoner so he offered to release Jesus or Barabbas, who was a revolutionary. And they chose Barabbas!
So finally, washing his hands as a gesture that His death was not on his hands, he sentenced Jesus to death comprising to the mob in front of him.
The next person was Joseph of Arimathaea.
Joseph of Arimathaea was a secret disciple of Jesus. He was successful. He was a leader on the religious council.
When Jesus was on trial, he didn’t agree with putting Jesus to death.
He was a religious expert. He probably recognized Jesus for who He was but it wasn’t until He saw Jesus die on the cross that He came forward. It was him as well as Nicodemus who went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.
This act ruined him and Nicodemus in the eyes of their peers. Their reputations ruined. And it probably cost them their wealth as well.
It was by seeing what Jesus did on the cross for them that caused them to give up everything for Him.
It is God who makes the heart soft.
It is God who does the calling.
The last person was Mary Magdalen.
Jesus healed Mary early in His ministry. And by all accounts she was a very present disciple of Jesus Christ. She loved Jesus deeply. He healed her from being possessed by seven demons.
She followed Him from that time forward and her faith in Him was very strong.
She was the first person to see the Resurrected Jesus, even though she did not recognized him at first.
He tasked her with the task of going to disciples to tell them that He was alive and He would meet them in Galilee.
She was present from her healing to the foot of the cross and the empty tomb. She pressed in through all of the sufferings.
Three different responses to one man.
What is your response going to be?
Revelation 3:20 NLT
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
There is only one response that makes all the difference for us. And that response is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
No other response will matter.
Heavenly Father, thank You.
Thank You for thinking enough about me that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins.
I pray that You help me to stay focused on Jesus and that my life reflects the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that He bestowed upon me to those around me.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
