Sermon nuggets Thus Nov 27 (Happy Thanksgiving)
Theme Mockery
Verses John 19:6-11 As 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."
7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and 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?"
11 Jesus 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."
Hatred
As we listen tot he news of the bombing and shootings in Mumbai (Bombay), we see hatred against the West and against Christians arise in our world. Hatred against followers of Jesus is nothing new. But this Thanksgiving, we rest in the hope that is ours based on freedom offered in Christ. The Pilgrims came for religious freedom never so apparent as in world events that want to force people to their ideologies.
When we read the various Gospel accounts we read first in Mat 27 the crowd and chief priest of the people accused Jesus of destroying the Jewish temple. That would be reason enough they would think that Pilate would be concerned. That didn’t work so they accused Jesus falsely of rebellion and then of perverting the nation. That didn’t work. So they came up with the accusation of Jesus forbidding Jews to pay taxes. That was a lie. Jesus said publicly and had witnesses to prove it. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar and unto God the things that are God’s.”
He was accused of stirring up the people and lastly making himself to be a king. Pilate examined him and discussed those things and others things with him and for the third times in John’s Gospel declares Jesus innocent of any Roman crime. But that would not suffice. According to our law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God and that is blasphemy. That is one charge that couldn’t be denied. Jesus did claim to be the Son of God. Either that was true or false or he was crazy. Jesus did claim to be one with God. Jesus did say that you have seen me you have seen the Father. Jesus did claim deity for he was deity. That accusation stuck.
When you are in sin and chose to remain in sin you do not want God around. When all the people were gathering around to see this one called the Christ, they lined up roads going into Jerusalem and when he passed by on a donkey they shouted “Hosanna in the Highest. They were praising Him and the officials were threatened. They knew that when Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy and thievery in the temple and injustice, and corruption that they must do something. They could have chosen to repent and turn to God but that would admit wrong doing. People cannot admit wrong doing very well. Isn’t it much better to cover up than face it? Most think so. So hatred grows. Hatred against righteousness and sinlessness of Jesus. They did not want Him around to bother them and make them feel guilty and point out to other people their hypocrisy and hatred builds.
The natural man hates God’s authority in their life. They hate holiness, and will do anything rather than allow the light of Christ to penetrate his own deep darkness.
There are some who publically oppose Jesus today in the US. Certainly, we see the hatred as exhibited by extreme Moslems. Our holiday traditions seem to be the times when alert raises from yellow to orange if not red in NYC. We see the hatred of God’s word as extreme homosexual agenda sought to disrupt services and act out as happened this month in Michigan. But I am afraid most today just ignore him, neglect their decision of what to do with Christ. The public media and education just ignore Jesus and hope he goes away. They make it illegal to pray to him in public to even acknowledge that he had anything to do with the nation’s strength or unity. They make it so you can’t study the Bible or his teaching. You can study the teaching of anyone else it seems, but not Jesus. You can discuss politics and communism and democracy, you can discuss Karl Marx and Marin Luther King and Malcolm X. Abraham Lincoln and study the speeches of John Kennedy. Find out about the native American religious beliefs, and gain appreciation even of Islam. Find out the beliefs of Mahatma Ghandi, but don’t talk about Jesus or read what he had to say that would be illegal even in a free country in a public school system.
When Pilate was confronted with the claim of deity was now fearful. He was a pagan Roman who believed in a number of gods who would appear in human form. Roman mythology was full of men and gods dealing with one another. Their superstitions were probably heighten in Luke’s Gospel when Pilate’s wife h ad a dream about Jesus and told Pilate not to have anything to do with him for he is a just and innocent man. They took dreams more seriously that we might.
Jesus didn’t have to speak. He knew Pilate’s heart. He knew that Pilate was not really interested in following Him and believing in Him. He said nothing. Isn’t that a sad thing? The silence of God is awful. There is truth in the fact that there are times when God will no longer speak to someone. It is scary but true that some people continue to harden their hearts against the Lord and against the Holy Spirit speaking to them so often they tune him out until he no longer speaks. He gives up.
The Bible tells us that God raises and disposes of Kings at his will. Hatred by the officials manipulated the people to apply pressure to overrule Pilate’s decision. But Love by God overruled even the hatred and is offered to all who believe.
Pastor Dale
