True Values
Scripture: Luke 23:18-25
"Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.” 23 But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 As they had requested...he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
Observations:
The day Jesus stood trial before Pilate He was falsely accused by the religious leaders who were so thirsty for His innocent blood that they violently pushed for His death. Pilate, however, saw through their charade and refused to put a clearly innocent man to death and have that on his conscience. However, unfortunately Pilate's conscience was not the only voice ringing in his ears that day. The longer he contemplated the political pressure to maintain his position as governer and the roar of public opinion, the weaker the voice of his conscience became and the more the idea of violating it grew. Because he ultimately based his values on the shifting sand of popular opinion of the majority, when push came to shove he went down in history as the primary responsible party for having Jesus Christ put to death. The fact that Pilate made the worst mistake in history had less to do with the fact that he was influenced by wicked men as it did that he valued self-preservaation more than justice.
Application:
When the heat is on our true values are exposed for what they really are. It's only a matter of time before we break beneath the pressure and what we say we believe on the outside gives way to what we truly value underneath, especially when we're more concerned with what people think of us than doing the right thing. From time to time God puts us in situations that put our true values to the test in hopes that we will acknowledge our faults and once again conform our lives to what He says is true. However, just because we have the opportunity to embrace God's values and do the right thing does not change the fact that we all have the freedom and the responsiblity to make our own choices. In the end, God hopes that we will make the choice to do the right thing and avoid doing damage to ourselves or His Kingdom. The key is being able to recognize when we are in the wrong and making the conscious decision to value God's truth above everything else before we ever find ourselves in the situation where a decision has to be made.
Prayer:
Father, we ask for the light of Your Word to expose the darkness inside our hearts and all around us and to give us the grace to turn away from everything that is contrary to the truth of who You are. Help us to recognize and forsake our own values whenever they are inconsistent with Your character and guide us back to the right path that leads to life. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.” 23 But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 As they had requested...he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
Observations:
The day Jesus stood trial before Pilate He was falsely accused by the religious leaders who were so thirsty for His innocent blood that they violently pushed for His death. Pilate, however, saw through their charade and refused to put a clearly innocent man to death and have that on his conscience. However, unfortunately Pilate's conscience was not the only voice ringing in his ears that day. The longer he contemplated the political pressure to maintain his position as governer and the roar of public opinion, the weaker the voice of his conscience became and the more the idea of violating it grew. Because he ultimately based his values on the shifting sand of popular opinion of the majority, when push came to shove he went down in history as the primary responsible party for having Jesus Christ put to death. The fact that Pilate made the worst mistake in history had less to do with the fact that he was influenced by wicked men as it did that he valued self-preservaation more than justice.
Application:
When the heat is on our true values are exposed for what they really are. It's only a matter of time before we break beneath the pressure and what we say we believe on the outside gives way to what we truly value underneath, especially when we're more concerned with what people think of us than doing the right thing. From time to time God puts us in situations that put our true values to the test in hopes that we will acknowledge our faults and once again conform our lives to what He says is true. However, just because we have the opportunity to embrace God's values and do the right thing does not change the fact that we all have the freedom and the responsiblity to make our own choices. In the end, God hopes that we will make the choice to do the right thing and avoid doing damage to ourselves or His Kingdom. The key is being able to recognize when we are in the wrong and making the conscious decision to value God's truth above everything else before we ever find ourselves in the situation where a decision has to be made.
Prayer:
Father, we ask for the light of Your Word to expose the darkness inside our hearts and all around us and to give us the grace to turn away from everything that is contrary to the truth of who You are. Help us to recognize and forsake our own values whenever they are inconsistent with Your character and guide us back to the right path that leads to life. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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