Daily Bread 2011 - Luke 23
Daily Bread 2011 – Luke 23
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” 23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
What Does This Mean?
There is an interesting irony here as both of the earthly rulers of the day King Herod and Pontius Pilate found no objective reason for crucifying Jesus. In fact, three times he came back with a “not guilty” verdict. But with each instance the crowd who had now joined the chief priests and rulers demanded Jesus’ crucifixion more fervently. Just as Jesus’ top disciple had denied him three times, three times Pilate tries to defend Him.
Pilate wanting to keep the peace gave into their demands, and in order to grant their demand he released a man who was truly deserving of his sentence. Later, as two criminals were on the cross both justly sentenced for their crimes, one selfishly tried to get Jesus to save them and himself. The other, realizing the grave injustice that they were getting what they deserved and Jesus’ was innocent, simply asked, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus proclaimed to that man, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes as we read the Passion of Christ and the events of these last days, it is hard for us to imagine how great Jesus’ love was for the world that He would endure this kind of suffering at the hands of sinful men. We might be tempted to get angry at those who cried “crucify him”, and the thief on the cross, who was so arrogant to not recognize who he was hanging next to.
But when we realize that it was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross too, we can find meaning from the thief who realized that he was getting what he deserved and Jesus was not. During this time of Lent we would do well to meditate on how great a cost Jesus paid at our expense. If you were the only one there who needed dying for, Jesus would have died for you.
The next time you are tempted to sin, you might do well to think about why and how Jesus died. It will probably cause us to not take sinning so lightly.
Jesus thank you for going to the cross, “to save a wretch like me”! You got what I deserved and I am forever grateful for the cross where you showed me how much you loved me and the whole world. Help me to live in remembrance of what you did for me in all I do and say, Amen.
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” 23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
What Does This Mean?
There is an interesting irony here as both of the earthly rulers of the day King Herod and Pontius Pilate found no objective reason for crucifying Jesus. In fact, three times he came back with a “not guilty” verdict. But with each instance the crowd who had now joined the chief priests and rulers demanded Jesus’ crucifixion more fervently. Just as Jesus’ top disciple had denied him three times, three times Pilate tries to defend Him.
Pilate wanting to keep the peace gave into their demands, and in order to grant their demand he released a man who was truly deserving of his sentence. Later, as two criminals were on the cross both justly sentenced for their crimes, one selfishly tried to get Jesus to save them and himself. The other, realizing the grave injustice that they were getting what they deserved and Jesus’ was innocent, simply asked, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus proclaimed to that man, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes as we read the Passion of Christ and the events of these last days, it is hard for us to imagine how great Jesus’ love was for the world that He would endure this kind of suffering at the hands of sinful men. We might be tempted to get angry at those who cried “crucify him”, and the thief on the cross, who was so arrogant to not recognize who he was hanging next to.
But when we realize that it was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross too, we can find meaning from the thief who realized that he was getting what he deserved and Jesus was not. During this time of Lent we would do well to meditate on how great a cost Jesus paid at our expense. If you were the only one there who needed dying for, Jesus would have died for you.
The next time you are tempted to sin, you might do well to think about why and how Jesus died. It will probably cause us to not take sinning so lightly.
Jesus thank you for going to the cross, “to save a wretch like me”! You got what I deserved and I am forever grateful for the cross where you showed me how much you loved me and the whole world. Help me to live in remembrance of what you did for me in all I do and say, Amen.
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