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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Not Guilty
Then the whole group stood up and led Jesus to Pilate. They
began to accuse Jesus. They told Pilate, "We caught this man
trying to change the thinking of our people. He says we
should not pay taxes to Caesar. He calls himself the Christ,
a king." Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Yes, that is right." Pilate said to the
leading priests and the people, "I find nothing wrong with
this man."
-- Luke 23:1-4 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
The charges that the enemies of Jesus present are all lies. Pilate sees
through these lies and goes to the crucial question: is Jesus King of
the Jews? Jesus acknowledges that he is. Pilate pronounces him not
guilty. In fact, in the Gospel of Luke and in his companion volume, the
book of Acts, Romans officials are repeatedly looking on Jesus and his
disciples with favor. Unfortunately, however, political expediency
often wins out over truth -- as it does here with Pilate. Finding
nothing wrong with Jesus, even recognizing him as an important teacher
or a righteous leader is not enough. Do we believe he is the Son of
God, our Savior and Lord? Are we willing to base our lives on his
death, burial, and resurrection by confessing him and sharing with him
in his saving work through baptism? Do we believe that he can transform
us totally by pouring his Holy Spirit into our hearts and working his
will in our lives? Jesus must be far more than a good guy and a great
teacher. He must be our Lord! If he is not, then we will simply put him
into the most convenient place in our lives rather than letting him
totally transform us.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Holy and righteous Father, please do your work in my life. I believe
that Jesus, your Son, is the Messiah, my Savior and my Lord. I fully
trust that he lived on earth as a human like me and that he gave up his
life on the cross, that he was buried, and that you raised him from the
dead. Please conform me to his character through the Holy Spirit who is
at work in me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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http://images.ultracart.com/aff/ACU9/1414/108/185/575/0/index.html
>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/1215-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Luke+23:1-4&sr=1&t=erv
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