Christ's Death Exposed both Religion and Politics (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 23:13 And Pilate, calling together the chief priests and
the rulers and the people, (14) Said to them, You have brought
this man to me as one who turns the people away, and behold, I
have examined Him before you and found no fault in this man
regarding the accusations you bring against Him. (15) No,
neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us, and behold,
nothing worthy of death has been done by Him. (16) I will
therefore discipline Him and release Him. (17) Now he was
obliged to release to them one prisoner at the feast. (18) But
they cried out all together, saying, Take this man away and
release to us Barabbas. (19) He was one who, for a certain
insurrection that occurred in the city and for murder, had been
thrown into the prison. (20) But Pilate, wanting to release
Jesus, addressed them again; (21) But they continued to shout,
saying, Crucify, crucify Him! (22) But he said to them a third
time, Why, what evil has this man done? I have found no cause of
death in Him; I will therefore discipline Him and release Him.
(23) But they pressed him with loud voices, asking that He be
crucified, and their voices prevailed. (24) And Pilate gave
sentence that their request be carried out, (25) And he released
him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder,
whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Part 2 of 2)
The Jewish death penalty was by stoning (Lev. 20:2, 27).
Crucifixion was a heathen practice (Ezra 6:11), adopted by the
Romans for the execution of slaves and heinous criminals only.
To crucify the Lord Jesus was not only a fulfillment of the Old
Testament (Deut. 21:23); it was also a fulfillment of the Lord's
own word concerning the mode of His death (John 3:14), which
could not be fulfilled by stoning.
Luke 23:24 and 25 say, "And Pilate gave sentence that their
demand be carried out. And he released him who, because of
insurrection and murder, had been thrown into prison, whom they
were asking for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will." The
sentence given by Pilate exposed to the uttermost the darkness
and injustice of man's politics. This was a fulfillment of the
prophecy in Isaiah 53:5, 8 concerning the Man-Savior's
suffering. The accusations of the Jewish religious leaders
exposed their falsehood and deceitfulness in their religion, and
the judgment of the Roman rulers exposed their darkness and
corruption in their politics. At the same time, they both
vindicated the Man-Savior in His highest standard of human
perfection with His all-surpassing divine splendor. This was the
strongest sign that He was fully qualified to be the Substitute
for the sinners for whom He intended to die.
The judgments by the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers were
the last step of the examination of the Man-Savior. The first
part of this examination was accomplished in the temple, and the
last part was accomplished before the Jewish Sanhedrin and
before the Roman government. After all the steps of this
examination, the Man-Savior was found to be without fault.
Therefore, He was vindicated. He was proved to be the One
qualified to die as the unique Substitute for sinners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, p. 446. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
5/2/02)
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