Who did it?
This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
Whenever there is a murder, the question naturally arises, “Who did it?” Recently President Trump declassified the rest of the President Kennedy assassination files. For over 60 years various theories have been brought forward about Lee Harvy Oswald, the grassy knoll, communist conspiracies, mafia plans, and more. I was listening to a podcast and a segment was an interview with someone who had thoroughly read and investigated all the documentation and files pertaining to the assassination.
His conclusion? Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Even though other groups had desires to see Kennedy dead, there is no evidence that connects Oswald clearly to others who were conspiring against Kennedy.
What was intriguing about this podcast was the detail to which the host explained the difference between an actual conspiracy and conspiracy theory. A key thing that turns a theory into an actual conspiracy is evidence. Not speculation. Not guesses. Not assumptions. Clear evidence.
So who killed Jesus?
The evidence of the Gospels gives the process by which Jesus ended up on the cross. The conspiracy started with the Jewish leaders, tapped Judas for the hand off, utilized the Roman courts for the legal standing to crucify and finally the soldiers overseeing the execution put the person of Jesus on the cross.
All of these things are historical facts.
So is the case closed and we can walk away blaming the Jewish leaders, Judas or the Roman soldiers?
Perhaps.
But then we hear this piece of evidence admitted:
Acts 2:22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Wait. What?
Peter testifies to the crowd at Pentecost that God carried out a “deliberate plan” and had full “foreknowledge” of what was happening.
So was God behind the death of Jesus?
What does the evidence show?
As we look back at the record prior to Jesus being on the cross, we see ample evidence that God was working a plan that was the only way to win the victory over sin and redeem mankind.
From Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
From Isaiah 53:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Jesus knew it:
Matthew 26:1-2 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Certainly the sin of those immediately involved in Jesus’ death was real. However, the evidence shows the answer to the question, “Why kill him?” lies in God’s love for us that he deliberately planned to offer his Son as a sacrifice for our sin by nailing him to the cross.
He was killed by God’s plan for us.
Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Apply: What makes Jesus’ death personal for you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for perfectly carrying out your plan to save me…even thought it meant sacrificing your Son for my sin. AMEN.
Was he forced?
This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
Forced? Willing?
Consider this morning these two portions of Jesus’ passion history.
First in the Garden of Gethsemane:
John 18:4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Second the crucifixion on Golgotha:
John 19:16-18 So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
What do you notice about these two encounters with the enemies of Jesus.
The first was comprised of the Jewish leaders, the second of the Roman soldiers. That is one difference, but not the primary one to notice.
Here’s what I notice.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas and the religious officials come for Jesus, as soon as Jesus identifies himself as Jesus, the whole group fell to the ground. Did they stumble? Nope. Were they all just clumsy? Nope. The power of God was shown and put them on their backside. Jesus and his disciples could have walked away.
On the mount of crucifixion, the soldiers remained upright. Jesus was hung on the cross. The legions of angels stood at the ready, but Jesus never issued the order for them to push the soldiers aside and allow Jesus to walk free.
Jesus could have. He was God. He had the angels ready at his command.
But he didn’t.
This is what stands out to me.
Jesus chose to be crucified.
CHOSE it!
John 10:17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Jesus was not victim to the Judas’ betrayal. Jesus was not helpless against the false charges of the Sanhedrin. Jesus was not powerless against the Roman politician Pilate.
The power Jesus had was on full display.
John 19:10 “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.”
Power is often exhibited by what it does. We see the results of dynamite. We see the results of a stronger athletic team.
But sometimes the greatest power is shown when one has it and chooses not to use it.
It would have been easier for Jesus to show his power and walk away. The Sanhedrin could do nothing about it. The Roman soldiers couldn’t stop him.
But he chose to show his power by not using it and allowing them to kill him.
Why?
Because he loves you.
Apply: What part of Jesus’ passion stand out to you as the greatest act of love for you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for using your power to allow yourself to be killed on the cross for my sins and bring me certainty of forgiveness and salvation. AMEN.
I would never do THAT!
This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
Would you?
If you were in the Sanhedrin’s shoes, would you?
If you were in the crowd’s shoes, would you?
If you were in Pilate’s shoes, would you?
The quick response is, “Of course I wouldn’t. Jesus didn’t deserve to die.”
Looking back on the trial of Jesus, it might be easy to think we would have stood loud and proud as a defender of Jesus. We would like to think that peer pressure would not have gotten the better of us. We would have certainty that life with Jesus around is better than life with him dead.
Or would we?
When I reflect on the charges that came against Jesus, do they in some way still resonate with me? Perhaps I would stop with the extreme of permanently eliminating Jesus from my life, but I might use a similar excuse or charge to push Jesus aside for a moment or a season.
For example the charge of the Sanhedrin was blasphemy.
Luke 22:67 “If you are the Christ,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer.
To acknowledge the truth about Jesus and his fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies would mean that the religious leaders would have to let go of their wrong beliefs about a political resurgence of Israel. It would mean they would have to reconsider their paradigms around control by using the law. They would have to change their beliefs.
That is hard. Acknowledging Jesus is the Messiah and the fulfillment of the Old Testament has ramifications for us. We have to let go of personal beliefs that contradict with the person and work of Jesus. It would mean acknowledging that Jesus is the only way to heaven and other beliefs head to hell. Maybe we like some things about Jesus, but other things we would rather dismiss…and so we might choose to push Jesus and the truth of who he is aside to keep our personal beliefs in tact.
The crowd charged him with stirring up people with his teaching.
Luke 23:5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
The crowd wanted him dismissed because they didn’t want to acknowledge and follow his teaching. Influenced by their religious leaders, the crowd was more comfortable in the rabbi’s teaching than the One who taught with authority. There are teachings in the Bible that we would rather set aside and not have to follow. We want to ignore things that are called out as sin, or dismiss them as culturally irrelevant. We like the idea of picking the teachings we like, such as, “Love one another” but content to ignore Jesus’ teaching to “love our enemies.” Again we may not call for Jesus to be put on the cross, but like the crowd, we can find reasons to dismiss Jesus and not have to deal with his teachings.
Pilate finally gave in because he was afraid of a riot.
John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
Standing with Jesus often means going against the crowd and taking the consequence. Perhaps this happens to us all to easily and all too often. When feeling pressured by our peers to put aside some aspect of our Christian faith, we can cave and push Jesus aside thinking to ourselves, “it’s just for a short time.”
How easy it is to have our own reasons to “kill him.” Standing with Jesus is hard. Standing with Jesus takes courage. Standing with Jesus takes humility.
By his grace he was willing to go to the cross for us, for our sins of acting in a way that wants Jesus dead. He died for you and me, even the times we wished he was dead.
Apply: What situations in your life lead you to ignore or push Jesus aside? Take time to repent and ask God’s Spirit to reorient your heart with a resolve to always follow and stand with Jesus.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us for the times we not only think about but act on our desire to “kill you,” to push you aside and ignore your person, your teaching, or your presence. Restore us by your grace to follow you with strength, courage, and resolve. AMEN.
You have to be kidding, right?
This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
Beware!
Today is April Fool’s Day.
Perhaps you have been plotting for weeks of the pranks that you will be pulling on people. Perhaps you hate today because you seem to fall for every April Fool joke there is.
You can search to find the origin of April Fool’s Day and it seems about as clear as the day itself…not sure what to believe.
So we have a tradition in our country of unknown origin that allows people to play practical jokes on unsuspecting people.
I wonder if Pontius Pilate were living today and presiding over the trial of Jesus he would have thought, “This has to be an April Fool’s joke, right?
The religious leaders of the Jews wanted him to condemn Jesus to death for blasphemy…not really a Roman law that would deserve the death penalty.
Some said he was a king that opposed Caesar, but the fact that he had no army and his kingdom was not of this world left that charge void.
His wife had a dream about this man and said, “Have nothing to do with him.” More than likely this had never occurred in another trial he presided over.
He thought the way to release Jesus was to pit him against a known criminal and threat to society. Nope. The crowd wanted Barabbas.
Jesus?
Crucify him! Crucify him!
You have to be kidding right?
Luke 23:22 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.”
The evidence was obvious. Jesus was not guilty of death. But the crowd said otherwise.
Pilate would have loved to hear, “April Fools! Just kidding, let him go.”
But he didn’t.
It was no joke.
And good thing for you and me.
What didn’t make sense to Pilate and many others in the moment is that God was working his eternal plan to put his innocent Son to death in place of each of us guilty sinners. What didn’t make sense to Pilate, made absolute sense to the holy God needing a substitute for unholy people. What seemed like a personal vendetta from the Jewish leaders was a personal plan for your salvation and mine.
Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
You might say, “You have to be kidding me!”
But Jesus just says, “I love you. It’s true.”
So no foolin’.
Jesus died for you because he loves you.
Apply: What aspect of grace seems too good to be true?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love and grace that seems too good to be true, but simply reflects the great love you have for me. AMEN.
You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!
This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
It’s hard to be objective when we desire a certain outcome.
If you want a certain car, even though the financial numbers don’t make it affordable to you, you press forward anyway.
We may have our mind fixed on being a star basketball player, but our height, weight, quickness and skill tell a very different story.
We may want to attend a certain college, but our grades, test scores and financial ability all point away from this reality.
Our emotions can skew reality and blind us to the truth.
The religious leaders of the Jews wanted Jesus dead.
After the raising of Lazarus, this was their mindset:
John 11:47-53 “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
There was only one outcome that the Jewish leaders wanted: Jesus dead.
So when they put Jesus on trial, they weren’t interested in the truth…just a reason to kill him.
Luke 22:66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Christ,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You are right in saying I am.”
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
They weren’t interested in pursuing the objective truth that Jesus was actually the Son of God. They were convinced he wasn’t. Nothing was going to change their mind. Blasphemy was a legitimate death sentence. That’s all the reason they needed.
We can be just as arrogant at times and have a preconceived idea of what we “want” Jesus to be or what we “want” Jesus to say.
We want Jesus to be the healer of every problems and so when we have challenges, we can’t take an objective look at what God might be doing, but rather Jesus is to blame.
We think Jesus might owe us favors if we do things that “honor” him. When we don’t get what we think we deserve or want, we question whether Jesus is really who he says he is.
Forgive us Lord of being only interested in our truth and not THE truth. Forgive us for creating our version of Jesus and expecting him to fulfill it. Spirit of God open our hearts to always be ready to learn and believe more and more of who Jesus is and the significance of what he had done for us.
Apply: What part of your faith might you have a preconceived idea of your expectations? What happens when God doesn’t fulfill those expectations?
Prayer: Lord, keep my heart humble and always open to receiving your truth even when it conflicts with what I feel it should be. AMEN.