This morning we talked about Jesus being on trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin and the Pilate and then the crowd. He was condemned to death in each setting for different reasons.
The Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their grip on the Jewish people. He was stepping outside the boundaries they so carefully maintained.
Pilate realized public sentiment was against Jesus and the best way to keep the peace was to give the Jewish leaders and the crowd influenced by those leaders what they wanted.
We struggled a little with the mob mentality of the crowd. Why were they so set on seeing Jesus crucified? Were they primarily concerned with freeing Barabbas? Were they swayed by the Jewish leaders who had condemned Jesus to death? Did they see public executions as a diversion and Jesus as an expendable life?
As we moved on to the “so what?” question, I pointed out that we all face the question of what to do with Jesus (or whatever truth about God we are given). Will we reject him from our lives? Will we follow those who feed us a watered-down version of Jesus’ teachings that doesn’t challenge the status quo in order to keep the peace? Will we overlook the hard teachings of Jesus rather than submit to his authority? Will we join those around us when they shout “Crucify him!” rather than drawing the attention of the angry mob to ourselves by choosing actions that don’t fit in?
These are questions we face every day. What will you choose today?
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