Mark 15:1-5 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin accused Jesus of treason so that the Roman government would put him on trial for sedition and eventually execute him. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” (Luke 23:2) They knew the Romans would not execute Jesus because of religious reasons such as blaspheming the name of God or undermining the religious leaders' control over the Jewish people by asserting the true way to God was through Jesus. “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:33) So, to convince the Romans that Jesus deserved death, they accused Jesus of leading a rebellion against the Roman occupation of Israel. Of course, leading an insurrection was worthy of death in the courts of the Romans. Pilate addressed this accusation of the Jewish elites immediately with Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus responds with "Yes, it is as you say." Jesus understood fully what He was saying, for He was not only the king of the Jews, He was the king of kings of all people who have ever existed on Earth. But Jesus did not, as Pilate assumed in his interrogation, think of himself as a potential political leader of the Jewish nation. When Jesus answered yes to Pilate's question, Jesus was expressing that He, as the Christ, the Son of God, had authority over all that is or ever will be. He was not a mere man, ready to be judged by the Jewish and Roman authorities, He was God incarnated in the flesh; Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. He knew all men would someday bow at his feet, none would escape his authority or judgment of the Lord of Lords. As Peter wrote: But they (those who choose to live in sin) will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Peter 4:5)
As with Pilate, Jesus does not have to answer to any of our accusations or complaints against him. We might want to accuse him of not being on time when we needed him when we were stressed. We might think of him as lacking power in our lives, not able to come to our aid because we do not receive the answers we want when we want them. We might blame him for not changing situations or conditions in our lives. We might even claim He is unfair, blessing others, but not us; rewarding others for their faithfulness to Him, but not us. We might criticize him for his lack of involvement with our lives, seemingly abandoning us to the vicissitudes of this life. We might assert many things about Jesus, railing about his shortcomings in our lives; but Jesus does not have to answer any of our accusations. He is God. He is the one who has made us: He molded us out of clay. We are his work, not that He is our work. As Paul told the church, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) Sometimes we treat Jesus as some super hero who is supposed to be on duty to our call whenever we have a need, a want, a desire. He is supposed to rescue us from every situation, freeing us from every trial and hardship. But Jesus is not a mere man: He is God, the Creator of all things, the judge of all things. He is Lord. As Lord of all, He knows his children should rejoice in tribulation because tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4) In today's passage, Jesus' lack of defense leads him to the cross. Even though He was without sin, even though Pilate knew He was not a seditionist, even though He was as harmless as a lamb, He was led to the slaughter. Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) ETERNAL LIFE: THE GIFT OF GOD!
We sometimes use Jesus as a support to face life's many hardships instead of as Lord of our lives. Jesus does help us in all things, and He has sent the Holy Spirit as a comfort and a guide. But Jesus is much more than the One we turn to in trouble. He has our destiny in his hands. Yes, life is hard and sometimes gets harder. Facing the finiteness of our lives, watching the unjustness of the world, experiencing wrong, falling under the temptation of the world are all hard; but Jesus is much more than the one who sees us through all of this difficulty and perplexity. He Is God, the one who said to his disciples, But not a hair of your head will perish, after He told the group He was talking to they would be persecuted and some would be killed by the authorities of this world. How could He go on to say not a hair on your head will perish, when He had just said some of them will be killed? Surely, the hair on their heads would perish after death. But Jesus was telling a truth that goes far beyond what most of us expect in this life. This world is not home, not where we will reside eternally. Our troubles, anxieties, and fears will not all be answered here on this journey. For us we think the hairs of our heads are perishing through what we are experiencing. The Bible says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3) Jesus the Creator tells us, "You are mine: I take care of what is mine. Your hair will never perish, your countenance will never fade from my presence. You will be with me eternally, in the presence of the Father." No, Jesus did not answer his accusers, his complainers. He knew who He was. I AM THAT I AM, remains the eternal answer of God to the world. The King of all things ever made, the Light of Heaven came to the people who sat in darkness. Jesus said that if you love the darkness, you will hate the light, But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:21) Walk in the Light of the Lord today with persevering faith, for He loves you with an everlasting love and has prepared a place for you!
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