Mine Were Nailed There As Well

April 17, 2019

Wednesday of Holy Week

Mine Were Nailed There As Well

“Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.”

Proverbs 16:18

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the second half of John 18, Pilate on behalf of Rome and the priests of Jerusalem demonstrated the truth of Lord Acton’s axiom. Although Rome boasted of having the most advanced legal and justice system in the world, justice was the last thing on Pilate’s mind. He had absolute power and used his power at the whims of his own vanity. The priests had power, though not absolute, and used it with equal vanity. Both are affirming the wisdom of King Solomon: “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) Can the irony be any thicker than the priest’s refusal to enter Pilate’s residence, lest they be ceremonially defiled and unable to participate in the Passover? Yes, it can.

The absurdity of the moment escaped the priests as they conspired to kill an innocent man while expressing a need to remain faithful to their law by refusing to touch something unclean. However, the irony thickens as they shout for the release of a man lawfully convicted and sentenced to die and substitute in his behalf the innocent blood of Jesus. They thought they were being clever. What they really did was make it clear that the innocent Jesus was dying for sinful people.

Of course, it was not just the sins of Pilate, the priests, the crowd, and the Roman soldiers that Jesus took to the cross. Mine were nailed there as well. As I celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice on behalf of all humanity, it will be worth my while to examine my life. Where does my basking in God’s grace collide with my legalistic attitudes toward others? Where are the places in my life where I shout for my interpretation of justice for others while I’m praying for God’s mercy in my life?

My Takeaway: As I ponder these two questions, the Holy Spirit sent me some help: “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.” “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? (Matthew 7:1, 3).

Sē’lah

Alex

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.