35 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			1.7 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
			
		
	
	
			35 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			1.7 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
|  | +++ | |||
|  | title = "Luke 23:13–25" | |||
|  | date = "2023-02-16" | |||
|  | +++ | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | ### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk23.13-25)
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|  | 
 | |||
|  | Seeing that Herod had not punished Jesus, Pilate again asserts His innocence | |||
|  | and his intention to let Him go.Clearly Jesus has done something to upset the | |||
|  | Sanhedrin, but it hasn't been misleading the people or trying to set Himself up | |||
|  | as their king. In an attempt to appease the Jewish leaders, he says he will | |||
|  | punish Jesus, which probably means flogging Him. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | The Council members will have none of it. They want Jesus dead and they want it | |||
|  | done today. It was Pilate's custom to release a prisoner for the Passover | |||
|  | feast, and they demand Pilate release Barabbas. This might be the greatest | |||
|  | irony of the whole story, for Luke tells us that Barabbas was actually guilty | |||
|  | of the things they accuesd Jesus of: insurrection. On top of that, he was a | |||
|  | murderer as well. It's the perfect example of what Jesus's crucifixion is all | |||
|  | about. A guilty man goes free and the innocent man takes his place and his | |||
|  | punishment. Justice is served because Jesus chose to do this, and by His | |||
|  | perfectly righteous life, He is qualified to take the punishment as a | |||
|  | substitute for all of us and atone for the sins of everyone. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | Eventually, Pilate gives in to the mob's demands. As might be expected, he was | |||
|  | not a popular ruler, and the Jews were fractious under his harsh rule. He | |||
|  | likely felt that he couldn't afford a riot or any other fallout caused by the | |||
|  | Sanhedrin whipping up the people if they didn't get the blood they were | |||
|  | clamoring for. A man makes his decision, and God's plan is fulfilled through it | |||
|  | as was promised long ago. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | * * * | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | Only You, O Lord, can take what was meant for evil and use it for good. |