Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 19:13-14 “Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’"
There isn’t time to go through all the various explanations of the “sixth hour” mentioned by John in this verse. After reading many of them, I think this one seems most plausible, reconcilable to all accounts, and meaningful. Jesus was the sacrificial Passover lamb. The Greek word pascha, here translated Passover, is also used elsewhere to refer to the Passover meal or the lamb of sacrifice. Before the lamb was offered it had to be examined by the high priest and prepared. The only timeline that makes sense is this. Jesus was arrested around 2 a.m., taken to Annas’ and the Caiaphas’ houses for examination. Then He was taken to Pilate around 6 in the morning, then to Herod for further questioning and execution. When Pilate proclaimed to the Jews, “Behold your king” at around 8 a.m., 6 hours of examination and preparation had transpired—from 2-8. This explanation brings this account into the timelines of the other gospel accounts, but it also explodes with meaning. John revealed that God prepared His Passover Lamb according to the Law to fulfill all righteousness. The Lamb of God was prepared on the preparation day of Passover, and the Lamb was ready for sacrifice. He was presented one last time to the high priests and Jewish officials.
Behold the love of God! His blood on your life means His death angel will passover your life and not destroy you. Look now at Jesus in the moment recorded here in John 19:14 and recognize and receive God’s gracious and merciful provision so He could passover your sins.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 19:12 “As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, "If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar."
James, Jesus’ brother, wrote, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Pilate was faced with a decision we all face. Will I be a friend of Jesus or a friend of the world? We can’t be friends of both. We should not be surprised when the world threatens to cancel us if we are friends of Jesus and proclaim that He is God. He is the only way to be saved from the wrath to come.
But if we love them, we must testify to Jesus, the Life. When the angel of the Lord released the apostles from jail he told them, "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life” (Acts 5:20). May we be faithful friends of Jesus when the pressure is on.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 19:10-11 “So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You? Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’”
Let’s unpack this verse carefully because it could be confusing. Jesus recognized that God gave Pilate authority to crucify and therefore he, Pilate, has a responsibility to God. The fact that God had given Pilate authority to execute the death penalty was the reason the High Priest and the Jewish officials gave Jesus over to him. They didn’t have that authority. For that reason the High Priest and Jewish officials committed a greater sin than Pilate in the death of Jesus.
This truth didn’t let Pilate off the hook so to speak, but it reveals that this execution took place under God’s jurisdiction. God established government as a “minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Rom. 13:4). So Pilate was sinning against God to punish Jesus, who he knew was innocent.
But the High Priest has the responsibility to offer the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people, and he was the one who delivered Jesus to Pilate proclaiming Him to be blemished and guilty. He knowingly offered to God what was in his mind a unacceptable offering. He is guilty of the greater sin.
The reason we live to love with Jesus is the reality that everything we do is an offering of worship to God because we are priests serving in God’s temple. Have we been guilty of great sin by offering to God actions and words that we know are unacceptable for His consumption?
When we love, we know we offer that which is a fragrant aroma of Jesus.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 19:9 “And he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are You from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer.”
So it helps to see what’s happening. It appears that Jesus was brought out of the Praetorium and presented to the Jews. Then upon hearing that He might be the Son of God, Pilate took Him back into the Praetorium to question Jesus along that line. He asks Jesus a great question, “Where are you from?”
That is the right question when considering the claims of Christ. If He’s from Nazareth, then no biggie. But maybe Pilate remembered that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world and he thought he should double check. Fear of offending God should cause us to double check ourselves.
In this verse we see that Jesus didn’t immediately answer Pilate’s inquiry, so we will wait for the rest of the story. But for now let us ask ourselves this same great question. If Jesus is from God, shouldn’t it change everything in our lives?
If Pilate could have this moment back to do over, I think we would see him fall on his face before Jesus and say, “Have mercy on me, the greatest sinner, dear Son of God. I’m so sorry for what I have done. Forgive me!”
What about us? We have this moment. We are seeing that God is love, and that love is the sustained direction of the will toward our highest good no matter what the cost. Have we fallen prostrate before Him and confessed our sorrow for what we have done to Him? If not, do we really know where He is from? And if we do know that He is from God in heaven, shouldn’t we trust Him who has sent and sacrificed His Son for us? Shouldn’t we surrender all to Him who surrendered all for us? And shouldn’t we understand that we are not of this world, but are sons and daughters of God, sent into this world by God to live to love with Jesus as He lived to love with His Father?

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 19:7-8 “The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.’ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;”
Have you ever had an “oops” moment? That’s a time when you got new information that you wish you had heard before you did something you wish you hadn’t done? Pilate didn’t have a problem executing a man pretending to be a king, but it certainly must have caused him to rethink what he had done if indeed this man was the, not a, but THE son of God. That would be a big oops.
I’ve felt that way about my sin against Jesus, have you? King David confessed to God, “Against You, and against You only, have I sinned.” Oops! I need to rethink who I’ve sinned against like Pilate did that day. You notice John said Pilate was “even more afraid.” That means he was already afraid. Thinking about what he had done to Jesus in light of this knowledge increased his fear. It should have the same affect upon us if we stop and think about our sin and see it rightly.
Holy Spirit, fill us with a fear of sinning against You, our Father, and His beloved Son.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com