Verse of the day: John 9:11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at
all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who
delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
This is one of my favorite verses in the Book of John.
It is a reminder that nothing happens, no matter how tragic we may see it from
our point of view, without God allowing it as part of His plan for our lives
(Prv 16:9). It is also a reminder of how prideful we as humans can be. Pontius
Pilate, having the authority bestowed upon him by God (even though he may not
have acknowledged God as the Authority-Giver for his position), thought that he
was really the one who had the power to release Jesus or sentence Him to death
(Rom 13). Let us make no mistake about it, he made his choice freely, because
we all have free will to choose, but the fact of the matter is that it was God
who put him in that position, and then used the fact that Pilate was a weak
leader, and would cave as a result of his fear of stirring up the Jews who were
seeking Jesus’ crucifixion (Dan 2:21; 37). The truth of the matter, as stated
by Jesus, is that Pilate had no real power in this situation. Instead, it was
his own pride, probably based on how he viewed his own talents, abilities, and
power of his position, which caused him to think that he had the power to
release or condemn Jesus. The whole idea of having free will and God’s
providence working together can be confusing to our carnal minds. It really
comes down to having faith that God is always in control, in spite of our
decision-making, and will always accomplish His will and plan, regardless of
what we choose. I am thankful for those times when I chose to go one way, but
God still worked circumstances out for my good and His glory (Rom 8:28-29).
Jesus was clear that Pilate could exercise no more power than what God would
allow for this situation. The same is true in respect to our enemy Satan. In
the Book of Job, Satan had to go before God and give an account of what he was
up to. Even though he made accusations against Job, in each instance God
allowed Satan to torment Job, but set the boundaries that he could not cross,
and amazingly, Satan dared not cross them (Job 1:1-2:10). There simply is nothing
that happens in our lives, regardless of how tragic we view it, which is
outside of God’s control, or outside of the boundaries He has set. The
Scriptures tell us that Jesus’ deliverance to be crucified was in accordance to
our Heavenly Father’s foreknowledge of what was going to take place and what He
was going to accomplish through it (Acts 2:23). Jesus came for the purpose of
laying down His life, and God would use a weak leader, such as Pilate, whom God
placed in that position of authority, to carry out His plan (Mk 10:45). In all
that took place, even though it was all part of God’s plan, and in line with
His providence, each person involved would still have to answer to God for
their sinful decision in betraying, falsely accusing, falsely sentencing, and
unjustly condemning an innocent Man. The
bottom line is that each person involved, Judas, the high priests, and the
Sanhedrin, all had the ability to choose what was right. Their ultimate sin was
that they misused God’s authority (because it was God who promoted Pilate, and
gave him his authority) to crucify the Son of God; therefore Jesus clearly
stated to Pilate that those who delivered Him to him had the greater sin. Just
like God the Father had a plan for His Son, and it all played out as He wanted
it to; God also has a plan for each and every one of His children that will
play out just as He wants it to (Jer 1:5; 29:11-13; Gal 1:15). This however
does not excuse us from being lax in seeking the Lord’s will and plan for us
through the study of His Word, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying
God’s truth to our lives.
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