Guilty of Something

TITLE: Guilty of Something
DATE:  November 3, 2019
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Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

TEXT: John 18: 33-35 - So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
All of us have sins we could confess.

The truth is we all could, and ought, to confess those transgressions, but nobody likes to admit they've done anything wrong.

This past year, a mother of three boys, shared how she had discovered that one of them had broken a house rule. Naturally, nobody made it simple and came forward with a confession.

She threatened, she tried bribery , she  tried just about every trick in the parent’s playbook. At the end of the evening there was still no confession. When she put the boys in bed, just before she turned out the lights, she said, “In my prayers I'm going to ask God who broke the rules. Don't you think one of you should confess before we ask God?"

Reluctantly, came the response, "I think I'd like to wait and see what God says first."

As Jesus, beaten and bruised, stands before Pilate, He is asked if He is ready to confess.

It is a general question. Being an observer of people, Pilate is of the opinion that everybody has something to confess .Even more importantly, Pilate believes Jesus is no different.

The truth is that Jesus is the one innocent Person Who has ever lived on this tired planet.

Jesus may be beaten and whipped, but it would be impossible for Him to confess to any wrongdoing. No matter how hard the Priests, the Pharisees, Pilate himself looked, Jesus is still the perfect Son of God. He is still the Lamb without spot or blemish.

Now those aren’t my words. Pilate, having examined Jesus comes out to the angry crowd and declares before all, “I find no fault in this Man.”

We need to cling to that Truth.

In a world with false advertising, corrupt leaders, twisted values, broken promises and rocky religions, we need to rely totally on Jesus. God's Son has done only one thing: He, the innocent Lamb of the Lord has loved us to death. His torturous death on the cross.

Today the risen Redeemer comes to us and says, “My perfect life is a gift to sinners. By the Holy Spirit’s power believe in Me and know that the sins of a repentant heart are forgiven.

TELLING THE TRUTH IN PRAYER: Lord Jesus, many voices have tried to question and destroy Your mission. May I proudly proclaim, "My Lord has done nothing wrong. Then, rejoicing in what You have done for me, may I try to do good like  You. In Your Name I pray. Amen. !  Amen.

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html