Who’s on trial?
We read of the trial of Jesus before Pilate.
John 19: 10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
Jesus, fully submitted to the will of our Father, explained to Pilate that he would give an account to God, for what he was doing that day.
That day, Jesus stood before Pilate, awaiting unjust judgement, to go to the cross for our sins.
On another day, the day of Pilates death, Pilate stood before Jesus, to be judged for his sins before a holy God. History records that he never understood nor accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for His sins, and he probably heard from the lips of Jesus, the most chilling words every spoken in eternity: ‘Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, I never knew you…’ and then angels escorted him to eternal hell.
How many of us are like Pilate? We go through life, and we hear about Jesus, or worse yet, as Christians, we tell others what we think He says or means, when perhaps He has not spoken.
To some who mock Christianity, they like Pilate are about to get the eternal surprise of their lives, for denying the existence of Jesus, does not cause Him to cease to exist.
The Judgment seat “is meant for us professing Christians, real and imperfect Christians; and it tells us that there are degrees in that future blessedness proportioned to present faithfulness.”
Alexander Maclaren, 1826-1910
Ps 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.
Imagine, if you will, the day of Pilates earthly death.
Like all of us, his spirit left his body, to appear before God, for his eternal judgement.
Now, the one he crucified sits upon the throne, and unless he had a radical change of heart in the latter years of his life, he heard the most chilling words, any human can ever hear:
Mt 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
We only think we judge Jesus, but truth is, He will judge us.
2Co 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
For those of you who like to listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JQOBMi4QS8&sns=fb
Some have said, that fearing a God of love is ‘sin conciousness’ and a perversion of the gospel.
I remember hearing a minister tell of how he visited Jim Baker in prison, who had embezzled money from his organization. He asked him: “Jim, at what point, did you stop loving Jesus?’ Jim replied: “I never stopped loving Jesus, I just stopped fearing Him!”
My greatest thought is my accountability to God.
Daniel Webster.
Heart check.
One day, all the games stop. All the lies end. All the rationalizations, justifications, appeals, and deceptions end, and we will stand before Jesus in absolute holiness and truth. He sees not only what was done, but why we did it, and we will each, alone, individually give an account of our lives.
Let’s take time alone today, and humble ourselves before God, asking Him for absolute truth. That He might reveal our true condition before Him.
For those of us serving Him, this usually results in a glory encounter with His love, but not always. There have been times, when I discover I have strayed, and His presence has brought a cold chill of conviction to my heart, and I have made radical life changes.
Let’s pray:
‘Father, reveal Jesus to us today, in absolute truth! Show us your love, your glory, and your direction! If we are deceived in any way. Convict us, forgive us, cleanse us, and lead us and guide us in all truth. In your name I pray Lord Jesus, Amen’
