Jesus is Essential
John 18:28–32: Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.” Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.
Pilate senses that something is wrong and he tries, as we would say, to get off the hook. He tells them to judge Jesus themselves. He couldn’t understand what was taking place. John tells us that this fulfilled what Jesus had prophesied. He had told the disciples that the Jewish religious rulers would condemn Him to death and would deliver Him to the Gentiles.
He had predicted this months earlier; now He was here, being brought to Pilate, the representative of gentile Rome, by the religious rulers who wanted a death sentence. Psalm 22 is describing a death by by crucifixion. With the piercing of the hands and feet and the agonies of hanging on a cross. The only ones who executed by crucifixion were the Romans. Jesus had to be delivered to the Romans to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. 1
Walking with Jesus
Read Psalm 23 now, and thank God for His ten different blessings for you in 6 verses.
Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26
He surrendered to the will of God, so we could live out the will of God.
Praying
Lord, please forgive me for my complaints. You have been so gracious to me, always.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 11-21) (electronic ed., Vol. 39). Nashville.
