Aug 15

God's great power was held captive in that great moment in history when God stood before man to be judged by man. In that moment, God's power was held in check not by the people or their ruler, but by God's own will--as it always is.God's will and purpose always direct and control his great power. If it were not so, all would be chaos and destruction, for his power is infinite.

And so it is that we see Jesus, almighty God in human flesh, bound and seemingly held captive by mere mortal flesh -- flesh thinking itself a god. This is all part of God's eternal plan. Scripture foresaw that God would arrange for this weak-willed man called Pilate to be in authority when Jesus was brought to trial, and that this coward of a ruler would give in to the people's demands to have Jesus crucified.

The real prisoner here is not Jesus, but Pilate. He is so bound by his own desire to retain his position of authority over the people that he cannot stand up to their unrighteous demands to have Jesus crucified. He is prisoner to his own self. In reality, he cannot free the one who appears to be his prisoner, because Pilate himself is bound by stronger bonds than those on him.

The only one who can ever free Pilate from those bonds is this very one standing before him now -- and, ironically, Pilate has him killed. Such is the perverseness of the race to which we belong. But God's grace extends even to us.

Scripture for today: John 19:1-16
Thought for today: There is a Pilate in all of us.
Prayer for today: Jesus, forgive me whenever I have been a coward and afraid to stand up for you. I helped nail you to your cross. Thank you for forgiving me.

AUG 15