Many people despised the affliction of the afflicted Lord Jesus, in numerous ways.
Jesus was acquitted by Pontius Pilate after he carefully and publicly questioned him. "I find no fault in this man at all!" he declared to the wicked leaders of Israel.
And yet, the crowd that day demanded that Christ be crucified. When Pilate suggested that he release Jesus, the people demanded he release Barabbas instead. But Barabbas was a seditionist and murderer!
Strange to say, the leaders accused Jesus of sedition in that He claimed to be a king instead of Caesar, but Pilate had cleared Him of those false charges.
The very people who claimed they had no king but Caesar, then tried to save Barabbas, who was opposed to Caesar.
But saddest of all was this: in order to satisfy the crowd that day, Pilate suggested a compromise: that he flog Jesus, and then release Him.
Pilate was willing to afflict the innocent Savior to placate the people. He thought that if he savagely beat Jesus, maybe the crowd would be satisfied.
Pilate thought that a little injustice could be used to divert a greater injustice.
The willingness to commit injustice in this manner is common to all sinful men. We believe that we can accomplish some good thing by doing evil. As Paul the Apostle warned, those who argue in that manner will be justly condemned by God!
Pilate revealed that he was, at heart, an unjust ruler, when he proposed to torture Jesus even when he knew Jesus was innocent.
But the crowd wouldn't be satisfied with just a little injustice, a little affliction.
No, the crowd demanded the full measure of affliction of Messiah! They demanded that He be murdered by Pilate.
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“ Do Not Add Unto His Finished Work, Amen ” Very powerful and edifying sermon dear brother John. Your message thru God’s Spirit reminded me of that lesson in Numbers 20:2-12 wherein Moses and Aaron plead with the Lord on behalf of His people to satisfy their thirst. When God instructs Moses to speak gently and ask for water from the rock at Meribah, he instead commits a similar transgression as those unbelievers who were not satisfied with flogging or a lesser sentence for Christ, but instead demanded His unjust torment, humiliation and contempt in crucifixion. Moses too suffered from this same foolishness in that he disobeyed God’s instruction and to make a show of his mastery, his “power” over the rock struck it, not once but twice! How vain, how self righteous, how defiant and foolish of our patriarch in faith. And as a result God forbids Moses and Aaron from entering the promised land with His people. As leaders acquainted with God and His ways, they should have known better and conducted themselves in a more holy and reverent fashion before the people, even as the Jewish leaders in Christ’s time should have considered His meekness, His character, His office even as Moses prophesied of Him (Acts 3:22).
John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
