We Have A Law

John 19: 6-7 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." The Jewish leaders insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

            There is an interesting battle going on in the above passage from John 19. Pontius Pilate wants nothing to do with punishing Jesus. And the Jewish leaders want Pilate to do their dirty work for them. It is a scene thick with conflict, drama and intrigue. All the elements of an epic modern novel or blockbuster movie.  What I find interesting is the very reason the Jewish leaders state for demanding Jesus’ death. "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

            Fear of change drove the Jewish leaders to act on what is going on. Jesus, a man believed by many to be “The Messiah” from prophecy has upset the pleasant life of the leaders. Their future has been shown to be short-lived and humble if the ministry of Jesus continues to grow and prosper. In essence, they will be out of business. Theirs is a tough system of rules and regulations designed by human minds to enslave those wanting to pursue salvation by the law.  And Jesus offers something very different.  He offers a very simple explanation of the commandments. The love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength coupled with love one another as you love yourselves is a game changer. 

            Many in our word believe in salvation by works or salvation by following a set of very strict, well-defined rules and regulations.  The concept of salvation by grace through faith is foreign. In our efforts to share the love of Jesus with others we must to be sensitive to the “no one wants to hear they are wrong” perspective. If we try to hit them between the eyes with the truth of the bible, we will fail.  If we are confrontational and unloving we will fail. Instead if we chose to share as Jesus shared with love, compassion and caring then we will succeed. Our lesson here is how will we change those who need to change. With confrontation or love? We have that choice each and every day of our lives. When we chose the path of love as Jesus chose, we will honor his sacrifice for us.

Prayer:  Lord we seek to honor You in all that we do. As we reach out to those who do not truly know Your love, help us to share with love and compassion. Help us to share as You would have us share, and not in the way of confrontation and anger. These things we ask in the name of Jesus who with the Father and the Spirit are one, Amen.