INNOCENT! NOT GUILTY! BUT WILLING TO BE CRUCIFIED—for Each One of Us!
There is a little statue, a little trinket, one that sat on every Roman official’s desk. This figure had two heads: one of the heads looked backward; the other head looked forward. The idol of Janus.
From this little Roman statue, we derive our calendar month—January.
- Do we remember the plans we made in the weeks leading up to January 1st?
- Do we recall the ways we “hoped” this 23rd year of the 2,000th year of our Lord would be better?
- Do we need to be reminded on this twelfth day of May (the fifth month) of the plans we made back then on January 1st ?
In the days leading up to His crucifixion, Jesus had a clear understanding of what He was to face. Consider that for a moment. Jesus knew exactly how He would be beaten; He saw in His mind the way His earthly body would be mutilated; & He sensed the humiliation that He would endure as He willingly gave His life!
JESUS KNEW—JESUS SAW—JESUS SENSED—AND HE WILLINGLY GAVE HIMSELF TO THIS!
“So His appearance was marred
(Isaiah 52: 14B NASB)
beyond that of a man,
And His form beyond the
sons of mankind.”
In studying the Roman crucifixion, the commentaries speak of a cruel “game” the soldiers enjoyed playing with the prisoner before hanging the prisoner on his cross. Thus, when Pilate gave the Jews a choice: Jesus, your King or Barabbas, a thief serving a prison sentence, the emperor Pilate really thought they would choose this meek and mild man—Jesus—standing before him. When the Jewish leaders cried out to release the prisoner & when they cried out to crucify Jesus, Pilate thought the mere action of handing over Jesus to the soldiers “for a time” would be enough. We do not know the thoughts of Pilate, but we can assume that he never dreamed the Jewish leaders would ever want to REALLY crucify this man JESUS standing in front of him, but they did.
The “cruel little game” was a horrendous one: the soldiers would blindfold the prisoner and all but one soldier would hit him as hard as they could. Then, the soldiers would take the blindfold off the prisoner and ask him, “Which one of us did not hit you?”
There was no way the prisoner could ever guess right!
It was totally impossible for the prisoner to win at this cruel game!
So, the soldiers would repeat the game, over & over & over & over . . .
Just the thought of it all sickens me and makes the gore rise up in the back of my throat.
In yours too, I imagine.
“However, it was our sicknesses
(Isaiah 53: 4-6 NASB)
that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried,
Yet we ourselves assumed that
He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God and humiliated.
But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our
wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being
was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
All of us, like sheep, have gone astray.
Each of us has turned to
his own way;
But the LORD has caused the
wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.”
- JESUS WAS INNOCENT!
- YET HE WAS NOT SET FREE!
- JESUS WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF ANY CRIME!
- YET HE WAS NOT TURNED LOOSE!
- JESUS WAS NOT GUILTY OF ANY CHARGE BROUGHT!
- BUT JESUS WILLINGLY GAVE HIMSELF TO BE CRUCIFIED!
- TO SCOURGE JESUS, TO BEAT JESUS, TO HUMILIATE JESUS WAS TOTALLY UNLAWFUL & WRONG!
- JESUS CHRIST—THE SON of GOD—did this for each of us, for all humanity!
Scholars believe Jesus was so mutilated that no one could recognize Him. Theologians say His face was marred more than any man’s. His form (Jesus’ body) was beaten and bruised beyond recognition. Then, after this “cruel game” of the soldiers, Pilate asked the Jewish leaders once again: Would you now be satisfied because I find no fault in Jesus of Nazareth?
Without Jesus, our destiny is set!
- We are born.
- We live.
- We die.
- We spend eternity separated.
“But the LORD has caused the
(Isaiah 53: 6b NASB)
wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.”
- Maybe it’s fitting that the Roman culture was known for its justice.
- Maybe it’s fitting that every Roman official’s desk contained the statue Janus.
- Maybe it’s fitting that this two-faced idol (this manmade god) sat atop their desks.
- Maybe it’s fitting that one face of the idol looked back and one face looked forward.
- Maybe it’s fitting that we have a calendar hanging upon our walls, sitting inside our phones, and even laying atop our work desks displaying the start of each new year: January, the month that on the first day—we look back at where we have been AS we look forward to where we hope to go.
Yes, maybe it’s quite fitting—for us: humanity!
Yes, maybe it’s quite fitting—for us to look back, to remember our wrongdoing—our sin.
As we also look toward Almighty God and see JESUS—WHO HAS DIED TO SET US FREE!
- Do we remember the plans we made in the weeks leading up to January 1st?
- MAYBE WE DO REMEMBER WHAT WE HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH!
- Do we recall the ways we “hoped” this 2023rd year of our Lord would be better?
- MAYBE WE DO RECALL HOW WE HOPED TO CHANGE!
- Do we need to be reminded on this twelfth day of the fifth month of the year (May) of the many plans we made back then on January 1st?
- PROBABLY, WE DO NEED TO BE REMINDED!
- Can we recall the sins we have committed over our lifetimes?
- PROBABLY, WE CAN RECALL THE “BIG” SINS & MAYBE EVEN THE “LITTLE” SINS TOO!
- Should we remember the pit of despair JESUS has rescued us from when—HE SAVED OUR SOUL?!!!
- MOST DEFINITELY WE MUST!
“The LORD is your protector;
(Psalm 121: 5-8 NASB)
The LORD is your shade on
your right hand.
The sun will not beat down
on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will protect
you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The LORD will guard your going
out and your coming in
From this time and forever.”
INNOCENT!
NOT GUILTY!
BUT STILL WILLING TO BE CRUCIFIED!
—for Each One of Us—Man, Woman, Boy, & Girl!
Thank You, JESUS, for YOUR AMAZING GRACE!
“How Good of God” by Matthew West is a melody we probably need to listen to as we
REALLY RECALL HOW GOOD A GOD WE SERVE!
“Our help is in the name of the LORD,
(Psalm 124: 8 NASB)
[JEHOVAH JIRAH—JESUS CHRIST—THE REDEEMER—THE SON of GOD!]
Who made heaven and earth.”