His Power

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HIS POWER

John 19:1-11

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" 6 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." 7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." 8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" 11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." 

NIV

We are in the midst of this supposed trial of Jesus. The Jews want him gone, they want him dead. He has been a thorn in their side from the start of his ministry with people coming to listen to him. Their control over the people has been slipping away and now they finally have the chance to see him discredited as nothing by a criminal being crucified on a cross.  Pilate, on the other hand, understands, at least in his mind, the Jesus has not broken any Roman law which requires crucifixion, but for the sake of appearances, he has Jesus flogged and mistreated by his soldiers. He has to think this would satisfy the Jews, but no, they want Jesus dead and nothing short of crucifixion will do. How nasty supposed spiritual people can be, or maybe we should say, religious people. Jesus had already told them they were white-washed tombs, that on the outside they appear righteous to people, but on the inside, they are filled with hypocrisy and wickedness. Having dealt with this idea before, and seeing how dangerous it is to be anything like those Pharisees and only appearing righteous or putting up those facades of righteousness. What we should notice in this limited conversation between Pilate and Jesus is that Pilate thinks he is in control of the situation or at least has the power of life and death. Jesus makes it clear the only power Pilate has is what has been given to him from above. This should give us a sense of peace and calmness in all situations in our lives. Whatever forces are applied either for our benefit or for our harm, are not independent or autonomous forces, but are given any power or effect they have on us from above, just as the Word of God should have power over us. The Word of God is profitable for correcting, rebuking, teaching, and training us in righteousness so we will be fully equipped for every good work. However, there are other forces in the world that may not seem so beneficial to us, however, if their power in our lives comes from above, then there is something being effected by those powers for us to learn. God used or rather gave Pilate the power to crucify Jesus in order for His plan to be accomplished and thus bring salvation to the world. What we have to always be aware in all situations of life, is the power of God and his plan for our lives. This then would allow us to be free of all anxiety, all fear, all frustrations, and anything upsetting or unsettling. Let us always remember to yield to the power of God.