Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We return to Pilate’s failure to uphold justice in the illegal trial of Jesus (Mark 15:1-15). The parallel passage in Matthew 27:19 adds this intriguing detail: “When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, ‘Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.’” Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent. He is aware that “the chief priests had delivered [Jesus] for envy” (Mark 15:10). He states, “Behold, I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him” (Luke 23:14b). In addition, Pilate’s wife, looking out for his best interests, implores her husband to release Jesus, “that just man.” However, Pilate commits the unwritten unpardonable sin: he does not listen to his wife. In all seriousness, the marital bond is more than legal and romantic. It must include genuine respect. For example, I Peter 3:7 commands the husband to give “honour unto the wife.” If Pilate had shown such regard for his wife, he would have been strengthened in his initial decision to release Jesus and would have done the right thing. Instead, to his great shame, he is swayed by the screaming mob and the scheming Sanhedrin. He could have stood strong as an effective governor and also solidified his marriage. However, he fails on both counts. A simple application is to value those who are loyal to us and who have our best interests at heart.