Matthew 27:11-26

Read Matthew 27:11-26.

"'I am innocent of this man's blood,' he said. 'It is your responsibility!'" NIV

The religious leaders and the people they sway to their way of thinking seem to be a theme that has been running for several chapters now. Once again, I am struck with the contrast between the religious leaders and the non-believers, in this case, Pilate, the Roman governor, and his wife. Here they turn over Jesus to the civil authorities stating a charge of treason since blasphemy would not have a stand in the civil courts. They could use treason because Jesus had claimed to be "king" of the Jews. Therefore, they were trying to show that Jesus was usurping the Roman authority. But Pilate, this non-believer, sees right through the ruse. Look at verse 18 again, "For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." He knew that he was receiving an innocent man to be put to death because of the Jewish leaders' arrogance. Isn't that amazing....and tragic? Even Pilate's wife pays attention to a dream she has and tells Pilate in verse 19, "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man...." Two people, not a part of The Way, probably worshippers of mythological beings, sees the Truth clearer than the ones claiming to be upholding it.

And the responsibility for this tragedy doesn't all fall on the religious leaders' shoulders. The people allowed themselves to be swayed by the chief priests and elders and would rather have a known criminal freed and an innocent healer crucified. The blindness is so complete. The enemy had a stronghold that day -- only because God allowed it to fulfill His purposes. But still, the ability to move that many people away from the Truth. We so underestimate his powers. Granted, we have a greater power over the enemy, but only if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and not moved to Satan's lies.

In the end, the only person who saw the truth was Pilate. He didn't have the fortitude to stand up to the crowd and fight for Jesus' innocence; instead he washed his hands of the responsibility. The people had spoken, and he would honor their request. But he made it publicly known that he didn't agree with the verdict.

So how does the non-believer see clearer than the supposed believer? What is happening in the believer's life to hinder them from seeing Truth as truth? As I look over the last 15-20 years, I know I have grown so much closer to the Lord. I credit consistency to my time in the Word, surrender to His Lordship, and a constant working on my personality to reach out to others rather than just taking care of myself. And as I grow closer to Him, the sin around me becomes more obvious. Inconsistencies are glaring, the world seems to become blacker and Christ's truths, whiter. And my sin appears more wretched than it ever was because I see the perfection of God magnified.

So I guess that boils down to four things: (not necessarily the only things....)

• surrender to His Lordship
• consistently studying the Word to know Him better - this is hearing His voice
• taking steps to be more like Christ
• when I sin, recognize it and immediately confess it

The religious leaders were not doing any of these. Well, obviously they new the Word, but only the law, not the heart. And they obviously did not learn very much about the character of God because their lives did not exemplify Him at all.

This is a clear warning for us all. A life that loses focus on the right priorities, misses seeing the Truth. And that is an eternal tragedy.

Further Thoughts:

1. How are you doing on the "four things?" Are there other areas you think are important that the religious leaders were missing?
2. Compare and contrast the religious leaders of that time to judgemental Christians today. What happens to turn us into judgemental Christians? How is the opposite lived out?

Matthew 14:15-21 "Out-of-the-Box Faith"

Read Matthew 14:15-21.

"Bring them here to me." NIV

The first thing that strikes me about this passage is that the disciples appear to be telling Jesus what to do. I never studied Greek, but all the translations I've looked at say that they said, "Send (or dismiss) the crowds away." You don't hear, "Lord, if you think it's best, maybe we should send the people home to eat." No, they are instructing the Messiah. I want to chuckle at their audacity, but the humor would soon turn to a groan as I remember the times I tried to tell God how it should be. We are such an arrogant race of human beings. We think we've got it all figured out. We know just what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how it will be accomplished. Then out of courtesy, we politely inform the God of the universe how it's going to be. What has fed this kind of thinking? Where has the respect and reverence gone? Where is the awe?

But in all Jesus' gentleness, He simply states to the disciples the impossible. "You give them something to eat." Did they bust out laughing or stand there with mouths gaping wondering at Jesus' sanity? There's a Facebook piece of flair that says, "Ha ha, wait, what?" I'm sure this is what the disciples were thinking. The really ironic part is that they would have any questions about this happening. After all, they've been watching Jesus heal all kinds of sicknesses and handicaps. Why couldn't he feed 5000 men plus women and children using only a small lunch? When placed in the hands of Christ, isn't everything possible?

How many times have I told the Lord how something was going to go down and missed out on the miracles He wanted to show me? Unfortunately, I'm a natural problem-solver. I try to figure everything out in my way using my own paradigms and resources when I could be watching the Almighty show me a miraculous way so He could be glorified. We are so bound by the human brain we strain to fill with facts and figures, and then add in a lot of arrogance and you have a formula for inferiority. But if we can let go of all that and have faith the size of a mustard seed in the One who formed us, became one of us, sacrificed for us, and overcame the death we deserve, then we will see things beyond our wildest imagination. It's time to break out of the box. The enemy created the box and I don't want to stay there. It's full of pat methods, man-made ideas, and arrogance. I want to break free and walk in His power and creativity. I want to live out a faith that knows no boundaries. All things are possible with Christ, and I choose to live in the miraculous.

Further Thoughts:

1. Many Old Testament people had out-of-the-box faith. Who were they and what made their faith outside the ordinary?
2. Is God leading you to do something and you think you have the way all figured out? Stop and ask Him if this is His way of doing it. Maybe He has a miracle He wants to show you. Don't miss out on the miraculous.