John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Oh Friends, whoever says that the Lord doesn’t move in mysterious ways or work miracles still, or actively helps His people, tell them I say deh lie! Why? Because He worked His magic on my behalf today. Remember I said in the Bit that it was forecasted to be another cloudy, rainy day, so with that in mind I never expected to see the guys who were scheduled to replace the shingles on my roof today. But lo and behold, they arrived around 10 a.m. I told the boss, my friend, and an avid Bit reader, what I thought of his coming to do roofing in that kind of weather. (smile) But as usual he ignored me and claimed that it was perfect roofing weather, and they would do as much as they could until the rain began. Now note Friends, all around us the sky was grey, undoubtedly intending to water the land sometime soon. But let me tell you people, not one, single, solitary drop of water fell from the sky until shortly after they left at 8 p.m. The sun was even out for a couple of hours in the afternoon. But about ten minutes after they left and I came out to go and do some shopping for my mother, a steady drizzle began, which later turned into a downpour. Now if that wasn’t the hand of God, I don’t know what is! I chuckled as I came out and found it drizzling, but also remembered to offer a heartfelt thank you, for it seems I’ve now entered a cycle of blessing; good things are finally happening, replacing the earlier cycle of misfortune. Ah mih Friends, it’s like when Jesus refused to answer Pilate, and the guv boasted: ”Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee. (John 19:10) But Jesus had much manly parts and bravely informed Pilate. ‘Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.’ And that’s gospel mih people! No one has any earthly power unless our Heavenly Father grants it. The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Sovereign ruler of the universe, and to Him alone belongs the ultimate power to give or take, to let live or let die. John the Baptist said the same thing when His disciples complained how Jesus was running such a successful ministry. ‘A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.’ (John 3:27) And Bruh Paul later confirms it: ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.’ (Rom.13:1) Matter closed mih breddren! The scholars though point out an interesting similarity between Jesus’ answer to Pilate and the one He gave Satan on the third exchange of His temptations, re worshipping him. ‘Get thee hence Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and only him shalt thou serve. The devil leaveth him, and behold angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Mat.4:10-11) It worked the same way with Pilate. ‘And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him.’ He recognized His innocence. ‘But the Jews cried out saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.’ (John 19:12) Yes Friends, they wanted Jesus out of the way so badly, they were willing to stoop to overt blackmail against Pilate. The scholars also bring up another interesting point, for later on when Pilate asks; ‘Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.’ (John 19:15) Now these were of the Sadducees sect, the politicians. The scholars wonder if the Pharisees would have made the same blasphemous statement, when their only king was supposed to be the Lord God Jehovah? It’s rather ironic Friends, for Jesus knew how the whole drama would be played out, but His accusers foolishly felt they were one-upping Him. When He preached in the temple, declaring His God-like status He raised their wrath. ‘Then they sought to take him; but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?’ (John 7:30-31) So God’s timing, plus their fear of the people causing a disturbance, stayed their hand. And as Jesus told them when they came under cover of darkness to take Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; ‘Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves. When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.’ (Luke 22:52-53) Little did they know that everything was then coming to a head; the way God planned it, and that was the only reason Jesus went willingly with them. ‘Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.’ (John 12:27) Yes Friends, that was Jesus’ sole purpose on this earth; to be offered up as a living, innocent, holy sacrifice on our sinful behalf, so though His spirit was tormented and afraid, He couldn’t walk away from His stated role. That’s why He could say to Pilate; ‘therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.’ Pilate was just a pawn in the game, being led by the angry, bloodthirsty Jewish rulers and the vociferous crowd they stirred up. And though the sin of knowingly persecuting an innocent man, railroading him to his death, could be laid on the Jewish elite who pushed for it, Jesus knew better than that. He knew that no one was taking His life from Him, but that He was giving it as a freewill offering, as part of His Father’s everloving plan to bring us back into right status with Him. And such was His magnanimity, that some of His last words in human form were; ‘Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ (Luke23:34) Yes my Friends, that’s the wonder, the power, the forgiveness and the LOVE that Jesus displayed during His short sojourn on earth. Now we’ll never be as perfect as Him, but it’s our bounden duty to emulate Him as close as possible. And we’ll end with an applicable quote by Albert Schweitzer: ‘We must believe in the conquest of the spirit of the world by the spirit of God. But the miracle must happen in us, before it can happen in the world.’ Nuff said mih people. Much LOVE!…to walk like Jesus…we must first think like Jesus…
Oh Friends, whoever says that the Lord doesn’t move in mysterious ways or work miracles still, or actively helps His people, tell them I say deh lie! Why? Because He worked His magic on my behalf today. Remember I said in the Bit that it was forecasted to be another cloudy, rainy day, so with that in mind I never expected to see the guys who were scheduled to replace the shingles on my roof today. But lo and behold, they arrived around 10 a.m. I told the boss, my friend, and an avid Bit reader, what I thought of his coming to do roofing in that kind of weather. (smile) But as usual he ignored me and claimed that it was perfect roofing weather, and they would do as much as they could until the rain began. Now note Friends, all around us the sky was grey, undoubtedly intending to water the land sometime soon. But let me tell you people, not one, single, solitary drop of water fell from the sky until shortly after they left at 8 p.m. The sun was even out for a couple of hours in the afternoon. But about ten minutes after they left and I came out to go and do some shopping for my mother, a steady drizzle began, which later turned into a downpour. Now if that wasn’t the hand of God, I don’t know what is! I chuckled as I came out and found it drizzling, but also remembered to offer a heartfelt thank you, for it seems I’ve now entered a cycle of blessing; good things are finally happening, replacing the earlier cycle of misfortune. Ah mih Friends, it’s like when Jesus refused to answer Pilate, and the guv boasted: ”Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee. (John 19:10) But Jesus had much manly parts and bravely informed Pilate. ‘Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.’ And that’s gospel mih people! No one has any earthly power unless our Heavenly Father grants it. The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Sovereign ruler of the universe, and to Him alone belongs the ultimate power to give or take, to let live or let die. John the Baptist said the same thing when His disciples complained how Jesus was running such a successful ministry. ‘A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.’ (John 3:27) And Bruh Paul later confirms it: ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.’ (Rom.13:1) Matter closed mih breddren! The scholars though point out an interesting similarity between Jesus’ answer to Pilate and the one He gave Satan on the third exchange of His temptations, re worshipping him. ‘Get thee hence Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and only him shalt thou serve. The devil leaveth him, and behold angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Mat.4:10-11) It worked the same way with Pilate. ‘And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him.’ He recognized His innocence. ‘But the Jews cried out saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.’ (John 19:12) Yes Friends, they wanted Jesus out of the way so badly, they were willing to stoop to overt blackmail against Pilate. The scholars also bring up another interesting point, for later on when Pilate asks; ‘Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.’ (John 19:15) Now these were of the Sadducees sect, the politicians. The scholars wonder if the Pharisees would have made the same blasphemous statement, when their only king was supposed to be the Lord God Jehovah? It’s rather ironic Friends, for Jesus knew how the whole drama would be played out, but His accusers foolishly felt they were one-upping Him. When He preached in the temple, declaring His God-like status He raised their wrath. ‘Then they sought to take him; but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?’ (John 7:30-31) So God’s timing, plus their fear of the people causing a disturbance, stayed their hand. And as Jesus told them when they came under cover of darkness to take Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; ‘Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves. When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.’ (Luke 22:52-53) Little did they know that everything was then coming to a head; the way God planned it, and that was the only reason Jesus went willingly with them. ‘Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.’ (John 12:27) Yes Friends, that was Jesus’ sole purpose on this earth; to be offered up as a living, innocent, holy sacrifice on our sinful behalf, so though His spirit was tormented and afraid, He couldn’t walk away from His stated role. That’s why He could say to Pilate; ‘therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.’ Pilate was just a pawn in the game, being led by the angry, bloodthirsty Jewish rulers and the vociferous crowd they stirred up. And though the sin of knowingly persecuting an innocent man, railroading him to his death, could be laid on the Jewish elite who pushed for it, Jesus knew better than that. He knew that no one was taking His life from Him, but that He was giving it as a freewill offering, as part of His Father’s everloving plan to bring us back into right status with Him. And such was His magnanimity, that some of His last words in human form were; ‘Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ (Luke23:34) Yes my Friends, that’s the wonder, the power, the forgiveness and the LOVE that Jesus displayed during His short sojourn on earth. Now we’ll never be as perfect as Him, but it’s our bounden duty to emulate Him as close as possible. And we’ll end with an applicable quote by Albert Schweitzer: ‘We must believe in the conquest of the spirit of the world by the spirit of God. But the miracle must happen in us, before it can happen in the world.’ Nuff said mih people. Much LOVE!…to walk like Jesus…we must first think like Jesus…
SCRIP-BITS 