Have You Ever?

Scripture: Matthew 27:15-26

Song: I Stand Amazed

At different times we all stand in the shoes of those who observed the spectacle of Jesus’ death.

Have you ever like Pilate’s wife been kept awake at night by thoughts you suffered concerning Jesus? Have you ever tried, as she suggested, to have nothing to do with this righteous man? It can’t be done. Everyone has something to do with Him. In fact, everyone has everything to do with Him. The answer to troubled thoughts and sleepless nights is to have more to do with Him. Have you ever lobbied for the wicked to the peril of the righteous? Have you ever made your selections based on popularity, prejudice, and which way the crowd was moving? Remember that “as you did to the least of these my brethren so you did unto Me,” Jesus said.

Have you ever like Pilate justified your own cowardice? Rather than oppose wrong and defend right, have you ever stood aside intending not to get involved? Men are moral creatures. It is impossible for you not to be involved in moral matters. The will and intellect permit it. Conscience demands it. To stand by is to cast your vote with the opposition.

Most assuredly you’ve stood in the place of guilty Barabbas in whose place Jesus suffered. Have you ever wondered how he felt when he emerged from the prison a free man and learned that the innocent died in his stead? Have you ever wondered what he did next? What will you do?

Jason Moore