Devotional - April 27, 2004

It's been said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." That truth is no more evident than that day in Jerusalem when the Jewish assembly took Jesus to Pilate to be judged. But because the Roman ruler was looking for a way to get out of this local dispute, he sent Jesus to Herod to get rid of him. When Jesus wouldn't do any "tricks" for Herod, he was then mocked, dressed in an elegant robe and jokingly sent back to Pilate looking like a rejected Jewish king. Scripture says that Herod and Pilate became friends through the process of abusing Jesus.

"Let those who love the Lord hate evil." (Ps 97:10a) The Psalmist proclaimed that all of us who love God should hate evil regardless of its appearance. But isn't the inverse also true: "Let those who love evil hate the Lord?" The sudden friendship between Pilate and Herod proves that assumption. Their new friendship and mutual love for evil was at least partly responsible for sending God's Son to His death.

You may question the person or persons responsible for crucifying Jesus. Many people search for what they consider a perplexing problem. The Romans soldiers nailed Him to the cross. But in following orders, are they different than a soldier who follows orders and kills the enemy in battle?

Some believe Pilate was responsible. After all, death by crucifixion was a Roman execution tool. He tried to release a "real" criminal from jail in Jesus' place, but was stopped by the Jewish mob assembled before him. The mob certainly bore some degree of responsibility as they asked for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus.

But what about Herod? He could have stopped the process if he'd released Jesus instead of sending Him back to Pilate. Those comprising the Jewish assembly were on the receiving end of Jesus' teaching about religious hypocrisy. They couldn't deal with His teaching so they thought "out of sight - out of mind." Boy, were they ever wrong! But wasn't it their hatred for Jesus that started the process?

Who's guilty of this crime? Jesus was innocent. Someone should pay for their complicity in the kangaroo court, the false charges and the illegal trial, the fixed verdict and the crucifixion. Who will stand trial for the murder of Jesus?

It was SIN that hated Jesus. It plotted against Him, abused Him, tried Him, beat Him and crucified Him. SIN put Jesus on the cross. Let's find SIN and bring it to justice shall we? OK. Look in your heart and you'll find it. That's right, it was for your sin that He died. But, He wasn't murdered; Jesus willingly surrendered and gladly took the punishment we deserved.

Now you know. Who killed Jesus? No one, even though it was YOUR SIN that sent Him to the cross. Stop looking for someone else to blame. We're ALL sinners and we're ALL guilty. But the good news is that because of Jesus' selfless sacrifice we can be forgiven and miss sin's judgment. Payday for SIN is coming and it's LONG overdue. Will you be judged for SIN?

Know this: God hates SIN but loves sinners. Have you met the Christ of Calvary who wants to make a distinction between you and SIN?