DEVOTIONAL SERIES - ACCEPTING JESUS

Is Jesus Your Guy?

Matthew 27:17 (KJV) 17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Matthew 27:22 (KJV) 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

Some really cool stuff is sitting beneath the surface of these verses. Matthew 27 points our focus to the trial, temptations, torture and termination of Jesus Christ. During his time in Pilate’s judgment hall, Jesus was questioned to determine the nature of his crime. Pilate found him innocent and without any fault (Matthew 27:11-14, 19-24). Regardless of his findings, the Scribes (historians) and Pharisees (religious leaders) incited the mob to demand crucifixion.

This was induced, in part by Pilate, who kept referring to the accused as, “Jesus which is called Christ.” This phrase irritated the ruling class, because this expression was the term used by the common people. This was not Pilate’s expression.The word Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew Mashiach or our English word Messiah. It means, anointed one, saviour. The whole of this scenario breaks down like this. The spirit of the anti-Christ was manifestly at work as the solution to the Jesus problem for the Jews (rulers and the mob) was anybody but Jesus. In other words, Jesus was not their guy. It seemed like Pilate kept rubbing their faces in it - Jesus which is called Christ. It burned like acid in their consciousness. Why? Jesus was not their Christ! He was not their guy!

You see, the rulers fell back to the hey day of the Pharisee class - the days of the Maccabees who revolted and withstood the oppression of the imperialist forces of Greece. They represented the kind of saviour the Pharisees were looking for - one of their kind - a politician. Jesus did not fit the bill. He was of the tribe of Judah - not Levi. He was the son of poor people - not wealthy folk. He was popular with common folk - not the elites. He could not be bought - Judas could. He would not tow the company line and go along to get along. HE WAS NOT THEIR GUY!

How committed were they to this policy? They chose Judas (a traitor) over Jesus and paid him in silver, because Jesus was not their guy. They chose Barabbas (a murderer) over Jesus, because Jesus was not their guy. And our world does the same thing today because the spirit of the anti-Christ (anyone and anything but the Christ) is at work today.Be a Christian organization and try to get government funding for programs that actually work and tell me how that is working for ya?! Be a Christian in a foreign country needing consular services because of persecution or imprisonment and see how that works for ya?! Christians are stateless compared to foreign nationals holed up in their war torn countries. Governments will rescue politically persecuted nationals but not Christians who are persecuted. Why? We are not their guys. They will not give us money, though we pay taxes and will not send in the Cavalry although we are citizens. Why? We are not their guys!

The anti-Christ gets a lot of mystical play in our religious banter, but his prevailing influence is not mystical. It is played every day in our cultures around the world. The solution to crime is anything but Jesus. The solution to addictions is anything but Jesus. The solution to poverty and misery is anything but Jesus. The solution to disease is anything but Jesus. The solution to tyranny is anything and anyone but Jesus. This is mandated government and institutional policy at every level around the globe. From houses of parliament, presidential palaces, state and provincial legislatures to municipal councils and school boards - anything but Jesus is accepted here. Now let me ask you a question? VISA is accepted everywhere. But if Jesus had a VISA, I still don’t think we would do business with him. That is the nature of the spirit of the anti-Christ. Is Jesus accepted in your heart? Is your personal policy regarding Jesus an anti-Christ policy? Do you choose murderers and traitors and socialism over Jesus? Have you chosen atheism and the occult or fun and games over Jesus?

Now let me tell you something: Jesus is accepted here. You can take the whole world, but give me Jesus! I do not want Barabbas. I do not want Judas. I do not want historians. I do not want religious rulers. I do not want position, nor power, nor fame nor a lifeline to free medicare and drugs. I want Jesus. Just give me Jesus. I am not ashamed to own him. I am not ashamed to claim him. I am Joseph of Arimathea who asked for the body of Jesus after he died (Matthew 27:57). I will own him. I will claim him. I will accept him.

We have to choose. Jesus polarizes us. There is no middle ground. Washing our hands does not make us innocent of his blood. We are guilty. But, we can change our minds. Do it and make Jesus your guy, today!

Matthew 27:54 (KJV) 54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.