What Jesus Has Done For Us (ft. Ravi Zacharias)Sample

Day Six: Jesus Unmasks Who Skeptics Really Are

This is one of the most defining statements Jesus ever made, both for His mission and for our ultimate condition. His purpose in coming was to testify to the truth. He already knew who He was. His testimony was to reveal to us who we are. His answers would not change under any pressure His accusers could apply. Whenever He spoke, He spoke the truth. His word was truth.

This conversation could have placed Pilate in a very unique place in history, on the side of that which was right, had he only asked his question and waited for the answer. Instead, in dramatic fashion, he responded to Jesus’ statement that anyone who is on the side of truth listens to Him with an impatient dismissal, “What is truth?” and walked away. He did not wait for the answer and so proved Jesus’ point that he was not really looking for the truth.

Pilate walked out of the hall abruptly and tried to set Jesus free. He just wanted out of the whole situation. He offered the crowd a choice. He would free a prisoner of their choosing, any prisoner, because it was Passover time. He hoped and probably felt sure that they would opt for the release of Jesus. But he was out of step with the determination of the religious leaders. Instead of calling for Jesus’ release, they cried for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned because of his part in a political rebellion. That itself showed that it was not Jesus’ rebellion against Rome that prompted their motive; rather, it was their rebellion against God that was impelling their passions.

In many ways, Pilate is a most pitiable character, for he lived in fear on every side. He feared Caesar, if perchance he conveyed that he did not deal with someone who was a threat to Rome. He feared the implications of what he was doing, because his wife had warned him that she had had a dream about Jesus and that he should not have a share in punishing that innocent man. He feared Jesus Himself, not quite sure who he was dealing with.

Pilate may well be the quintessential example of what politics has come to mean. He knew what was right, but succumbed to the seduction of his position. In life’s most severe tests of motives, there is a politician in each and every one of us. While Pilate was ignorant of the role he was playing, the priests justified their heinous deed, quoting Scripture in support of their cause. Divine purpose, political maneuvering, and religious fervor met in the plan of redemption.

It was to be God’s Passover Lamb that Jesus came into the world in the first place. The world wanted to explain Him away by its own wits. He stood at the bar of God’s grace and spoke mercy. It was at this point that the Lamb of God began to move of the moment of death.