“So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, ‘Hail! King of the Jews!’ 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.” v.15-23
When you look at Jesus life, what he taught, how he lived, who he poured himself in to, and the many miracles he performed, it is shocking that he would die the way he did. As Jesus stiood before Pilate, the crowd and the Pharisees yelled “Crucify Him!” Crucifixtion was the Roman penalty for rebellion. Only slaves and non-Romans could be crucified. Pilate feeling the pressure already gives in to the crowds demands and ordered Jesus to be flogged and crucified.
But what happened to all the people Jesus had impacted, where were the Disciples, and the crowds that welcomed Him just a couple of days earlier? In a matter of 24 hours several people had sold Jesus for numerous reasons.
When you look at Jesus life, what he taught, how he lived, who he poured himself in to, and the many miracles he performed, it is shocking that he would die the way he did. As Jesus stiood before Pilate, the crowd and the Pharisees yelled “Crucify Him!” Crucifixtion was the Roman penalty for rebellion. Only slaves and non-Romans could be crucified. Pilate feeling the pressure already gives in to the crowds demands and ordered Jesus to be flogged and crucified.
But what happened to all the people Jesus had impacted, where were the Disciples, and the crowds that welcomed Him just a couple of days earlier? In a matter of 24 hours several people had sold Jesus for numerous reasons.
- Judas – Sold Out Jesus for 30 gold coins. Why, we can only speculate. One thought is that he wantd to force Jesus in to the role of Ruler King the people thought the Messiah would be.
- The Pharisees – Sold Out Jesus because of Pride and Jealousy. They had tried to trick Jesus several times and were tiered of Him making them look like fools.
- Pilate – Sold Out Jesus for Political Gain. Knowing that he was already in the hot seat, he didn’t want to cause a riot that would affect his advancement in the Roman Government. So he gave into the crowd even when he saw the real issue in the Pharisees jealousy.
- The Disciples – Sold Out Jesus because of fear. Even though they were the closest to Him and knew Him the best, they were fearful that they may be next.
- The Crowds – Sold Out Jesus to Popularity. The crowds were there when it benefited them. It’s easy to be swayed by the opinions of others and the crowd that had gathered this day was pretty insistent on Jesus being crucified.
- You and Me – Sell out Jesus to _______________________.
Lets be honest, there are areas in our life that we sell Jesus out also. It can range from a variety of things to only a couple of things. Take some time today to think of the things that cause you to sell Jesus out. If we never identify them we aren’t able to confess them and ask God for help.