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Lenten Devotion

April 8, 2022

All Day

Luke 23:13-16

13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people,14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him. ”

He is innocent

He is not guilty of any crime or offence…

He is without blame…

He has done no wrong…

He is without sin…

What was Pilate's logic? What was the Roman legal basis for punishing Jesus from Pilate's point of view? Pilate sensed that Jesus was guiltless and actually attempted no less than 6 times to release him. But, he was weak and had no backbone and cowed by the crowd, to the Pharisees and to Caesar.

Jesus has just been returned to Pilate after having been sent by him to Herod. Both Pilate and Herod find Jesus to be without blame – innocent of any crimes whatsoever. Despite this, they mistreat Jesus. Herod and his soldiers do this by ridiculing him and mocking him, then cynically by dressing him in an elegant robe as befitting a worldly king. Pilate also punishes him – we are not told how. He is released by both of them and turned over to the masses.

It is difficult for us to imagine what it means to be thoroughly innocent – which Jesus absolutely was. None of us can come close to counting the sins for which we are “accountable”! The miracle of the cross is that through his sacrifice, death and resurrection – and his complete innocence – Christ has transferred our accountability over to his “account.” That is what is meant when the Bible says that he was without sin, that he “paid the price.”

To put this into perspective consider some Scripture passages that support this.

Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.

Hebrews 7:26 – Such a high priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

1 Peter 1:18-19 – For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Why was it imperative that he be without sin?

1 John 3:5 – Because he came for the very purpose of taking away our sins, i.e., in today’s terms, of making an account transfer from our account to his!

2 Corinthians 5:21 – God made him who had no sin to be sin for us… without which we would never be able to have the righteousness worthy of God!

1 Peter 1:18-19 – The transfer of accountability for our sins was not made with physical, tangible items such as silver or gold, assets, stocks, bonds or other valuable items such as property or mortgages, but with the blood of the Lamb. The image is brutal, even violent, but clear.

What a price he paid, without his total innocence it would have been meaningless!

Praise the Lord for his sacrifice and its infinite “meaningfulness”!

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