Luke 23:1-5 Before Pilate
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: December 13, 2018 Luke 23:1-5
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no
guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) It says here that the whole company brought Jesus to Pilate. I assume that means all of the Sanhedrin. I guess they wanted to make sure that Pilate had a lot of pressure. It is a lot harder to deny a united group than a few individuals who say they represent a united group. Misleading the nation is a lie; however, in their own eyes it might have been truth. However, they were out and out lying to Pilate about the tribute, and they knew it. Jesus never forbade paying tribute. In fact, He said the opposite. The accusation that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah is totally true and being a king is true also, but Jesus had made it clear on many occasions that He was not trying to establish a kingdom in competition to Rome, so the Jews were using truth to deceive. Out of all the accusations given initially, Pilate only took one seriously and asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews. Jesus responded affirmatively. In other gospels it is clear that in private audience with Pilate, Jesus had said that His kingdom was not of this world, and that was why His disciples would not fight.
(Understanding the Text) Pilate did not find any evidence for putting Jesus to death. We whitewash Pilate sometimes making him out to be weak yet innocent. However, historical records show that Pilate could be very cruel and disrespectful of God. I was just reading in Christ’s Object Lessons about an incident where Pilate had sent Roman soldiers into the temple itself, and they had slaughtered some Galileans who were in the process of offering sacrifice. Jesus had told the people that those Galileans were not any more guilty than anyone else. However, in the case of Jesus, Pilate must have sensed that he was dealing with someone special, so he had to be careful in his choices. Also, Pilate may have partly been opposing the Sanhedrin’s wishes in a powerplay with them. In doing so, he underestimated their determination to see Jesus’ dead and the urgency to get it done right away.
Pilate received ample warning not to condemn Jesus, yet he did it anyway. It does not matter how many times he protested having to do it. He was in charge, and it was his decision to make. There were no excuses for the choice he made. He could have repented from that decision, but he never did. If we choose to knowingly do wrong, we are condemned. We can then throw ourselves on the mercy of God and be forgiven or pretend that we never acted wrongly excusing our actions by blaming others and in the end, never receiving the forgiveness that comes from acknowledging our sin and asking for forgiveness.
When Pilate refused after examining Jesus the first time, the Jews came up with a new accusation. Jesus stirred up the people everywhere in the land. This was more serious because Rome was trying to maintain order and control in Israel but was having problems with frequent uprisings and individual attacks. Of all Pilate’s duties, the most important job was keeping the peace at any cost. That meant it was acceptable to hurt innocent people if peace would be kept. Even here, the Jews were using the truth to lie. It was true that Jesus was stirring up people, but it was not to rebellion. Instead, it was to repentance and service to God.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that it is difficult to know truth from fiction and to make choices based on that lack of knowledge. I must know the Bible and understand Jesus’ character as much as possible. That is the only sure way to navigate among all the lies within lies encircled by lies that this world contains. My only straight path is direct to Jesus and following the basic principles that Jesus set down for me regardless of the situation or cost. I pray that You will not only give me the discernment to know the truth of what I hear, but also the courage and daring to follow through with Your directives and the love to obey the correct way.