Enemies Loved By God
Reading John 19:1-16, I am amazed and appalled at the Jewish response to the potential release of Jesus (maybe I shouldn’t be). They were determined to see Jesus crucified no matter how many times Pilate offered a compromise. Pilate desperately tries to release this innocent man. Three times (according to Luke 23:22) he tries to convince the people that Jesus is an innocent man, and three times the response was “Crucify him!” He has Jesus flogged, but that was not enough. He is further mocked and tortured with a crown of thorns. Still not enough. Finally Pilate relents and siezes an interesting opportunity…
In John 19:12, the people cry out, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” At this Pilate presents Jesus as their king (vv. 14-15) – making Jesus an enemy of Caesar, and thus forcing the Jews to proclaim allegiance to Caesar. Pilate successfully turns the fervor of the Jews against King Jesus toward a proclamation of allegiance to “king” Caesar. It is a sad day when people are so opposed to Jesus that they are willing to bow down to the enemy. And these are supposed to be God’s leaders, the chief priests, who make this awful statement: “We have no king but Caesar.” Truly these people had fallen so far away from God, so far from justice, so far from listening, so hardened with rebellion and determination.
You know what really hits me here? It is that these hardened ones are the ones Jesus died for. Jesus could have called on a host of angels to fight back. But no, He chose to take it. What tremendous love! What tremendous forgiveness!
Romans 5:6-10
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Yes, the people were full of rebellion and determination, but O how much greater the love of God is!
