Three times in these verses God tells Moses that He is the one who makes the people holy. It is very interesting that God says this even after He talks about acceptable sacrifices (22:17-33). So then, it was not the sacrifices that made the people of Israel holy, but it was God Himself!
The same is true for you and me today. We can try all we want to be better people, to be more holy, righteous, and Godly; but outside of God Himself making us holy, we will never be holy. So then, how does God make us holy? I Corinthians 1:30 holds the answer that we need, "...Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption."
Jesus in us, is our only hope of becoming holy, righteous, and redeemed. With Jesus living in us and having control of our mind, heart, and body will we be holy. And the good news (or the Gospel) is this, Jesus is already waiting for us to allow Him to transform us from the inside-out.
Mark 15:1 - 32
Verse 2, "... 'Yes, it is as you say', Jesus replied."
Verse 5, "But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed."
So why did Jesus answer in verse 2, but not inverse 5? The answer lies in the question. In verse 2, Jesus was asked about who He was, "Are you the king of the Jews?". But in verse 3, He was asked to defend against lies. You see, Jesus only responded to the truth - He was (and is) the King of the Jews. However, when it came to responding to the lies of the chief priests, He had no interest (verse 5).
How much can you and I learn from these 5 verses? Daily satan attacks our minds with lies, just as satan attacked Jesus with lies. But often we spend most of our time defending, if even only to ourselves, that those lies aren't true. How much could we grow if we stopped responding to lies and only acknowledged truth?
Those of us that grew up with siblings were always told, "if you don't respond to their pestering, they'll stop." Remember that one? Well, there is much truth to that. It wasn't Jesus' lack of responding that crucified Him, but it was God's plan of salvation that crucified Him. Psalms 138 tells us that, "the Lord will work out the plans He has for my life". So together we can rest in knowing that we can stop responding to the lies and focus on the Truth.
Psalm 31:19 - 24
How fitting that this Psalm starts w/ cries about accusations. Look at how it very quickly goes from focusing on the lies to focusing on the Lord.
1 comment:
I don't think many people are able to grasp the severity of the situation even before His
Crucifixion. When it says He was flogged before carrying His own cross, too many people think that merely means, "beat". Flogging in that day was usually with a "cat of nine tails" or worse, with pieces of glass and rocks attached. For Jesus to not only bear that pain, but bear the pain knowing He could make it stop at any time is remarkable. I really think that demonstrates love.
~Bree
Post a Comment