Word@Work 193 - Mark 15:6-8
Published: Thu, 08/21/08
Word@Work from BeaconLight
Read Mark 15:6-8 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. (NIV)
Power in Israel was delicately balanced between the Roman occupiers, and the Jewish leaders who were held responsible to control the people, or lose their privileges. As a part of this 'understanding' not to violate religious traditions, Pilate had agreed to an amnesty for one prisoner each year. Perhaps the Jewish leaders could foresee the possibility of Pilate solving his 'Jesus problem' by releasing Him under the terms of the amnesty - and they might have excited the crowd to ask for Barabbas (as only one jail bird would be set free).
Crowds were a threat to Pilate, especially when they got out of control. He had already been wrapped over the knuckles by Rome for overreacting to civil disputes in Israel, and he would not want things to go wrong now. As the crowd approached and stated their case, Pilate would have felt trapped between his duty, his conscience and his fear of personal failure. But his response was a massive personal moral failure, in which the greatest casualty, apart from Jesus, was truth itself.
Although many matters in life are sorted without difficulty, most of the big issues require a crisis point decision. Manipulators know that, and those who deviously seek their own objectives, may try to force others to make a decision, perhaps even against their better conscience. In this process, moral pressure may be applied to retain a tradition or to agree something that seems reasonable, but is not true. Church as well as government politics are littered with such ingenuous compromises; and many businesses that fail have been impaled on agreements that should never have been struck. So it may be time to set aside naivety in order to think and pray carefully about agreements that do not have the ring of truth about them.
Prayer: Father God. I know that you are never trapped or caught out by devious people; and that Jesus went to the cross for me with a great willingness of purpose. Help me to discern those whose intentions are less than honourable as they seek agreement with me in business or elsewhere; and help me to know how to respond wisely so that my conscience and Your plans will not be harmed. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
Power in Israel was delicately balanced between the Roman occupiers, and the Jewish leaders who were held responsible to control the people, or lose their privileges. As a part of this 'understanding' not to violate religious traditions, Pilate had agreed to an amnesty for one prisoner each year. Perhaps the Jewish leaders could foresee the possibility of Pilate solving his 'Jesus problem' by releasing Him under the terms of the amnesty - and they might have excited the crowd to ask for Barabbas (as only one jail bird would be set free).
Crowds were a threat to Pilate, especially when they got out of control. He had already been wrapped over the knuckles by Rome for overreacting to civil disputes in Israel, and he would not want things to go wrong now. As the crowd approached and stated their case, Pilate would have felt trapped between his duty, his conscience and his fear of personal failure. But his response was a massive personal moral failure, in which the greatest casualty, apart from Jesus, was truth itself.
Although many matters in life are sorted without difficulty, most of the big issues require a crisis point decision. Manipulators know that, and those who deviously seek their own objectives, may try to force others to make a decision, perhaps even against their better conscience. In this process, moral pressure may be applied to retain a tradition or to agree something that seems reasonable, but is not true. Church as well as government politics are littered with such ingenuous compromises; and many businesses that fail have been impaled on agreements that should never have been struck. So it may be time to set aside naivety in order to think and pray carefully about agreements that do not have the ring of truth about them.
Prayer: Father God. I know that you are never trapped or caught out by devious people; and that Jesus went to the cross for me with a great willingness of purpose. Help me to discern those whose intentions are less than honourable as they seek agreement with me in business or elsewhere; and help me to know how to respond wisely so that my conscience and Your plans will not be harmed. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
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