25.4 John – Sinking a boat

How big of a hole does it take to sink a boat?  Without some pump to bail out the water, you wouldn’t need a very big leak, just a drip would, over time, let drop after drop of water in, filling the hull and pulling the boat under water.

This is how the sin of rejection of the truth works as well.  Both Pilate and the Jews had developed a nice little habit of rejecting anything that didn’t match their world view, true of not, they ignored it.  It may have been true for someone else, but it wasn’t truth for them.  For the Jews, this hole became pronounced with John the Baptist.  For Pilate, it may have been from the day he moved into the palace dealing with this odd group of religious fanatics.

Drip, drip, drip.

What truths do we reject?  What is our view of the bible?  Is it unerring scripture or a collection of stories and fables?  Do the words of scripture apply to us or are some outdated for our modern society?  What do we rationalize away?  Tithing?  Love your neighbor?  Honor your father and mother? Sexual immorality?  Having no other Gods?

Does anyone else hear a dripping sound?

Can I point out one other interesting observation?  Both Pilate and the Jews thought they could project their holes onto Jesus.  The holes in the difference between what they said and what they did.  The holes in the difference between what they claimed to believe and how they lived.  The lies, the sins.  They could just cast all of these onto Jesus, kill Him, and let Him sink…  The drilled into His pure vessel with lies, with torture, with hatred.  And, Jesus allowed it all to happen.  He took on their holes, not only theirs but yours and mine as well and the holes of all people of all time.  He took them all and he took in the water of the sins and allowed it to take him under, down, into death.  But, our all knowing God did not craft His Son as a normal boat, he built him as a submarine, and after 3 days, he would remove all the sins and raise back up, not only fully restored but glorified and “holy”, but still showing the signs of being pierced for our transgressions.

My Answers:

9.
Pilate chose to turn because of fear of loss of status or position if politically accused of not toeing the line of Roman rule.

10.
He knew Jesus was not guilty and this was a sham, but went along.  He declared Him innocent, then beat Him and offered to set Him free, when He should have been free anyway.  He did not declare Him guilty, but turned Him over to be murdered (with the implicit approval of the state).  He yielded to mob taunts and pressures because of His own tenuous hold on His position and power.  However, He also did everything exactly as God ordained and allowed – with or without Pilate, Jesus would have been crucified.

11.
The truth has been revealed through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.  But, what about the days I don’t read the bible, fail to pray, fail to love others and shine the light like I should?  Am I too busy “just living” to live for Christ?