Wanting to Gratify the Crowd
Many times we make the wrong decision, and we sin, because we want to make other people happy, instead of doing the right thing. Pilate fell prey to this temptation. (Mark 15:15) Let's see what happened, so we can avoid this pitfall in our own lives.
Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He was the only one who could order Jesus put to death. Therefore, the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to him, and they asked for Jesus to be crucified. Of course, Pilate did not want to put an innocent man to death, so he questioned Jesus. He found no fault in Jesus. He told the leaders repeatedly that there was no reason to put Jesus to death. He even tried releasing Jesus using an annual tradition in which he released one prisoner at the time of the Passover. However, that did not work. They asked for a murderer instead of the innocent Lord Jesus. Pilate gave in because he wanted to gratify the crowd. He killed the sinless King of Glory, and he let a murderer go free, just to please people.
We must watch out for this in our lives. The best thing to do is to decide to fear God more than people and to decide to please God even when other people will be displeased with us. It is difficult at times, but it is the right thing to do. Remember, we will all stand before the Lord one day in the Judgment. It will be a very bad experience, if we have to try to explain why it was more important for us to gratify others, instead of pleasing God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 3-5.
Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He was the only one who could order Jesus put to death. Therefore, the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to him, and they asked for Jesus to be crucified. Of course, Pilate did not want to put an innocent man to death, so he questioned Jesus. He found no fault in Jesus. He told the leaders repeatedly that there was no reason to put Jesus to death. He even tried releasing Jesus using an annual tradition in which he released one prisoner at the time of the Passover. However, that did not work. They asked for a murderer instead of the innocent Lord Jesus. Pilate gave in because he wanted to gratify the crowd. He killed the sinless King of Glory, and he let a murderer go free, just to please people.
We must watch out for this in our lives. The best thing to do is to decide to fear God more than people and to decide to please God even when other people will be displeased with us. It is difficult at times, but it is the right thing to do. Remember, we will all stand before the Lord one day in the Judgment. It will be a very bad experience, if we have to try to explain why it was more important for us to gratify others, instead of pleasing God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 3-5.