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16 March 2008
John 18 v 33-40
Then Pilate went back inside the palace and called Jesus to him and asked, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus said, "Is that your own question, or did others tell you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not Jewish. It was your own people and their leading priests who handed you over to me. What have you done wrong?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it belonged to this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be given over to the Jews. But my kingdom is from another place."
Pilate said, "So you are a king!"
Jesus answered, "You are the one saying I am a king. This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me."
Pilate said, "What is truth?" After he said this, he went out to the Jews again and said to them, "I find nothing against this man. But it is your custom that I free one prisoner to you at Passover time. Do you want me to free the 'king of the Jews'?"
They shouted back, "No, not him! Let Barabbas go free!" (Barabbas was a robber.)
The cross was the culmination, climax and focal point of Jesus' mission - to 'seek and to save that which was lost', 'not the righteous, but sinners', to bring home the prodigals. A glance at the cross shows the love Jesus has for lost souls - He willingly died in the cruellest way possible.
"If our Lord was willing to die for lost souls the least we can do is live for them." - Charles Spurgeon.
"As long as any man remain unsaved I am his debtor until he is" - Oswald Chambers.
"The highest priority of the church should be the saving of lost souls" - John Wesley.
If there is any good time to speak about Jesus to our unsaved people Easter is it.
So why don't we? A case of fear-freeze? Then let love swallow fear. Do we feel insufficient? Then move by faith and let love turn into action. Or do we cry "No, not him!" and find another way?
This Easter let's not neglect why Jesus died - to save the people He loves. Let's be active in love. We can't love our neighbour and do less than everything for their salvation. We often look for the next big evangelist but forget our own responsibility. This Easter we celebrate Jesus dying to save. Will we join Him in that?
Father, Saviour, thank You for the cross. Holy Spirit blow on me with Your consuming fire - wipe away the dust and cobwebs from our hearts, soften them. Please give me the faith and love to step out for You. I pray in Your name. Amen
Written by members of Xplore
John 18 v 33-40
Then Pilate went back inside the palace and called Jesus to him and asked, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus said, "Is that your own question, or did others tell you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not Jewish. It was your own people and their leading priests who handed you over to me. What have you done wrong?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it belonged to this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be given over to the Jews. But my kingdom is from another place."
Pilate said, "So you are a king!"
Jesus answered, "You are the one saying I am a king. This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me."
Pilate said, "What is truth?" After he said this, he went out to the Jews again and said to them, "I find nothing against this man. But it is your custom that I free one prisoner to you at Passover time. Do you want me to free the 'king of the Jews'?"
They shouted back, "No, not him! Let Barabbas go free!" (Barabbas was a robber.)
The cross was the culmination, climax and focal point of Jesus' mission - to 'seek and to save that which was lost', 'not the righteous, but sinners', to bring home the prodigals. A glance at the cross shows the love Jesus has for lost souls - He willingly died in the cruellest way possible.
"If our Lord was willing to die for lost souls the least we can do is live for them." - Charles Spurgeon.
"As long as any man remain unsaved I am his debtor until he is" - Oswald Chambers.
"The highest priority of the church should be the saving of lost souls" - John Wesley.
If there is any good time to speak about Jesus to our unsaved people Easter is it.
So why don't we? A case of fear-freeze? Then let love swallow fear. Do we feel insufficient? Then move by faith and let love turn into action. Or do we cry "No, not him!" and find another way?
This Easter let's not neglect why Jesus died - to save the people He loves. Let's be active in love. We can't love our neighbour and do less than everything for their salvation. We often look for the next big evangelist but forget our own responsibility. This Easter we celebrate Jesus dying to save. Will we join Him in that?
Father, Saviour, thank You for the cross. Holy Spirit blow on me with Your consuming fire - wipe away the dust and cobwebs from our hearts, soften them. Please give me the faith and love to step out for You. I pray in Your name. Amen
Written by members of Xplore
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