March 24 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

John 19:1-12:

¹Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
²And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
³And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
⁴Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
⁵Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
⁶When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
⁷The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
⁸When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
⁹And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
¹⁰Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
¹¹Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
¹²And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Devotional

Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman governor. The Jews had pronounced him guilty of blasphemy, because He said, He was the Son of God.

Jesus had told them, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," but the Jews did not believe on the Son of God. What terrible sins became manifest as Jesus stood before the temporal judge! The Jews said He was a malefactor, an evildoer; that He stirred up the people; that He perverted the nation, and forbade to give tribute to Caesar. They clamored for his life, crying, "Crucify him, crucify him." Pilate, though he knew who stood before him, and though he had repeatedly declared the innocence of Christ, did not have the courage to set Jesus free. He preferred his temporal honor and power to Christ, who told him the truth. He permitted the innocent One to be scourged and delivered unto death. The Roman soldiers mocked him, put a crown of thorns on his head and smote him and spat in his face. As Jesus, bleeding and wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, stood before them, Pilate said, "Behold the man." But there was no pity, no mercy. Christ by his suffering atoned for sin. We must realize that Christ died also for our sins. He was condemned, being innocent, that we might be delivered from the severe judgment of God.

Prayer

O God, what a spectacle! Jesus the sinless One, crowned with a crown of thorns, ill treated, suffering indignities, and the chief priests, the spiritual leaders, and the officers of the law, crying, Crucify him! And Jesus, the Sinbearer, bears it patiently! It took all that and much more to save us from sin. May this scene and all the sufferings of Christ humble us into the dust. May we see and acknowledge the greatness of our sins; but also the greatness of Thine infinite love and pardoning grace. For Christ's sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: John 8:24, 30; Luke 23:2, 21; Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:16, 17.

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