Daily Devotion for March 28, 2006

To Jerusalem with the ComPassionate Christ
Day 28

 

A Custom of the Feast

 

Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  Mark 15:6

 

There was a local custom, much valued by the population of Jerusalem, that gave them the ability to petition the Governor every Passover for the release of a prisoner. We do not know that the request was always granted; probably, it was not. But we do know that at the time of the feast the people had a unique opportunity. Pilate, possibly following a tradition established by those who held the office before him, ‘was accustomed to release’ a prisoner, as a sign of nobility.

 

We might wonder why this was so. What is the point in having a judicial system if it is arbitrary? Surely it was open to a great deal of abuse, for if those who had the loudest voices always achieved their ends, those criminals with the greatest influence could expect to be released. In our day, death row inmates are sometimes pardoned at the last moment by an appeal to the Governor, but they are not released to go back to their previous, illegal activities, they remain incarcerated. Pilate’s tradition, however, seems to have involved a complete pardon, and to have been without bounds. We can imagine that it began as a goodwill gesture to release harmless political prisoners, but it had obviously degenerated into a free for all.

 

As Pilate felt sympathy for the Carpenter from Nazareth, judging Him a pawn within a dangerous game, he remembered that it was Passover, and wondered whether he could not save the man’s life. He meant it to be good for Jesus; only his plan backfired because he did not fully understand the intensity of the hatred of the Jewish Leadership.  He was not to know that he was dealing with men who would stop at nothing less than blood.  Little did Pilate know that what happened was ALL part of God’s plan and that it would work out for good in the end.

 

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, many times my good intentions do not work out as I wish they would.  What I meant to be good ended up appearing to be bad.  Help me always to remember, that even in what appears to be bad, You can work all situations to good for those who love You.  Amen

 

---

 Did someone send you this Devotion? Would you like to receive future ones directly? Click here to subscribe.

Tim Hetzner - President - Lutheran Church Charities
		333 W. Lake Street, Addison, Illinois 60101
		(866) 455-6466 • Fax: (866) 451-1476
		Web Site: lcc.LutheranChurchCharities.org
		E-Mail: TimHetzner@LutheranChurchCharities.org
At the end of the day. . . Making A Difference In People's Lives and In God's Kingdom