The Greatest Injustice…

Have you ever thought about what crime Jesus committed that He was crucified for? None. The Jews claimed He was guilty of blasphemy, but if what He said was true, then it wasn’t blasphemy. The government of Rome didn’t have an accusation. Pilate asked the question to the Jewish leaders, “What crime has He committed”? They never answered Pilate; they just kept on shouting “Crucify Him”. In Mark’s gospel he called the Jewish crowd a mob. If you think about it, it’s exactly what a mob does. They were emotionally charged, had no legitimate reason to crucify Jesus, but kept shouting louder and louder to Pilate. A modern day example of this would be the riots going on under the name of peaceful protests (as the media calls them). Mob rules. The saddest part of this is that Pilate gave into them. The spineless coward catered to this “mob rules” mentality. He had no conviction because Jesus hadn’t violated any Roman law. Yet in all of this, in the midst of all the wrong doing, God had a plan. And it was His plan to punish Jesus, and innocent man, the lamb with no defects, by placing all the sins of the world on Him as if He was guilty of committing every single one. The wrath of God was released on Jesus. And He took it. If you ever want to see an example of injustice, here it is. The injustice laid upon Jesus turned out to be the greatest gift of grace the world has ever known. It connected, and fulfilled the promises of the OT and the NT. And most importantly, it saved all that believe and place their trust in Jesus. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed us white as snow. The biggest travesty in life took place on a cross on a hill in Israel over 2,000 years ago. But it was also the greatest event in human history as well. And even though the Jewish leaders and the Roman government didn’t recognize it, the world owes Jesus everything for being the willing sacrifice, taking the punishment we all deserve, unjustly accused of things He didn’t do, all because God loves us. The next time you watch an injustice happen, may it be a small reminder of the greatest injustice to ever take place on this earth. And may it remind you that God allowed it to happen to rescue you from Hell. Now that’s real love, without any excuses.

9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”13 They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has He committed?”But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify Him!”15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned Him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Mark 15:9-15