Asking the wrong questions will usually lead to wrong answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jesus was forced into Pilate\u2019s courtyard, surrounded by those intent on His death, Pilate didn\u2019t immediately react; he assessed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question one, for the accusers: \u201cWhat charge do you bring against this man?\u201d (John 18:29). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question two, for the accused: \u201cAre you the king of the Jews?\u201d (v.33). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humanly speaking, it was a fair line of questioning, relevant to the crime Jesus was indicted for, but Pilate was not a Jew (v.31). Who Jesus was to them was irrelevant to him. By asking the wrong questions, Pilate avoided the right answer. Pilate needed to ask, Are you the king of me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s true that Pilate was uniquely caught in the crosshairs between a cultural revolution and a supernatural rescue mission, it\u2019s also true that his position was not unique. Each of us must bring who He is and what He\u2019s claimed to have done into the courtyard of our own hearts and minds. And the question\u2014the real question\u2014we can\u2019t fully ignore is this: Is He the king of our lives? Will we bend the knee to His sovereign rule over us? Yes, at the moment of salvation, but will we then surrender over and over again as we learn to live with Him? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As long as we stay distracted by who Jesus is to others, we will miss the upending nature of the better question. And so, I ask it again: Is Jesus your king? Today? Right now? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you know He wants to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crowd kept pressing, and Pilate kept asking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat have you done?\u201d (v.35).
\u201cYou are a king then?\u201d (v.37).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d (v.38). So close! The right question isn\u2019t what but who. Jesus Himself had spoken the answer when He taught, \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d (John 14:6). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answers to Pilate\u2019s questions left him doubting that Jesus deserved death (v.38), but the answers to better questions had the power to move Pilate from death to life (John 5:24). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we keep reading John\u2019s gospel, we see Pilate ask another bad question.
\u201cShould I crucify your king?\u201d (John 19:15). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wrong question. Wrong answer.
\u201cThen he handed him over to be crucified\u201d (v.16). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus has given us an anchor question to keep us from missing the point. He asked it looking into the eyes of his disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut you,\u201d he asked them, \u201cwho do you say that I am?\u201d To the religious leaders, the answer was a threat. But you\u2019re here, and asking the right question is the pathway to the answers your soul is looking for. Strip away the crowds. Let Pilate fade into the background. Picture Jesus, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you,\u201d He\u2019s asking through His Word, \u201cWho do you say that I am?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right question. And the right answer? He\u2019s the One worthy of your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n New question that requires a new answer: Will you live surrendered to Him today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asking the wrong questions will usually lead to wrong answers. When Jesus was forced into Pilate\u2019s courtyard, surrounded by those intent on His death, Pilate didn\u2019t immediately react; he assessed. Question one, for the accusers: \u201cWhat charge do you bring against this man?\u201d (John 18:29). Question two, for the accused: \u201cAre you the king of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":72348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[302],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pitnt"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[72485],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"PILATE<\/b> Asking the wrong questions will usually lead to wrong answers.<\/p> When Jesus was forced into Pilate\u2019s courtyard, surrounded by those intent on His death, Pilate didn\u2019t immediately react; he assessed.<\/p> Question one, for the accusers: \u201cWhat charge do you bring against this man?\u201d (John 18:29).<\/p> Question two, for the accused: \u201cAre you the king of the Jews?\u201d (v.33).<\/p> Humanly speaking, it was a fair line of questioning, relevant to the crime Jesus was indicted for, but Pilate was not a Jew (v.31). Who Jesus was to them was irrelevant to him. By asking the wrong questions, Pilate avoided the right answer. Pilate needed to ask, Are you the king of me?<\/p> While it\u2019s true that Pilate was uniquely caught in the crosshairs between a cultural revolution and a supernatural rescue mission, it\u2019s also true that his position was not unique. Each of us must bring who He is and what He\u2019s claimed to have done into the courtyard of our own hearts and minds. And the question\u2014the real question\u2014we can\u2019t fully ignore is this: Is He the king of our lives? Will we bend the knee to His sovereign rule over us? Yes, at the moment of salvation, but will we then surrender over and over again as we learn to live with Him?<\/p> As long as we stay distracted by who Jesus is to others, we will miss the upending nature of the better question. And so, I ask it again: Is Jesus your king? Today? Right now?<\/p> Do you know He wants to be?<\/p> The crowd kept pressing, and Pilate kept asking.<\/p> \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d (v.35). And finally, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d (v.38). So close! The right question isn\u2019t what but who. Jesus Himself had spoken the answer when He taught, \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d (John 14:6).<\/p> The answers to Pilate\u2019s questions left him doubting that Jesus deserved death (v.38), but the answers to better questions had the power to move Pilate from death to life (John 5:24).<\/p> As we keep reading John\u2019s gospel, we see Pilate ask another bad question. Wrong question. Wrong answer. Jesus has given us an anchor question to keep us from missing the point. He asked it looking into the eyes of his disciples.<\/p> \u201cBut you,\u201d he asked them, \u201cwho do you say that I am?\u201d\u00a0 To the religious leaders, the answer was a threat. But you\u2019re here, and asking the right question is the pathway to the answers your soul is looking for. Strip away the crowds. Let Pilate fade into the background. Picture Jesus, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart.<\/p> \u201cBut you,\u201d He\u2019s asking through His Word, \u201cWho do you say that I am?\u201d<\/p> Right question. And the right answer? He\u2019s the One worthy of your life.<\/p> New question that requires a new answer: Will you live surrendered to Him today?<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"19","scripture":"John 18:29-40, John 19:1-22","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2014Matthew 16:15<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
To Pilate, the answer was perhaps a nuisance.
It doesn\u2019t matter now. They\u2019re long gone. Their only legacy is in their affiliation with Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\r\nby Erin Davis<\/i>
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\r\n\u201cYou are a king then?\u201d (v.37).<\/p>
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\r\n\u201cShould I crucify your king?\u201d (John 19:15).<\/p>
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\r\n\u201cThen he handed him over to be crucified\u201d (v.16).<\/p>
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\u2014Matthew 16:15<\/em><\/p>
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\r\nTo Pilate, the answer was perhaps a nuisance.
\r\nIt doesn\u2019t matter now. They\u2019re long gone. Their only legacy is in their affiliation with Jesus.<\/p>
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