TRUE AUTHORITY
Opening Prayer
Sovereign God, you deserve my praise as you rule over your creation with care and you watch over your children with loving compassion. I thankfully offer it up to you now.
Read LUKE 23:1–12
23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
As you read of the suffering and injustice Jesus endured on his way to the cross, let God speak to you afresh about the enormity of Jesus’ actions in these tumultuous hours before his death.Are you in a position of authority in your family, workplace, or church? Authority is a powerful thing to hold. Sometimes it is earned, sometimes given freely, sometimes seized. It is often abused, misunderstood, and resisted. Yet, true authority, when rightly used, can be liberating and inspiring.
In today’s passage we see terrible examples of authority being used for selfish, corrupt, and ultimately evil purposes. The religious authorities continued hounding Jesus, fabricating a political charge against him to justify taking him to Pilate (vv. 1, 2). Pilate himself, the secular governor of Judea, sought to pass on the authority he had received by sending Jesus to Herod (vv. 6, 7). Pilate hoped Herod could take the difficult decision out of his hands, but Herod—a man oozing authority and corruption in equal measure— simply mocked and ridiculed Jesus before returning him to Pilate.
In the midst of all this, much like in our reading yesterday, Luke showed Jesus as the one person who had true, authentic authority. He was once again submissive to the will and authority of his heavenly Father as he allowed the events to unfold.
Apply
How do you handle the authority you carry? With humility and servant-heartedness, or with selfishness and pride?
Closing prayer
Father God, help me to lead and exercise authority in a way that honors you and serves people.
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