THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever been accused of something that you did not do?
READ TOGETHER.
Mark 15:1-5. 1And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
The same night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, he was arrested and taken to see a man named Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor where Jerusalem was. Jesus life will be in the hands of this one man, Pilate.
So, have you ever been accused of something that you did not do? I have. In the seventh grade, after taking a spelling quiz we would grade each other’s papers. One day, Joe Callaghan was grading my spelling quiz, and he changed the letters on my paper so that it looked like I had misspelled many of the words. Instead of an A+ I would be getting a C. What do you think I did? That’s right, I told the teacher. I showed her how Joe had changed the letters on my quiz so that I would get a worse grade than I deserved. Everything I said was true and she believed me. I got the A+ that I deserved and Joe Callaghan got in trouble, not me. It was a great day for justice.
Mark’s gospel says that when Jesus was falsely accused by the chief priests, elders, and scribes (the religious leader who should be honest) he kept silent – he made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. That doesn’t make sense, does it? Why wouldn’t Jesus explain to Pilate that he is actually the Son of God and hadn’t done anything wrong? Why wouldn’t he defend himself, or ask for witnesses to talk about all the miracles he did? Why didn’t he ask for justice?
Because Jesus knows that if he explains who he really is and talks his way out of these false accusations, then he will not be put on the cross for you and for me. Jesus came to earth to give his life for us. He came knowing that his own people would betray him, abandon him, and worst of all, falsely accuse him of things he did not do. Jesus knows that if he lets himself be accused of things he did not do – See how many charges they bring against you – then justice will come, not by Jesus getting himself freed from Pilate and the court, but in getting us freed from our sin when he takes our place on the cross.
Now this doesn’t mean that we have to be silent if we are falsely accused of something. God loves the truth and he loves fairness. But it does mean that if we ever are falsely accused and get in trouble for something we didn’t do, it’s OK. God has us, and he will one day make sure the truth is known. It also means that we can be glad that Jesus let himself be arrested, accused, and crucified all without ever fighting back, because he was fighting to save us.
Because of Jesus we are free from all accusations, even the true ones.
With Jesus we can trust that God’s justice will be done.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make Romans 8:1 a family memory verse.
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, I know I’m free from all condemnation because of Jesus. Thank you! Amen.
TLICfamily 