What Jesus Did! 'Not Guilty' — Luke 23:1-4

The charges that the enemies of Jesus present are all lies. Pilate sees through these lies and goes to the crucial question: Is Jesus King of the Jews? Jesus acknowledges that he is. Pilate pronounces him not guilty. In fact, in the Gospel of Luke and in his companion volume, the book of Acts, Roman officials are repeatedly looking on Jesus and his disciples with favor. Unfortunately, however, political expediency often wins out over truth — as it does later with Pilate. ^[1] Finding nothing wrong with Jesus, even recognizing him as an important teacher or a righteous leader, is not enough. Do we believe he is the Son of God, our Savior and Lord? Are we willing to base our lives on his death, burial, and resurrection by confessing him and sharing in his death, burial, and resurrection through baptism — death to our old lives, burial in the baptismal water, and resurrection to a new life of commitment to Jesus and service in his Kingdom? ^[2] Do we believe that he can transform us totally by pouring his Holy Spirit into our hearts and working his will in our lives? For us, Jesus must be far more than a good guy and a great teacher. He must be our Lord! If he is not, then we will simply relegate him to some convenient place in our lives rather than letting him totally transform us.