“Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands. Pilate… said, ‘I am bringing him out to you that you may know I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, ‘Behold the man!’ When the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.’ The Jews answered, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.’ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid… So Pilate said to him,.. ‘Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above…’
“[Pilate] said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!..’ Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.., ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’” John 19:1-8,10-11a,14b,19
Their problem was a wrong concept of Jesus. He was merely a man, rife with compassion, emotion, and flesh needs. He was a good teacher who could tell stories and loved children. The people and religious leaders could not get over His claim to be the Son of God because they could not get over their inflated view of self and unregenerate view of this uneducated carpenter. Their pedestrian thinking kept His majesty at bay and they crucified him under a sign mocking His royalty. Fearful Pilate could write His name, but not bow. (Matthew 19:13-14; Mark 6:3; John 4:6; 19:25-28,30)
But He was so much more. We’re all unable to grasp the otherness of Jesus apart from His grace. But every resistance of God’s revelation, every strong-arm against His gentle nudges, every bit of puffery we let cloud our sense of awe adds callouses to hearts made for eternity. He beckons us to behold the King. All creation displays His glory. When once we open ourselves to recognize His highness and receive His love, the veil is removed. (Psalm 19:1-3; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Matthew 13:14-15; Acts 28:27; Romans 1:19-21; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; Revelation 3:20)
Accepting that Jesus is far more than a man obliterates mental boundaries and expands our wonder. It pushes possibilities and energizes courage. It multiplies dimensions in our heart, industry, and service.
How do we limit the God of the universe by imposing human processes and abilities? Where do we confine His reach by provincial preferences? Of course, He is never bound by human perception, but we miss out on His greatness when we wallow there.
How would our moods change if we trusted the steady One’s ability to calm storms? How differently would we plan (not fret) if we believed Jesus knew our needs and met them with infinite capacity? How would we reorder our prayers if we reckoned on the Lord working all things for eternal good? (Matthew 6:7-8; Mark 4:39; Romans 8:28)
Lord, open to me the much more of all You are, so I might offer You the trust and honor You deserve.
As the rain and snow 