Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ? Matthew 27:22 AMP
What shall we do with Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah? That is indubitably the question Jew and Gentile alike must ask themselves in this critical hour when tension between good and evil, light and darkness is ramping up at an alarming rate.
The crazed crowd before the judgment seat of Pilate despised Jesus, perhaps because He exposed their hypocrisy, nailed their pride, challenged their beliefs (and unbelief), unleashed their fears. [i] We could choose to join in their shouts of, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” [ii]
“Oh, I could never do that!" you might say. "That was downright barbaric.”
How about we just reject Him? Tell Him in no uncertain terms that He has no right to insist that we turn from our current way of life. We love our life. Yes, it may be a little dark at times, but it’s comfy. We’ll stick with that; it suits us well.
“That’s rather blunt. There are nicer, more polite ways to let someone know you’re not interested without hurting their feelings.”
Perhaps we could find fault with Him. Instead of letting Jesus prick our consciences, we could turn the pointing finger back at Him, see how He likes it. Accusation and criticism, that’s how you discourage unwanted pursuers. Besides, what He claims to offer sounds too good to be true . . . for these days anyway.
“But it’s kind of a cheap shot to find fault, don’t you think?”
Ignore then. That’s it! We could ignore Jesus, turn a blind eye and deaf ear, go about our business as though He didn’t even exist. He will eventually tire of trying to get our attention and will venture elsewhere.
“No, no. I couldn’t do any of those things. I would never despise, reject, find fault. Or ignore Him. No siree, Jesus knows I love Him. It’s just that life is so demanding these days. Everyone wants something from me; my time, attention, my energies, my finances. I go to church. I pray. I read my Bible when I can. But there’s only so much of me to go around. He’s understanding and loving, He’ll give me a break. Isn’t that what grace is for?”
What shall we do with Jesus who is called the Christ? After all, He only gives all mankind life and breath and everything. He sustains all things by his powerful word. He crushed the reign of sin and death when He poured out His life unto death. Was raised again for our sakes so we might live for Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. He alone is able to save completely those who come to God through Him. [iii]
So, what are we doing with Him? We have to do something. [iv]
[i] Matthew 23; Matthew 6:1 – 8 [ii] Matthew 27:20 – 23; Mark:15:13; Luke 23:18 – 23; John 18:39 – 40; Luke 12:1 – 3 [iii] Acts 17:25,28; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 54:4; Colossians 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:15 – 21; Genesis 3:15; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14 – 15; Hebrews 7:25; Acts 17:28 [iv] (inspired by) The Seven Sayings of the Savior on the Cross by Arthur W. Pink, page 17, italics mine