Crucify Him!

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.” (Luke 23:2-25)

In Luke 23:2–25, the accusation of Jesus is the topic of discussion—with the chief priests, religious leaders, and “council” being the loudest accusers. This Scripture tells us that the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him; they were fierce, and they became desperate. Across translations, we read the crowd being described as urgent, insisting, and desperate to get their point across that Jesus had basically been wrecking their world.

Jesus had travelled all over Judea forgiving sins, healing the sick, driving out demons, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God and repentance, challenging the religious law of the land, dining with sinners, and sending His disciples to preach the Gospel and heal everywhere.

The issue at hand for the religious leaders and Pharisees was that what He preached went against their normalcy, against their dishonest way of “earning” a living. Jesus confronted wrongs regardless of the consequences, and he called hypocrites—irrespective of their “social standing.” According to Luke 11:45, the message Jesus taught was “insulting” to some.

The real issue at hand was Jesus always spoke the truth, be it politically correct or not. As a result, the revolt had culminated to where we find ourselves in Luke 23. The religious leaders had absolutely stirred up the people to be against Jesus— regardless of what evidence there was of Jesus working for the good of their people and their land. It seems to be the reason for the revolt against Jesus was all about self-indulgence, where folks stood to lose temporarily and had no thought of the eternal. After the many miracles Jesus had completed throughout Judea, the crowd’s response was, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

These are our three questions: Are we listening to Jesus and fellowshipping with Him, or are we telling Him what we want and what He needs to do for us? Are we crucifying Him and His message of salvation with our attitudes of political correctness and personal gain? Should we be surprised if we are ridiculed for taking a stand for Christ?

LET US PRAY - Lord Jesus, please forgive us because we are sinners. We desperately need You in our lives. Please, Lord, abide in our hearts and allow us to fellowship with You each moment of every day. Thank You, Lord, for not turning Your back on us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.