March 28 The King Reigns

John 19:19-20 Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” is what he wrote. 20 Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.


GOD certainly uses people in surprising ways, doesn’t he? The Bible tells us that regardless if one is a pagan or Jew, atheist or true believer, God can use a person’s character and traits to declare his name to the world.
       Here, the pagan Pilate ordered a sign written proclaiming Jesus as “King of the Jews”. Then see that “many people read it”. These were people who had traveled to Jerusalem from nearby towns and foreign countries. They were Jews who lived in Judea and in foreign countries. Many were Gentiles (also called Greeks), merchants, craftsmen, government employees and all types of social classes. For some, no doubt, it was their first notice of Jesus. Curiously, they wondered about the sign to ask, “Why would anyone call this cursed criminal on a cross ‘King of the Jews’?” Why, indeed. How was God using Pilate?
       I wonder what some of these same people thought weeks or years later when the apostles proclaimed: Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” And Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
       Do you think some who heard the gospel thought back to that day when the “king of the Jews” was on the cross? Perhaps the memory of the suffering “King of the Jews” on a cross awakened them to know that the apostles’ words were true. The gospel was real. God’s love was truly for their souls.
       God makes himself known in unexpected ways. He even goes to a criminal’s death on a cross. On that day, the Father planted the seeds of his salvation into the hearts and minds of many who passed by or stood at the foot of the cross. Pilate was a weak, ineffective ruler. He gave in to the crowd and crucified an innocent man. Even so, Pilate acted under God’s’ sovereign purpose. The Lord God gave to Pilate words to introduce the King of Kings to the world.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the ways you choose us to make you known to those who travel into our lives. Amen.