The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 19:6-11, “When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they

cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves,

and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law,

and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid; 9 and he entered

into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him

no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know

that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus

answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from

above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.”

Every verse in John 19 begs to be opened to our understanding. It is indeed a

rich treasure of truth that cannot easily be overlooked. First, the Jews cried out

for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate insisted that he could find no guilt in Him. The

Jews incriminated themselves when they admitted that they understood the

Mosaic Law. Pilate was not familiar with Jewish law and admitted it when he

said in John 18:35, “I am not a Jew, am I?” But, when he said to Jesus, “I have

authority to release You…,” Jesus replied that Pilate’s authority was subject

to the higher authority of the Father in Heaven. Then He said a strange thing:

“…he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.” All sin is evil and wrong;

but some sins are infinitely greater than others, leading me to believe that Hell

has variations or degrees of eternal punishment. What is significant in this

passage is that Pilate had no knowledge of Jewish law, but the Jews did. They

pressed him in several ways that made him deliver Jesus for crucifixion.

In the current news, a teenage girl has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter

for aggressively urging her “boyfriend” to take his own life. She did not actually

kill him, but she was a significant factor in his death by her encouragement to that

end. Those who introduce others to sinful practices are guiltier, but those who

participate are guilty as well. We who know the Scriptures and their teaching

against sin will not escape God’s wrath. We belong to Him, and He punishes us

as a godly parent punishes his child.

We love you and pray that you may always be delivered from temptation,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”