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.”

The United States today stands solidly behind Israel. Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East today. But Israel’s history has not always been good. In the verses above, her history displays a violent hatred toward the LORD Jesus Christ. William Barclay rightly states it:

“There is nothing in this world which warps a man’s judgment as hatred does.

Hatred is a kind of madness. Once a man allows himself to hate, he can neither

think nor see straight, nor listen without distortion. Hatred is so terrible a thing

just because it takes a man’s senses away.”

The hatred of the Jews against Jesus and their craving for His death involved the matter of authority. The Jews recognized the limitation of their authority –a limitation that had been imposed upon them by the Romans. Pontius Pilate was the Roman authority over Israel, which is why the Jews appealed to him to crucify Jesus. Pilate recognized his authority, but Jesus said, “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.”

Think about this carefully: Jesus clearly indicates that there are degrees of sin. Further, His words indicate that the attitude of hatred is a greater sin than the act of crucifixion itself. This should give us pause to examine our attitudes toward others. The Jewish attitude was hatred; and in Jesus’ thought, that was a greater sin than the Roman act of crucifixion.

Throughout His arrest, His trials (both Jewish and Roman), even the crucifixion itself, Jesus exhibited only love. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This becomes a challenge to us in our daily lives. People do not always treat us lovingly. They lie against us; they mock us; they display every sort of hatred against us; yet, we are to love them.

Who is positioned against you? Who literally hates you and despises you? What they do should be of no concern to us. How we react to their hatred is what really matters. The LORD is in control over every situation. He is the sole authority. We are always under His protection.

We pray for your protection daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”