". . . suffered under Pontius Pilate."

The Apostles Creed, speaking of Jesus Christ, states that He “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” A rather innocuous inclusion some would say, just a matter of history, a paltry statement, nothing more.

I say, however, think again. It is not enough, in my opinion, to simply say that He died, was buried, and rose again; it is of utmost importance to know the conditions under which He suffered, and died.

Granted, the Jewish system wanted Him dead, but that is not the tragedy of this event. The real tragedy is that it was not only the Jewish system, but, indeed the world system. Rome wanted Him dead, also. For Pilate, therefore in was all a matter of power, politics as usual. Justice had nothing to do with it as far as Pilate was concerned. Maintaining a position of power, however, did. Pax Romana was first on the agenda, justice was incidental.

Sound familiar? Count the votes, Mr. President, and you win, but at what expense? Here’s some sobering stats on those who will never have a chance to vote, or even enjoy one breath of fresh air, Mr. President:

United States this Year 240,172.0	In United States today 1,692.2	US since 1973: Roe vs. Wade 57,732,036.0	US this Year after 16 weeks gestation 11,528.3
By Planned Parenthood since 1970 6,709,426.0	By Planned Parenthood this year 72,072.0	US this Year due to rape or incest 2,329.7	Black babies since '73 in US 17,319,610.8
Worldwide since 1980 1,328,811,663	Worldwide this Year 8,916,665	Worldwide Today 62,180 average	Worldwide Average About 1 per second

 

You will also notice, Mr. President, that included in these statistics are not only of your own race, but those of other nations, since you, too, are responsible for advancing your public agenda of Planned Parenthood through the various international agencies, including the UN with the use of our hard earned taxpayer dollars.

“…suffered under Pontius Pilate.”

At just the right moment in history, the Scripture declares that the incarnate Son of God was sent to redeem us (Galatians 2:4-7). However, in order for the Son to do that, He must first suffer under Pontius Pilate, be crucified, buried, and rise triumphantly, to conquer evil and to bring eternal life to all those who believe on Him.

That is the purpose of history. The sole purpose, I might add. All else is either preliminary or subsequent to that great event. History flows in and through Calvary as the seminal event of all ages, and, indeed, spans history to the far reaches of eternity.

Heaven is, and will never be the same because of Calvary—and this is not just religious talk, either; this is a fact.

But why Calvary, and why Pontius Pilate? Could not have God done it another way. The short answer is no. Not for a perfect God, that is. Calvary is the perfect answer of a perfect God.

How so, you say?

Well, first of all, at Calvary, God disarmed the Devil and his henchmen and made it public by triumphing over them through Christ (Colossians 2:15). 

Earlier Christ had said, “My Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36)” and Calvary was God’s final answer to those that thought otherwise.

Calvary was the convenient answer to an inconvenient problem—the problem of evil. Calvary was therefore God’s way of exposing the expediency of politics. Calvary was God’s perfect answer to the problem of evil.  Calvary is God’s theodicy—His answer to the problem of evil; Calvary not only tells us why, but how. Evil exists because of choice, and choice because of freedom, and freedom because a God of love did not create automatons. Robots are incapable of love. Only a free moral agent is capable of that. I say, free because of obvious reasons, I say moral because love is a moral choice, and therefore a responsibility—and, reasonably so, I might add.

God is the essence of love. God is love, and those who are in harmony with God reflect that quality. Thus when we love our neighbor as ourselves we are in synch with God, and as such expressing our moral responsibility.

Calvary, the Passion of Christ, and, yes, even His temptations are permeated with Christ’s love—His love for humanity, for God, and for Himself.

Love is inextricably tied in with who we are, and who we are is inextricably tied in with our Creator in whose image we have been made. Anything of the opposite can only lead to an evil chaos.

So, it must be understood that the world is in the political shape it is today because without God moral responsibility has no beacon of certainty. Not only is that true, but man is incapable of love outside of God. We must first love God, and then, and only then, does the love for our neighbor attend. Thus, we can reiterate,

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20 (NIV)

How then can anyone say, “I’m a Christian,” but in fact destroy the innocent and pass it off as just so much bio-mass that has been extracted from the womb. Is this not hatred of our brother, our sister? Most certainly it is.

Unfortunately, the history of this pseudo-Christianity, or false morality that disguises itself under the umbrella of a woman’s choice and one’s freedom is patently ungodly.

This is, of course, in line with the tenor of Scripture reminds us that:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. (Timothy 3:1-9 (NIV)

I am, as usual, yours for the journey, but, more importantly, He walks alongside of us.

Jim_/