No other name

Many odd things have happened in the past and this has stood out for me. A court of law is trying to protect the scriptures of a certain faith by judging a man for blasphemy who has quoted from it. I am reminded of the story of Gideon where the leaders were told that if truly Gideon has offended their god, their god alone will arrange to judge and punish him. Does a god need the protection of man? Jesus was persecuted and judged for blasphemy as well in this chapter.

Matthew 27:28-31

And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Pilate as the Governor of Judea had to give judgement over the accusations of blasphemy. He recognized all the great things Jesus had done and he also recognized that the Jewish leaders were doing this out of envy. The accusations were just an excuse. Pilate threw the whole thing back to them and washed his hands off the matter. They proceeded to crucify Him and the centurion in charge recognized Jesus' greatness at His death on the cross.

Matthew 27:54

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Josh McDowell in his book More than a Carpenter relates his quest to prove that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar or He truly was who claimed to be. You can speak all you want against Him, and this started with the Jewish leaders in His time on earth, but He will continue to knock on the door of your heart to see you saved. Only He can do this because He is truly God.

Father, no other name but the name of Jesus.

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