Scripture: Matthew 27:24-25

Observation: Was there ever a more of a coward in scripture then the person of Pilate. When presented with the evidence of Jesus’ quilt or innocence and knowing that he had nothing to charge him with and seeing through the false testimony of the Jewish leaders, he caves into their demands and agrees to have Jewish put to death. But before he agrees to have Jesus crucified, in an act of complete cowardness, ‘washes his hands’ before the crowd to demonstrate that this punishment was to be upon the crowd and not from him. If Pilate had truly believed him to be innocent and did not care one bit what the crowd thought he would have ordered him release but instead he gave into the ‘mob mentality’ and ordered Jesus to be killed.

Application: So much of life is standing up for what we believe in and what we feel is right. In this case the one person who had the power and ability to do something and make an impact caved under pressure from the crowd. I pray that when I am in the moment of being presented with the opportunity to stand up for what is right and I choose wisely and correctly and that my decision are my own and not influenced or swayed by the crowd.

Prayer: Father, I pray for boldness and for the wisdom and discernment necessary to take a stand for the things that might seem unpopular or may go against the grain of what is popular today. Taking a stand for what is right is never easy and my pray is that you would empower us all to be bold today.