Guilty! The Crime that Jesus Committed
Most of us know that Jesus is the only begotten Son Of God. We also know He is the only truly righteous Man ever to live. His death on the cross was an atonement for our sins. He was bruised for our iniquities and chastised for our transgressions. It is by His stripes that we are saved.
However, for a couple of minutes, I want you to remove from your thoughts the fact of the Deity of Jesus. From a human point of view, I want you to know that Jesus was killed on the cross because He was guilty of committing a horrendous crime. It was a crime that mankind cannot tolerate. You can do almost anything and men will forgive you, but not this. We do not forgive people for this crime. What was this horrendous crime?
Jesus was guilty because He did not fit in. He stood out from the crowd. He did not do what they thought He should. He was guilty of being different, so they killed Him.
The Pharisees thought He should have conformed to their rules, but Jesus would not, so they pronounced Him guilty. Jesus would not do what the people wanted Him to do, so they called for Him to be crucified. Rome wanted Him to blend into the crowd, but Jesus would not, so Pilate nailed Him to the cross. The Son of God was guilty of being a different kind of Messiah, so they killed Him.
Among all living breathing beings on earth, the most hated creature is the one who stands out from the crowd. A famous preacher once remarked, “The sad thing about modern American Christians is that nobody wants to kill them anymore.” Jesus tells us in John 15:18-19; “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it. However, you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
The Bible says that God’s people are to, “come out from among them and be a separate people.” And yet most church people, walk like, talk like, and act like the people around us. Unlike Jesus, most of us are not guilty of standing out from the crowd.
Are you Guilty of Standing Out for Jesus ?
If you are a child of God, your purpose on earth is to glorify Him. You are meant to make a difference in this world. You cannot honor God or impact the world if you do not stand out from the world. God’s people must not be tossed to and fro like a reed blowing in the wind. We must be influenced only by the Presence of God. We should be led only by the Holy Spirit of God. We must strive to be perfect like the Son of God. Stand out from the world and Jesus will stand up for you.
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
I Peter 4:12-19 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/1pe.4.12-19.NKJV
Douglas &Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
email- douglas@pavementendsministry.com
