The Death March Begins for Life.

Luke 23:1-12

     It has only just begun, but even the events in these twelve verses would exhaust a man. After the kangaroo trial with the religious leaders, they take Jesus over to Pilate (the Roman ruler who could sentence Jesus to death or other punishment) to try and get Him sentenced to death. Jesus has just gotten done sweating drops of blood in the garden and probably has not received any food or water, not to mention sleep, and has now been interrogated several times. He is forced to walk across the city between Pilate and Herod while being mistreated along the way. Despite the false accusations, Jesus is remarkably still found innocent at this point, but the religious leaders are not going to rest until Jesus is dead. He has pointed out their hypocrisy, embarrassed them, and threatened their power over the people so He must die one way or the other. They are going to kill the Christ because He hasn't met their needs. He wasn't who they wanted Him to be and He didn't play by their rules.
     How often do we leave Jesus because He doesn't answer prayer the way that we would like, or because He hasn't given us the life we would like? How often do we deny Him by the way that we live because we are embarrassed or afraid to step up to the plate and live boldly and openly for Jesus the way that we know we should? Jesus can forgive us, no matter what we've done and lead us to life if we will only follow His lead. So will you follow? In this passage Jesus is being lead all over town by sinful men but He isn't lost. He's on His way to pay for your sin.