MAN’S ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD

“And all the people answered, Let His blood be on us and on our children!” Matthew 27:25 (Amplified Bible).

According to the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Pontius Pilate wanted to release Him because there had been no violation of Roman law and He certainly did not deserve the death penalty. But because of the strident accusations of a vocal minority (composed mainly of Pharisees who were socially and politically connected) Pilate bowed to the pressure and allowed the Lord to suffer a horrible death. And in a classic case of trying to deflect the blame for a miscarriage of justice, he washed his hands to signify that they were “clean” regarding the matter!

However, both Pilate and the mob that uttered those infamous words of “Let His blood be on us and our children,” acted as they did because of the curse of spiritual death that has plagued all of mankind since the days of Adam and Eve. And the tragedy that followed was just the last of many lamentable incidents that occurred while the Lord was on this earth.

Did not God know that the people would refuse to accept His Son as their long-awaited Messiah? Of course He did because He is omniscient and absolutely nothing escapes His attention—even that which might have been (Matt.11:21, 23; Luke 10:13)! So why did He allow Jesus Christ to spend approximately three and a half years in a futile effort to convince Israel that He had been sent from God to rule and reign over them? How could the people fail to recognize Him when they were constantly confronted with stupendous miracles and teaching that at least some of the Pharisees admitted came from God? Note that in the following passage Nicodemus used the word “we” rather than “I”:

“Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews, ²Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him” John 3:1-2 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

Did he have a mouse in his pocket? Or did he not, as I firmly believe, express the consensus of opinion held by the Pharisees in general? Those men were among the most educated and intelligent individuals within Israel and definitely had enough sense to recognize the obvious! All were experts in the Old Testament Scriptures and could quote much of it from memory, so to think they failed to understand that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah does not appear to be a reasonable option! Literally hundreds of prophecies had been fulfilled to the very letter and authenticated by miracles, so their rejection of Him definitely appears to have been politically motivated and not due to a lack of perception:

^“So the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the council (the Sanhedrin) and said, What are we to do? For this Man performs many signs (evidences, miracles). ⁴⁸ If we let Him alone to go on like this, everyone will believe in Him and adhere to Him, and the Romans will come and suppress and destroy and take away our [holy] place and our nation [our temple and city and our civil organization]” John 11:47-48 (Amplified Bible).

Their behavior was predicted in principle when the Lord made these remarks concerning the rich man and Lazarus:

“And [the man] said, Then, father, I beseech you to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ For I have five brothers—so that he may give [solemn] testimony and warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment. ²⁹ But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear and listen to them. ³⁰ But he answered, No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent (change their minds for the better and heartily amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins). ³¹ He said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe [even] if someone should rise from the dead” Luke 16:27-31 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

The theological problem with belief—even with the aid of authentic miracles and powerful persuasions—centers upon the ability of spiritually dead individuals to do so in the same sense the writers of the New Testament used the term. While it is possible for them to believe what the Bible teaches about salvation and even be emotionally moved by the concept, true belief will be impossible as long as they remain in a state of deadness. The fallen angels the Bible refers to as demons illustrate the intellectual aspect of belief because they “believe and tremble” (James 2:19)! They know for an absolute certainty that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God, but possessing that knowledge cannot alter their ultimate fate. Genuine belief is possible only for one who has been regenerated by the grace of God and had spiritual death reversed so that they may experience the level of supernatural trust the Greek word pisteuo (translated as “believeth” in John 3:16) conveys. 

And returning to the earlier question as to why God allowed His Son to engage in a ministry to Israel that would ultimately result in His death—the answer is found in the fact that no sinful and fallen human could ever be *exonerated by God without it! (*Salvation is not a mere pardon that only overlooks the trespass, because where His elect ones are concerned God’s ruling is  the trespass never happened!) Sin as a concept is the very antithesis of God’s holy and righteous nature and must be punished by eternal death.

“Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sins, it shall die” Ezekiel 18:4 (Amplified Bible).

“For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23 (Amplified Bible).

“The ungodly are perverse and estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” Psalms 58:3 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

Theologically speaking, as the “federal head of the race” Adam doomed 100% of humanity (excluding Jesus Christ of course because He is God the Son) to an eternal separation from God as prisoners of Satan. And the only remedy for that awful fate was for God Himself to pay the ransom—to suffer the penalty of death—so that all those who believe will be saved.

The death of Jesus Christ was no accident of history as many seem to believe. Quite the contrary! God planned every detail prior to creation and then His Son willingly submitted Himself as the perfect sacrifice—the only One God the Father would, or could accept—to pay the sin debt of those whom were chosen “in Him” (i.e., in Christ) before the foundation of the world” (Eph.1:4). And when that wicked mob insisted that He be crucified it took place exactly as God had ordained that it would!

“This Jesus, when delivered up according to the definite and fixed purpose and settled plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and put out of the way [killing Him] by the hands of lawless and wicked men” Acts 2:23 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

Their attitude and actions graphically displayed the deep spiritual ignorance that characterizes those who are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph.2:1). And in my opinion they knew Jesus was the Messiah, but they did not know He was God incarnate! So when it became obvious to them that His agenda did not include overthrowing the hated Roman occupation of their homeland, Messiah or no Messiah—they were not at all interested in supporting Him. In fact, as we saw in John 11:47-48 (cited earlier), they were very much afraid that those following Him were going to run afoul of Roman rule by trying to make Him their King. The Romans were notoriously paranoid concerning any person or political movement that appeared to be a potential threat to their regime and always reacted harshly toward them.

Therefore, when we stop to think about it, their apprehension on a purely human level seems to have been justified! They had no idea that their Messiah would be both God and man at the same time and thus was infinitely capable of taking care of such political problems. So when faced with what they perceived to be a choice between acknowledging their Messiah or certain ruin at the hands of the Romans, they opted to remove the problem! Plus the fact that this man had, in their opinion, blasphemously claimed upon several occasions to be God only made the decision easier for them.

The tension between conflicting perceptions concerning the Messiah and Roman rule were a “perfect storm” designed by a sovereign God to bring about the sacrifice of His Son and thus secure the salvation of His elect ones. Spiritually dead men carried out their roles to the letter—which, according to the following passage, was something they would not have done if His true identity had been understood!

“So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God. ⁶ Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory” 1 Corinthians 2:5-8 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

“And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them” Luke 23:34 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

The knowledge of God’s divine plan was intentionally hidden from them to ensure they would react as they did! And yet each will be held accountable for their actions. A principle of human law is that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” and in a similar sense ignorance of God’s sovereign will is inexcusable.

Do you think that is unfair? If so, may I suggest that you take a long, hard look at “what you are thinking with”?

“But I discern in my bodily members [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh]. ²⁴ O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?” Romans 7:23-24 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified Bible).  

Then sooner we learn that our sovereign God is never wrong and quit trying to manipulate our theology to compensate for perceived “unfairness” on His part, the better off we will be! 

If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.

If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.

We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order—Kingdom of Antichrist—in their daily news.

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God bless you.

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