Have you ever read over something so many times that by the end you realize you are quoting from memory and aren’t even following on the page? Me neither. However, I have read things that lose their power. Not because of what I’m reading but because of how it’s under-appreciated on my end. I was reading in Luke 23 when Jesus was about to be crucified and the crowd was chanting “Crucify Him!” We’ve all heard it before and on Easter you can see it as many times as you desire, re-enacted first-hand. It’s powerful but today it dawned on me.
Jesus Christ was innocent, but the people hated Him so much and were so intimidated by Him, that they chose to have a guilty murderer running around their city instead of the Son of God. In verse 18 it says, “With one voice they cried out, ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!’” Barabbas was a known murderer, there was no trial or jury needed…he was defiantly guilty. Satan is a deceiver. Deceit is tricky because unless you have a passionate intimacy with God, you have no way of knowing. Deceit creates a blindness that only the Holy Spirit can help you see through. It all comes down to relationship, an aggressive, all-out pursuit of Jesus Christ.
