It has been a good day, starting back to school, but waking up every whipstitch last night is making it a little rough as I come to the end of the day. May my ears be attuned to what You want me to hear, Father. Amen.
Luke 23:13-25 (<<click here to read the passage)
Majority rule isn’t always for the best. Take for example the story of Ali Bokhari. A Pakistani immigrant who had settled in Nashville some 20 years ago, Bokhari became an independent taxi driver. Then one day, he got a very American idea that served an unmet need.
He bought a black Lincoln sedan and offered low, cut-rate rides to the airport and in neighborhoods not well served by other taxis. The approach was so successful that after his first year, he was employing 12 cab drivers. Soon after that, he had over 20 independent contractors who had their own cars working for him. He also created a website that brought him even more customers.
Unfortunately, his success brought him some powerful enemies. Competing taxi and limousine companies just could not raise their rates. So they complained to the city government’s regulators and asked them to require Bokhari to raise his fees and adhere to a list of crippling regulations.
They did. So much for majority rule. It was more like mob rule. (Jan 7, 2020 article, the Milford Daily News, Milford, MA)
Nobody of any true authority thought Jesus guilty of the charges brought against Him by those envious of His power and popularity. Herod Agrippa sent Him back to Pilate and Pilate ardently proclaimed Jesus’ innocence not just once but three times in Luke’s Gospel! And though that was Pilate’s stand, when the crowd roared, Pilate buckled as my study Bible states.
Pilate was in a very precarious position. Think about it. There he was in the backwater troublesome land of Israel. He had been around long enough that he had to know he was probably fortunate to be placed anywhere. But…he had to keep the peace, not an easy task for anyone, especially in the land of the Jews.
So, in the end, it was Jesus’ hide…or his. Majority ruled and Jesus lost…at least that’s how the world saw it then and sees it now, as well. That may be the world’s perspective, but God used it all to fulfill His plan. Jesus wasn’t the One who was lost, we are. Thank God for an intricately laid out plan that brought about salvation for the lost. Amen!
Jan 4th, 2021, Mon, 7:27 pm