“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (John 19:10–11, NIV 1984).
“I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17–18, NIV 1984).
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:49–50, NIV 1984).
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, NIV 1984).
My Musings – To realize is defined as to achieve or fully understand.
Pilate said, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Pilate represented the most most powerful nation on earth at that time. No one in Judaea had the the authority to countermand any decision he made. Except one. Jesus said, “no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” And that one refused to do so. “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” In reality it was Pilate who did not realize.
Caiaphas said, “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” To Caiaphas, this was a political expediency. But it was not political expediency that compelled Jesus to die for the people. It was a spiritual necessity. The Son of Man came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” The many who were perishing. In reality it was Caiaphas who did not realize.
My Advice – We need to realize where the power really lies, who is really pulling the strings. Jesus did not merely fall out of favor with the masses, allowing Caiaphas to orchestrate his arrest and trial, and for Pilate to make the final judgment. He willingly set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross to save the masses that were now shouting “crucify Him!” He laid down His life of His “own accord” to give His “life as a ransom for many.”
