Category: Devotion of the Day

DOING BUSINESS WITH CHRIST: PILATE

What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
Matthew 27:22

Pilate had to do business with Jesus, and so must we all. We cannot wash our hands of the whole business any more than could he. We cannot leave Christ alone. The question is not, “What will you do with Jesus?” but “What are you doing with Him now?” We are for or against, we gather with Him or we scatter abroad.

Pilate faced the alternatives of cynicism: “What is truth?”; criminality: “Barabbas or Jesus?”; Caesar: “If thou let this man go thou art not Caesar’s friend.” The issue is always “Christ or…”

This unbelieving world, whether it choose the cynic, the criminal, or Caesar, must do something with Christ. He is inescapable. And men must settle with Christ, not with a church or a preacher. Let us never obscure the issue: what are you doing with Jesus the Christ? “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

DOING BUSINESS WITH CHRIST: DEMONS

What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?
Matthew 8:29

The devil and the world of demons must face Christ. The devil tried to do business with Him, but the Lord dismissed him: “Get thee hence, Satan.” The devil is not in the first two chapters of the Bible or in the last two. Thank God for a Book that disposes of the devil!

There is no concord between Christ and Belial. The demons cried, “Art thou come to torment us before the time?” They are doomed to the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. They are overactive today because their time is short. The only power that can control them is Christ. Much that goes by other names today is really the work of the powers of darkness. And note that they know Jesus is the Son of God, a fact which many poor humans will not accept.

Our Lord has no traffic with the world of demons. There is no ground where they can get together. Let us beware of doing business with the devil. And if you don’t want to trade with him, stay out of his shops!