God's Will Is Done By Itself, Without Our Prayer
Pontius Pilate is an evil man. He is a bloodthirsty man who has
ordered more than his share of crucifixions. Pilate has no regard for human
life and he has no confidence at all in any sort of truth (John 18:38), not
even God's powerful and living Words of truth that come from the lips of
Jesus. For that matter, Pilate wants nothing to do with Jesus. Pilate is an
unbeliever and a God-hater (Romans 8:7).
Despite these blemishes, Pontius Pilate also provides you and me
with a very clear picture of how God our heavenly Father so graciously
performs His good works in your life and in my life. Pontius Pilate shows us
how God accomplishes many things in us and for us, despite of who we are and
of what we personally want. Stated another way, Pontius Pilate shows us what
it means for us when God says in His Word,
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. 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).
Stated yet another way, Pontius Pilate shows us very clearly what it means
that "the good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer," as
we say in the Catechism (Small Catechism, Third Petition).
Pilate is a very good example of how God accomplishes His will
in us because Pilate's will is completely opposed to God's will. Pilate
lives only by the power of what he can see with his eyes and perceive with
his brain. Because of these limitations, Pilate does not believe Jesus
should die. You heard Pilate ask in today's Gospel, "What evil has he
[Jesus] done?" St. Luke also reports Pilate declaring to the rulers of the
people and to crowd,
"I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against Him. Neither
has Herod. nothing deserving death has been done by Him" (Luke 23:14-15).
What does Pilate will and desire concerning Jesus? Pilate "knew that it was
out of envy that they had delivered Him [Jesus] up" and Pilate wanted "that
righteous man" to be beaten and released (Luke 23:16). But God's thoughts
are not your thoughts, Pilate, neither are your ways His ways. Pontius
Pilate's will must be overcome and torn apart and broken so that God's will
may be done.
"Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let
him be crucified!" And he said, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they
shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!" So when Pilate saw that he was
gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning. he released for them
Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, handed Him over to be crucified.
"The good and gracious will of God is done even without our
prayer" and our heavenly Father shows us in this Gospel that the good and
gracious will of God is always done, even when it seems like something
horrible is about to happen. "It was the will of the Lord to crush Him
[Jesus]; He [God the Father] has put [His Son] to grief" (Isaiah 53:10).
Against Pontius Pilate's sense of justice, against Pilate's best intentions,
and against Pilate's will, Jesus was struck by God and afflicted (Isaiah
53:4). God "made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might
become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)-and God did this by
breaking Pilate's will.
Pontius Pilate is an unbeliever and a God-hater. Yet Pilate also
provides you and me with a picture of how our God must also act in your life
and in my life. It is not Pilate, but you who pray, "Thy will be done."
Should we Christians expect anything less from God than a faithful answer to
our prayers? Pilate did not wish for God's will to be done, but the good and
gracious will of God is done even without Pilate's desire or prayer. We have
the audacity to ask that God accomplish His will for us. For this reason, it
should be no surprise to us when we encounter many struggles and fears; when
we face poverty, sickness, or other kinds of suffering; when we have a hard
time keeping the kids in line and the wife happy; or when evil men oppose us
and exploit us and seek only our ruin. If God our Father should so
completely break Pilate's will for us and for our salvation, how much more
should He also break and hinder and crush our wills for the same purpose?
This Gospel calls upon us to change our view of those things in
our lives that did not work out the way we wanted them to work out.
· Did you not enjoy as many years with your dear spouse as you would
have liked?
· Did your education never get put to use the way you had first
planned?
· Does your home and family life require much more sweat and many
more tears than you imagined on your wedding day?
· Do you feel tired and fed up by the day-in and day-out war you must
wage against the checkbook, the children, the boss, the mother-in-law, or
the family dog?
Look at such things as your heavenly Father's loving acts of breaking your
will. Today's Gospel shows us that, just as He must stand against Pontius
Pilate's best intentions and desires, God our Father must also stand against
our best intentions and desires, in order that His good and gracious will
might be accomplished for us.
What was the benefit of God breaking Pilate's will and sending
His beloved Son to the cross? Your forgiveness, your life, and your eternal
salvation. In exactly the same way, what is the benefit of God breaking your
will and allowing you to suffer in many ways? It again has to do with your
forgiveness, your life, and your eternal salvation. By crushing Pilate's
will, God allowed Jesus to be everything for you-"the founder and perfecter
our of our faith" (Hebrews 12:3), as it is written in Hebrews. Yes, also be
crushing your will, God again allows Jesus to be everything for you:
· Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should
leave me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power
is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of
my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians
12:8-9).
· Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against
himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12:3).
· Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting
God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases
strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall
exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they
shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:28-31).
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