At first, he could not sanction His death. Jesus did nothing wrong. He found no fault in Him. So, why did these people want their proclaimed King dead? The church leaders would have secretly assassinated Him if they could, if it was in God’s plan for them to do so. They hated the fact that they couldn’t kill Him privily without getting in trouble with their Roman government. They need the approval of the Romans and they knew exactly how to secure it. Even though their Roman Governor, Pilate, wasn’t in agreement with their evil accusation and plot to kill Jesus, his hands were politically ‘tied’.

As He goes through your records and mine, what will they reveal? Have you been naughty or nice? Does it matter? What’s important is that all your sins are confessed to Jesus Christ, not to a representative. We must turn away from practicing them. Since the process has begun with the dead, we can be certain that He is now examining the recorded entries for the living. You and I do not know when He will call our names – if it hasn’t already been done. Therefore, it means that we have no more time to be naughty, to practice sin. We are now living in our Yom Kippur – our Day of Atonement. Now is the time for us to put away our sins and be clean, or else we will be cut-off.

Recently, while travelling on a familiar road, I decided to use a side road with less traffic. To my astonishment, I took the wrong turn. While the area was somewhat familiar, inner roads can be very tricky. Sometimes they appear to be a maze. For awhile I feared that I was lost. I did not know which way to take to get back to my intended route. I whispered a prayer for guidance and protection. While leading me out and back to safety, God spoke a lesson to my heart that I will always remember. He said, though you may be lost, you can control the exit.