Technicalities and Rules

by Fay Barlow
(Lexington, Sc USA)

John 18:28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

What an amazing verse. The Jewish leaders had snuck around in the middle of the night, had the Messiah, the Son of God, arrested on trumped up charges, clearly wanting him killed, as evidence of verse 31, yet when it came to their ritualistic lifestyle, they would dare not enter into the Praetorium, the Roman governor’s official residence for fear of defilement.

During the Passover, if a Jew entered into a residence with leaven, he would be considered ceremonially defiled and not able to celebrate the Passover feast).

So the law and the flesh (the stomach) were more important to these Jewish leaders than the Son of God. Yet, they had already broken at least one of the Ten Commandments, by wanting the death of Jesus.

Now, I have to take these verses and see how they apply to my life today. I can’t sit around and cast blame and condemnation on others without examining my own life.

How many times have I followed the rules of the church yet disregarded the deity of Christ? Have I been so consumed about the way I appear to others that I would commit one sin under the cover of darkness while holding onto my other sin of performance based religion?

John 18: 31 “Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.

The religious leaders wanted Jesus to die! But they didn’t want to do it. They wanted the government to put Jesus to death so they could escape blame.

Technicalities and rules.

We all live by rules. It is what makes us a civil society. But how often do I use rules to get what I want? How often do I twist them and change them to meet my own selfish desires? Do I take God’s word and apply only the parts of it that I like to my life? The parts that will make me look good to others? And do I find technicalities to worm my way out of the responsibilities I don’t like?

So the religious leaders played church a lot. They looked good on the outside, following the regulations of the law. But when darkness came to both the day and their hearts, the rules weren’t as important as their egos!
Ummmm…. Am I the same?