Daily Devotions

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

When the chief priests and the officers saw [Jesus], they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him! … [Jesus] ought to die because He has made Himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, he … said to Jesus, … “You will not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:6a, 7b-8a, 10b-11)

By this point, Pilate has lost control of the trial. He knows Jesus is innocent, but he still can’t set Him free. And Jesus Himself is behaving like a judge—explaining to Pilate that what he is doing is sin, yes—but not as bad as Judas’ sin, because Pilate at least has his divinely appointed office as judge to hide behind.

Pilate finds himself on trial—just as the Council did, just as Herod and Judas himself did. And the deciding question is the same: What will you do with Jesus—this innocent Man, this Son of God?

We know what they did. And we too had a hand in it, because it was our sins, our guilt, that sent Jesus to the cross. Because He loves us, He took our death, and gave us a share in His own resurrection. And as a result, God looks at us and says, “Not guilty.” He sees us in His Son Jesus—covered in His innocence, forever forgiven, newborn children of God.

WE PRAY: Thank You, Lord, for taking our judgment. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• Do you worry about God’s judgment?
• How does Jesus take that fear away from us?
• Why would God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—plan to do such a thing for you?

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Today's Readings:

Numbers 17-19
Mark 15:1-25

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