Consequence of the Ignorance

To know or not a spiritual truth weighs heavily on a decision. Not only for the fact that knowledge favors us to choose well, but also for the fact that each one of us will be judged in the direct proportion of the knowledge he has.

In the post-judgment period of Christ, actually tens of years later, the Bible again mentions Pontius Pilate and his decision regarding Jesus; and it does exactly within the context of the issue that we are now addressing:

"However, we speak of wisdom among the mature, but not of the wisdom of this age or of the mighty of this era, which is being reduced to nothing, on the contrary, we speak of the wisdom of God, of the mystery that was hidden. , which God foreordained, before the beginning of the ages, for our glory, none of the mighty of this age understood, for, if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.-1 Corinthians 2: 6-8 .

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and explained to them the difference between the natural knowledge of things and the spiritual understanding of the truths of God. And when he talked about this, he took as an example this portion that we transcribed, where he talks about the powerful of the time of Jesus not having wisdom from God (spiritual) and that precisely because of the lack of it they did not know who Jesus Christ was, because if they had known They would not have him crucified.

This implies Pilate, Herod, and all the priests, elders and authorities of Israel. He speaks of the authorities, of the powerful, of those who could decide about the crucifixion of Jesus; and of course, Pilate is inside.

Although the reference is to all of them, due to our application on Pilate and the parallel between their decision and ours, I want to set aside the figure of the other authorities who are directly and indirectly involved in the crucifixion of Christ, and look only to He is the Roman governor. And this is only a matter of focus, although the principle applies to each of them.

The biblical statement is, then, that if Pilate had a spiritual revelation of who Jesus was, he would never have sent him to the cross. And from this statement we want to make some considerations and demonstrate some principles.

JUDGMENT IN THE PROPORTION OF KNOWLEDGE

In the praetorium, there was a small dialogue between Jesus and Pilate. And in this little dialogue there is an affirmation of Christ that reveals an interesting detail about issues such as "knowledge" and "judgment".

"Do you refuse to talk to me?" Pilate said. "Do not you know that I have the authority to free him and to crucify him?"

Jesus replied: "You would have no authority over me, if it were not given to you from above." Therefore, the one who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin.John 19: 10,11

Jesus' answer to Pilate means the following: "You only have this power to decide what to do with me because God has let you have it, and because he knows that what you are going to choose is not going to affect the divine plan." But the detail that comes next is that it catches my attention: "the one who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin".

Only in this sentence do we see that Jesus is speaking of two different things:

1. The rejection of Jesus was considered sin. This shows that whoever made a mistake in the election sinned, even though the crucifixion of Christ was beneficial to the world as the means of redemption of our sins.

2. There is a difference between the sin committed by Pilate and the one committed by those who delivered Jesus. This group involves from Judas, the traitor, to the authorities of the Jews. And the difference between the gravity of sin (Jesus called him "greater") is due to the knowledge each one possessed. More was expected from the religious authorities who accompanied the ministry of Jesus, for they were knowledgeable about the Scriptures and witnessed the miracles of Jesus. From Judas, then, do not talk. But Pilate, a Gentile, was the most ignorant about the content of the promises about the coming of the Messiah.

We see, therefore, that the greater the person's knowledge of Jesus, the greater judgment there will be over his choice. As Pilate knew less, his judgment will be less. As priests and elders knew more, their judgment will be greater.

In the epistle of James we find an affirmation that relates the judgment we will receive with the proportion of knowledge we have: "My brethren, do not turn away, many of you teachers, knowing that we are to receive greater judgment" (James 3.1). What you know more as a teacher has greater responsibility; This is true in the personal and also in the ministerial sphere, because if, in teaching, he does it in the wrong way, such a person will give an account to God. This difference is seen in other biblical affirmations, such as the one that the apostle Peter makes about who knew Jesus and left him after having had the knowledge:

"Therefore, if, after having escaped the contaminations of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they let themselves be entangled again and are defeated, it has become their last state worse than the first. they would never have known the way of justice that, after knowing it, to go back, departing from the holy commandment that had been given to them. "2 Peter 2.20,21

A clear difference is established between what he knew and what he did not know. It is logical that not knowing does not make the person innocent, but it causes that less is required of her to make her decision. Jesus mentioned in his teachings the difference between two men who would err and would be both judged, but according to the proportion of their knowledge:

"That servant who knows the will of his lord and does not prepare what he wants, nor acts to please him, will be punished with extreme severity, but he who does not know the will of his lord, but practiced what was subject to punishment he will receive few lashes, to whom much was given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, much more will be required. "Luke 12: 47,48

Both one and the other are punished, because both were wrong; what he knew the will of the Lord, for not acting up, and what he did not know for not trying to know it. The faults are different: what I knew sinned for rebellion, while the sin of the other was omission or even disinterest in seeking to know the will of the Lord. But the fact is that the former erred actively while the latter erred passively, only that ignorance does not justify, has a lower judgment, but has judgment in the same way. What we must do is seek to know and obey the will of God. The very fact of being reading these truths brings a greater responsibility on your life, which you did not have before.

If Pilate had known who Jesus was, he would not have crucified him. When Christ was on earth, there were different opinions about him; they heard different testimonies about their identity. So how do you know who he really was? How to know it?

Those who really knew him-his apostles-answered more than an opinion, they received a revelation from God about Jesus. Observe what the Bible says.

"Jesus for the bands of Caesarea Philip, asked his disciples: Who says the people to be the son of man?" They said: Some say: John the Baptist, others: Elijah, and others: Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But you, he continued, who do you say I am? "Simon Peter answered: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because it has not been flesh and blood that has revealed , but my Father who is in heaven. "Matthew 16: 13-17

In this episode narrated by the evangelist Matthew that opinions were diverse, but Peter knew who Jesus really was not because he heard the comments of men, but he received a revelation from God! His heart was opened in such a way that the Holy Spirit can bear witness to who Jesus was. It is not enough to try to know it with the intellect, with reason; It is necessary more than this. You must pray and ask the Father who is in heaven to open your heart so that there is a deep, spiritual understanding about Jesus. This happened with people in the days of the Bible, it continues happening today and it can happen with you. See another biblical example, which occurred on an occasion when the apostle Paul preached the gospel:

A certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple, feared God, listened to us; the Lord opened his heart to attend to the things Paul said. "Acts 16.14

As God opened the heart of this woman, she also wants to open his. Pilate sinned because he did not know; however, no one can use the lack of knowledge as an excuse. If we lack more knowledge to decide what to do about Jesus called Christ, we must look for it. If you have difficulty in understanding the redemption that Christ came to bring to mankind through his death and resurrection, or in regard to his divinity or even his teachings and how to understand the Bible, seek help, but do not park in doubt or neither in spiritual ignorance.

If you still have not been able to see the lordship of Jesus and the importance of submitting to him, deciding well in your courtroom, if you still have difficulty releasing your faith and taking on a high level commitment, do not make your choice yet. Investigate more. Look for more information. If the governor of Judea had done this and known more, he would not have rejected Jesus Christ. And I know that if you do, you will not reject it either.

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