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Continuing our analysis of the penultimate chapter of Luke’s Gospel, this week, please read verses 3-12. If possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 23:5-7 (New Living Translation – NLT)
‘Then they became insistent. “But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes — all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!” “Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked. When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.’
There are many phrases that we use in my company to describe various people and their attitude to work. Some reflect a great work ethic such as “She works hard”, or when we’re describing that someone puts in a LOT of hours: “Been here all night have you?”. Other phrases aren’t so complimentary and show the person in a particularly bad light. “Wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them” is one that epitomises a disloyal attitude to colleagues resulting in mis-trust.
I heard one phrase several years ago and it’s one of my personal favourites. It was coined as a result of a brand name that was popular at the time. The phrase is “He has Teflon shoulders”. For anyone who has not heard of ‘Teflon’, it is a technology used to coat things like frying pans in order to make them non-stick. The phrase therefore is used to describe anyone who either refuses to or avoids taking any kind of responsibility for work. It doesn’t matter how much work is assigned to this kind of person, he will allows find a way to offload the burden from his shoulders and on to another person. Similarly, it is used to describe anyone who has a habit of avoiding taking any blame for wrong doing. Everything just slides off them! They truly are non-stick.
What does that have to do with our verses today? I believe that Pilate is being a bit like our Teflon friends. He had spoken to Jesus personally and declared that he could find no fault in Him. At this, the Jewish leaders were very upset and insisted that Pilate deal with the issue. They thought that by mentioning that Jesus was causing riots all over the place, and in particular Galilee, this would force Pilate into action. Galilee was a particularly bad place as far as the Romans were concerned. It was a hotbed of revolution and many so-called zealots were causing problems. Surely, Pilate would know this and would then associate Jesus with these troublemakers. All it actually did was to give Pilate a reason to offload the ‘problem’ onto someone else. Roman law allowed an accused person to be tried in the province to which he belongs. Herod was the ruler of Galilee and as he was in Jerusalem at the time, Pilate could give away responsibility to Herod without having to make a really tough decision. Teflon shoulders was in evidence!
It’s so easy for us to have a similar approach to the things of God and His Kingdom. In today’s culture, there are so many distractions and activities that encroach on our discipleship. His Word is always bringing light and direction in our lives. After all, it is living and judges our thoughts and actions. Very often, it ‘demands’ us to take responsibility and yet, we abdicate it to others or try to work things out for ourselves and look for the easy option. Let’s not have Teflon shoulders, but respond to His Word positively and allow it to change us from the inside out.
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