David Bahn – Reflections

Light from the Word and through the lens

recent posts

about

In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”

The Right Thing to Do

John 19:12-16

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

Mill House & Covered Bridge - Bollinger County Missouri
Mill House & Covered Bridge – Bollinger County Missouri

It is interesting to me that Pilate want to release Jesus, but he – the governor and political authority – seems more a pawn than a ruler. Rather than straight out saying, “This man is not guilty. I am releasing him. Now you be gone.”, he takes every tactic to absolve himself of responsibility and get the people to agree to release him. It’s tantamount to ruling by opinion pole; and that’s not leadership. I wonder what his rule would have looked like had he done the right thing.

On the one hand such an idea is silly speculation; we know Pilate did not do the right thing. And of course he had to do the wrong thing in order for Jesus to die by crucifixion. This was the plan of God from the beginning. Jesus even aludes to this earlier in his encounter with Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).

Surely, however, God could have worked things out for his purposes had Pilate refused to have Jesus crucified. The task of our redemption was too well-planned to let justice and righteousness get in the way. For that reason I wonder if there are ever places and ways in which we thwart God’s plans by doing the right thing. Is God’s kingdom ever advanced by evil? No. God’s kingdom is advanced by righteousness and mercy, grace and truth – sometimes in spite of evil. That was surely the case on this occasion.

Pilate was a pawn only because he refused to do the right thing. Our calling is to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). That will never get in the way of God’s kingdom’s goals!

Discover more from David Bahn – Reflections

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Posted in

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.