I recall missing an important appointment with a gentleman I was counselling. He was scheduled for an operation and was told the time was to be at 12:30 pm. I arrived at the hospital at 10:15 am fully expecting to have time to let him take out any fears he had of the procedure, to share a thought from the Scriptures with him and to pray for God to bless the surgeon’s work and allow the man to regain health he had lost.
When I arrived at his room I found it empty. The nurses told me that he was already in OR and I could find his wife in the waiting area for families of patients in surgery. I quickly went down a floor and met with the man’s wife. She explained that the hospital had called early in the morning saying a cancellation had put her husband in first place at 8:00 am. They had to rush to get to the hospital. So I did not make it in time for the patient. Instead I sat and chatted for some time with his wife.
I was disappointed that I missed my promised appointment with the man but was certain he would understand my problem. As I spent some time with his wife waiting she explained that her daughter was coming and would be there with her for the day. This made me feel relieved for her sake. When I told her that I would pray with her and leave her with her daughter she thanked me for coming. As I left she said it was a real comfort to her to have me come and spend some time waiting with her.
I was encouraged that she felt strength in my presence and words of comfort to her. However, I know that there is One who is far more important in the equation than I am. I speak of Jesus, the great Physician. I am only His representative and not the one we should come to in order to draw strength. My presence in the waiting room reminded that loving wife that she had a Saviour Who was always with her no matter the situation. She was really saying that my presence reminded her of the One who had died for her and lives to walk with her all along the way.
The question in our text was spoken by the Roman governor Pilate to Jesus when Jesus was on trial before him. Pilate had already determined that Jesus was from Galilee (Luke 23:5-7). So Pilate was not trying to figure out Jesus’ earthly origin but rather if He was one of the gods whom he believed appeared on earth from time to time to test the people. Pilate was really seeking to determine if this man in front of him was a god.
From our reading of the Gospels we indeed know that Jesus was from the throne room of the universe. He spoke and acted in a way that only God would or could. Jesus raised the dead. Even those who despised Him and wished to destroy His reputation agreed to that fact.
Others discovered that Jesus read their minds and told them what they were thinking. Jesus was unnerving to His enemies but such a tower of strength to those who believed in Him. Do you believe in Him today? Do you know Who on earth Jesus is?