"ENVY."

 

“It was out of envy, envy and ENVY that they delivered Him.” Said the Holy Spirit the real author of Matthew 27:18.

 

“You have the right to remain silent.”

Silence is the right of those who have said it all and have nothing else to say. It is also the right of those who have nothing worth saying.

In a kangaroo Court, truth and reason do not reign.

In the dialogue among deaf people, it is wise to remain silent.

 

Once upon a time at the beginning of the human race a big brother killed his kid brother out of “Envy.” His name was Cain and his little brother’s name was Abel.

 

Before the murder happened, God warned Cain. “Sin is knocking at your door and wants to have you.” (Be careful Cain, you are in dangerous territory.)

 

The sin of envy leads to competition and when competition fails men takes matters into their own hands. In this case, both brothers were religious brothers.

Both brothers were taught by their parents Adam and Eve the Proto-Evangelium that the chief end of life is to worship and glorify God seeking his favor through the good works of sacrifice.

 

Cain offered sacrifices to God from the fruit of the land.

Abel offered sacrifices from the best lamb of his flock.

God accepted the sacrifice of Abel but rejected the sacrifice of Cain.

There was nothing wrong Abel did that made Cain furiously and envious against Abel. It was the Sovereign acceptance of God to the sacrifice of Abel that provoked envy in Cain.

 

Dare I say that God alone makes out of two men either true friends or true enemies.

It is the Love of God in Christ Jesus that divides goats from sheep.

You might ask, “Isn’t it too early to talk about the love of God in Jesus?

No! In fact, it is the proper time, because it is Jesus, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that was proclaimed by God the Father the very day that Adam and Eve fell into sin. (Gen. 3:15)

 

It is safe to assume that Cain and Abel were taught by Adam and Eve the will of God unto salvation.  The Lamb of Abel representing Jesus was the evidence of Abel’s faith in the word of God which had been clearly given to him in the family devotionals.

 

Adam and Eve were born in the midst of a cosmic conflict between God and Satan. In the same way the birth of Cain and Abel happened in the midst of a conflict between the woman and the serpent.  Conflict originated in the garden and has continued out of the garden to this day.

The conflict of Eve and the serpent and the seed of the serpent (Cain) and the seed of the woman (Abel) popped its head out again thousands of years later when the seed the serpent (Herod) try to kill the seed of the woman (Jesus) shortly after the birth of Jesus.

 

In Matthew 27:11-26 we find Jesus handcuffed standing before governor Pilot.

The governor asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews.”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he gave no answer. 

 

Then Pilate asked him “Don’t you hear how many things they are accusing you of?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge - to the great amazement of the governor.

It was the governor’s custom at the feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.

 

So, when the crowd had gathered, Pilot asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ”

For he knew that it was out of “ENVY” that they had handed Jesus over to him.

 

In other words, Pilate the Sovereign Governor of the land seem to ask the representatives of the human race of that time to exercise their power to vote:

“CAST YOUR VOTE. ELECT YOUR LEADER. MAKE YOUR CHOICE. CAST THE DICE OF YOUR OWN DESTINY. BEHOLD YOUR CANDIDATES.” Thus, Barabbas and Jesus stood in the front of the multitude.

 

A goat and a lamb. Two silent candidates. One silent because he had nothing to say and the other silent because he had already said all that had to be said.

Curiously enough, Election Day is not the day to campaign or debate anymore but to vote. Little did the electorate know it was not only Barabbas’ or Jesus’ predestined destiny at stake but the future of the electors and the blood of their children on their heads.

 

Yes, you are right.  We are about to elect a president out of two men, but in actuality we are about to vote our future. Meanwhile, there are other dynamics in play such as the wife of Pilate in Jerusalem who was struggling to sleep and was tormented by nightmares.

 

While Pilate was sitting in the judgment seat his wife sent him this message “don’t have anything to do with that innocent man. 

I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him,” but the chief priests and the leaders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the Governor.

“Barabbas” they answered. What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ? Pilot asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”

 

Why, what crime has he committed? asked Pilate but they shouted all the louder to crucify him. When Pilate saw he was getting nowhere but instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of a crowd. I am innocent of this man’s blood, he said. It’s your responsibility.  All the people answered that his blood be on us and our children.

Then he released Barabbas to them but he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.

Thus, a silent woman (Pilate’s wife) casts her powerful vote seeking to influence the outcome of the election. “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

 

What kind of counsel is this? The only woman who had the power to influence her husband, should have said, “Do everything you can to do justice to this innocent man and do not allow him to be crucified.”

 

Cowardly she sent a self-preserving message to her husband in a coded text, “Wash your hands.” (Have nothing to do with this man.) Curiously enough the most powerful vote of the land at that time did not count for or against Jesus.

 

It could be said of her that behind a cowardly man there is a cowardly woman.

A pagan version of Ananias and Sapphira, another dysfunctional couple. 

 

My Ruthie would have held my feet in the fire and not allowed me to take the easy way out. A man in Lancaster said behind my back, “That Ruthie knew how to handle Gerry.” It made me furious the first time I heard of it, but as time has gone on I have grown to be genuinely thankful to the Lord for my beautiful and caring wife for guarding my soul in integrity. Oh, how I miss her.

 

Speaking about Ruthie, last night [9/18] Supreme Court of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.  What I remember from her legacy in this election season is her words about the President that amazingly enough are similar to the useless words of Pilate’s wife.  “I wish another president would nominate my replacement.”

 

Since I am already side tracked from my present article about envy, I might as well get totally lost in the forest of political predictions and say, “I am praying and will keep on praying for the election” as my Ruthie would have prayed in agreement with me. Ruthie was a very strong antiabortion advocate and did not agree with Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg at all.

We believe that because of the prayer of the elect, law and order will reign in our country again providing an environment where the nuclear family created by God will flourish as a testimony to a dying world.

 

From what I know of Our Father who is in Heaven, he is still in the business of seeking those who worship Him in spirit and truth.

Therefore, for the sake of the few righteous men and women of God who believe and pray he will spare this nation and close the door of the White House to the corrupt and wicked in heart and will keep using sinful men such as Paul a chief of sinners who was a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man.

 

Pilate’s wife was not a good friend to her husband.

I am your friend but I am not going to tell you for whom to vote.

But I am going to tell you; “VOTE”!!!

Look at the Candidates for President and Vice President and look at their children. An acorn doesn't fall far from the Oak tree. You are your choices.

A choice defines a man.

 

More than the destiny of America is at stake in the upcoming election.

Our planet Earth needs leadership and God has chosen America to lead the world. Before a sovereign God we have little choice but to trust and obey.

 

Remember that an unrepentant man in authority will go from bad to worse making a fool of himself or herself.

In the same way a repentant man in authority will go from strength to strength for the glory of God and the blessing of many and his own benefit.

Let the Lord lead you as in silence you vote your conscience in spirit and truth and in Grace, Love and Justice.

 

Our planet Earth needs leadership and God has chosen America to lead the world. To forfeit your responsibility to lead is not a luxury that belongs to the followers of Jesus.

 

Before a sovereign God we have little room for choice but to trust and obey.

Once again, you might enjoy the outcome of the election only if you have taken the time to believe and pray.

 

“The voice of the people will be the voice of God once again. God speaks through the collective will of the people by working in them the desire “to do and to will.”

 

This was your Sunday morning cook on duty.

 

Gerry Gutierrez.