September 1, 2026 · Mark Bishop
Pushing Buttons
“Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.”
Luke 23:20-25 →
## Attack
I had a friend who loved to push people's buttons for whatever reason, especially me. In High School, we often would goof off fighting until he pushed my buttons and I lost my temper. One time I knocked him out with my forearm, which he wasn't happy about but he knew I had a limit. He eventually ended up going to the Marines but never stopped being the guy to push buttons. I was a little more cautious since I knew he could probably beat me up, but he did have two previous knee surgeries so I knew his weakness. He tested me again and I made him tap. He knew when I got to the point, there was a rare chance I was going to let it go and he would end up regretting it. To take the story a step further, I introduced him years later to David (the co-author of these devotionals and my Two Spies co-host). He did the same to David, and David put him on the ground. Then the friend got so upset, he walked away quietly and wouldn't talk to anyone. Some people just like to push buttons to a point and sometimes end up regretting that decision.
## No Reason
As we read in these passages, we find that the people had no evidence to fit the punishment of death. Pilate's wife warned him not to have anything to do with Jesus, but he was willing to listen to the people because he was afraid of a riot. In his address to the people about giving them a choice between Barabbas and Jesus, he reveals that he
found no guilt deserving of this punishment. But as we know based on people pushing buttons, when emotions are involved it's easy for reason to go out the window. The people didn't want to hear reason. They didn't want Pilate to explain to them that there is no real reason for Jesus' death, but there are reasons for Barabbas to be crucified. The people just shouted more and louder to the point that Luke says "their voices prevailed." They pushed Pilate's buttons until he reacted the way they wanted him to.
## Self-Check
It's easy to make rash decisions from emotions and remove the reasoning behind it. To take it a step further, it's easy to make decisions based on emotion that isn't clothed in prayer. There's no denying we are emotional beings, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to make decisions in our emotions but we must be careful. Our feelings can lead us down the wrong way, so we must be in prayer at all times, or as Paul puts it, "pray without ceasing." Allow God to direct us in the right decision or we may end up making the wrong judgment call.
## Minding My Own Business