King Of My Life

Good Friday

King of My Life

March 29, 2002

Intro:

A. [illustration]

In the opening scenes of the musical Camelot, we see King Arthur standing in a field dressed in the clothes of a common peasant.

To look at him you would have no idea he was king.

In fact, when Guinevere first met Arthur, she didn’t have a clue that he was king over all Camelot.

Arthur was, in fact, king, but his outward appearance gave no evidence of this fact.

1. Likewise the Scriptures say about Jesus in Isaiah 53:2, He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

2. I don’t know what you think of when you hear the world King.

3. Christ doesn’t fit the descriptions that most would think of in regards to a King.

B. Tonight, on this Good Friday, I want us to take a few glimpses at the end of Jesus’ earthly life.

1. I want us to see why some people then didn’t think of Him as a King.

2. But I also want to show you why I have made Him the King of My Life!

I. The adoration of the King.

John 12:12-15, The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! " "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt."

A. On Sunday, the people were ready to make Jesus their King.

1. They wanted to anoint Him as their King.

2. They wanted Jesus to set up an earthly, political King.

3. They were shouting praises to their would-be King.

4. They loved Christ and wanted Him to be their King.

B. "They took palm branches and went out to meet Him shouting, Hosanna!"

1. They shouted, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

2. They shouted, "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

3. They adored Jesus and were ready to anoint Him as their King.

II. The mocking of the King.

John 19:1-3, Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

A. Later that same week, Jesus got arrested.

1. The man they wanted to be their King was arrested.

2. Pilate sent Jesus to be flogged (39 lashes with a cat-of-nine tails).

B. Then the soldiers began to mock Him.

1. Not only was the arrest not becoming of a King, as well as the flogging, but then the soldiers began to mock Jesus.

2. They made Him a "crown" out of thorn branches.

3. They ground it into His head.

4. They took piece of purple material (which was a color for royalty) and made a mock robe for the king.

5. Then they mocked Him by shouting, "Hail, King of the Jews" and hitting Him in the face.

6. They were making fun of Jesus because they thought He was a very weak King.

7. The soldiers were making fun of Jesus.

III. The rejection of the King.

John 19:12-16, From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

A. Many of the same people who had shouted "Hosanna" on Sunday were now shouting, "Crucify."

1. They wanted Him as their King on Sunday, but by mid-week they wanted Him dead.

2. They were ready to swear their allegiance to Him on Sunday and by mid-week they wanted to be rid of Him.