John 19:15.
"Away with him," they yelled. "Away with him! Crucify him!" "What? Crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the leading priests shouted back.
This is an incident that occurred over 2000 years ago. It is about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The leading priest shout:
"We have no king but Caesar!"
Never would a Jew say such a thing ever with greater impunity and more importantly with greater arrogance.
You must understand Jews are known to be proud of their race and for good reason.
They would never normally and willingly accept a non-Jew, in this case a Roman, to rule over them.
For them to acknowledge Caesar as king is strange on the least and depravity at its worst.
Something is wrong here.
They are rejecting Jesus--their promised Messiah. And not just rejecting but they were asking he be CRUCIFIED.
A Jew, being given up to a Roman death by the most detestable Roman method.
The most shameful death. The most gruesome death. The most painful death. In fact the term 'excruciating' comes from the pain of dying on the cross.
A Jew would never willingly have another Jew crucified. Here they do--a sign of absolute rejection.
We read, "He came to His own but His own received Him not".
They don't just reject Him, but crucify Him.
This is what they do to Jesus.
Of whom we read in Acts 10:38-39, "...Jesus of Nazareth who went about doing good, and healing all who were under the power of the devil...He, they killed by hanging on the cross.
What's wrong with the Jews?
You might ask, "Why would they do that?" Well, the truth be told, they were just mere representatives of the whole human race.
Jesus on the cross represents rejection by the whole world and that includes you and I.
We were all responsible.
How is that you ask?
To understand it fully we need to reach back to the earlier part of the unfolding story!
Time Warp
Let's time-warp to 1000 B.C. approximately. It's the time when Samuel was the Prophet and Judge over the children of Israel.
For long he had represented God's rule on the nation. But when he got old, people began to say
we want a KING -a king like the nations around us.
We read about this in 1 Samuel chapter 8.
Samuel is heartbroken, but God says and we read in vs. 7: "for it is me they are rejecting, not you.
They don't want me to be their king any longer.
Now it was God
Who had brought them to the Promised Land.
It was God who fed them in the desert.
Protected them from the scorching sun. Provided light during those dark nights.
He emptied the nations; He removed the squatters from the land God had promised Abraham centuries ago.
But now approximately four hundred years later, after God brought them to that land; having lived in the land that flows with milk and honey, they stand before Samuel demanding a human king.
-- A king just like the neighboring lands who would lead them into battle.
The imagery here is that of school children ashamed of their clueless parents.
Israel is ashamed to go to war without the regalia of a human king leading them into battle.
The fact of the matter is that God is not desperate to be their king.
Yet God graciously gives several reasons why that idea of theirs was not a good idea:
Sons ?: Drafted without a choice; Runners to go before his chariot.
People: Forced to plow his fields. Harvest his crops
Daughter?s : Personal assistants in his courts; Cooks and bakers
King: Take the best of their land, fields, vineyards, olive groves. Best of their cattle and beasts of burden. On top of all that make them pay royal taxes.
In fact, God says, this King you are demanding will be too demanding on you. You won't be able to bear it.
And still, they demand
"We still want a king like the people around us".
What's the real issue?
The real issue is they didn't want God to be their King. And that is not much different from us.
We seem by nature reject God from ruling our lives.
We want to be the master of our fate and the captains of our souls
The problem is not that we want NO king!
Thomas Carlyle
A 19th-century historian said "Society is founded on hero worship"
We have a fascination with Royalty. Some of us are still holding on to the last vestiges of a long forgotten era.
Countries with no Royalty fare no better. Ordinary celebrities will do. And we'd willingly go Lady Gaga over them.
We are designed for worship.
Want Proof?
Look at ourselves! Either, we want to be crowned or we go looking for someone to crown.
Don't get me wrong, worship is good
but when it is used to feed the sinful self it can be disastrous.
History has repeatedly demonstrated what happens when humans demand worship for themselves.
It is catastrophic, to say the least.
Here are the terrible facts:
It is said that the 10 most evil dictators account for the deaths of 140 million people. And that is just the 20th century.
That's more than four times the population of Canada.
Worship of the self has been disastrous to mankind.
What's our fall-back
We let our imaginations create supermen and women that invade our reality. So much so that the distinction is blurred.
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes polled American teenagers for their personal heroes.
Superman and Spiderman were named twice as often as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Lincoln.
In fact, one in ten named winners on American Idol as their heroes.
We are a confused society
All too easy we confuse celebrity with excellence.
Scott LaBarge in an article
Heroism: Why Heroes are Important, writes
"The devotion to heroes is very strong, but directed toward the wrong heroes."
The Truth is
We have a desire to worship, but we can't seem to make the right choices.
On one hand,
Self-worship is dangerous and on the other, our human heroes are not good enough.
Yet in spite of all this, ?we seek not God as our King, who really should have been the obvious choice.
Why is that?
What's the real issue?
Bible says, our senses are warped. Our moral conscience is damaged. And our ability to judge by a higher standard is compromised.
The Bible has a term for this state
It calls it Sin.
Sin rejects higher moral authority and panders what's convenient as its hero.
Sin seeks to set up an alternative throne of rule.
By its very definition
There can only be one Sovereign.
There cannot be 2 kings. Only one sovereign. Only one throne. Only one hero.
Since there can only be one. Sin of men demands to replace God with men or other man-made heroes.
We read in Psalm 2,
"The kings of the earth have set themselves, the rulers have taken counsel against the LORD,
saying, let us break the bands and cast away the limits that God has placed.
Man thinks he can be his own hero.
He doesn't realize a true hero is someone who must be greater than their own creation or imagination.
Someone higher, greater, and transcendent. And only God can fill that spot.
Whatever man will say, only God can be worshipped.
Only He can be the real hero.
Want to see a true King?
Come to the cross and see.
By the work of salvation accomplished for humans, though rejected by the very ones he had come to save, Christ proves that He lone is the true hero.
For even in His rejection Christ works the way for man's divine acceptance.
That's the mark of a true hero.
Sad news is that
Jesus is still rejected by many in this world. Jesus for them is still someone on the cross.
They seem to prefer to leave Him there.
But He won't be rejected forever!
We forget that after Good Friday, comes Easter. Jesus doesn't stay on the cross, neither does He stay buried.
But on Easter Sunday He rose again. He broke the bonds over mortal death and showcased His victory over the grave.
He demonstrates that He alone, can take all our burdens, wipe all our tears, remove all our pain.
He alone can satisfy the hunger of every soul.
He is the true victor, and worthy of all our worship!
He alone proves worthy to take the seals - the deeds of the Universe and claim them for Himself.
WWJD: What would Jesus do?
That question has been asked many times and today we want to give you the answer.
Not just what He would do, but what He did.
Look at the cross. Come to the cross. And you will find the answers to all your questions
What has Jesus done you still ask?
Among many things, He shows you the mettle of a true hero, and a real king.
The only one who you can worship to your heart's content.
He is my hero. He is my King.
Every other hero falls far too short.
They are either self-serving, or could never fully satisfy my desire for true worship.
The story of this King doesn't end on Easter.
It is important that we follow on to see where the story leads.
And I want to take you to the last book of the Bible - The book of Revelation. I want to read to you from
Rev 19:11-16.
Did you listen to what we read? " On His robe and on His thigh is the name written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords"".
The imagery
is of the king on his horse, and right at the soldiers' eye level, for all eyes to see is written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords".
This is the sovereign king.
What's narrated here is the hero's victory lap.
That's the King leading His armies in royal regalia.
Children of Israel in their wildest imaginations could never grasp.
This is the King of glory, greater than the Kings of any nation of the world.
He is Greater than their imagination. In fact, he is the Greatest ever
For the King they had rejected is the great I AM.
The hero the world didn't want is the SUPREME ONE.
So what are you going to do with this Jesus today?
Accept Him, or reject Him? Now that's a ridiculous option.
WE don't accept Jesus, for Jesus doesn't need our acceptance.
It is we who need Him. It is we who can't do without Him.
Yes, we can't do without Him.
And when you come face to face with the King of Kings, this question utterly pales.
Our perspectives change.
David Platt gives a great example
Supposing he says, he arrived late for his Sunday sermon. He comes running in and gave an excuse that a Mack Truck ran over him on the freeway. After which he peeled himself off the road, dusted his jacket, got back in the car and headed to Church as quickly as he could. You look at him and say "That's silly. That's the worst excuse I've ever heard ".
David agrees.
When a Mack truck hits you will be changed forever and for the worse.
Imagine then when you meet head on with the King of Kings.
You will be changed forever and for the best. It's impossible not to be impacted.
Do you want to be impacted today?
Do you want to meet this King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?
Then give your allegiance to this King today.
You can say,
"Jesus, you are my Lord and King. For I know you are the greatest. What you accomplished no one else can.
I want my life to be impacted by you alone.
It's your choice
This King gives you a free choice. There is no coercion. No manipulation.
The option of "free choice" comes only from a real hero.
Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation and now is the accepted time".
Don't delay.
Alternatively, there comes another day
when all peoples of this world will be forced to acknowledge Him King; a day reserved for the confession of His enemies.
You can well imagine that's going to be a BAD day.
It is bad real bad to be counted as the enemy of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.
So don't wait. Decide today!
Don't be like the children of Israel seeking a king among fallible men.
Seek today to join the ranks of those who want God to be their King.
This will be a life-turning decision
The most important you will have ever made. And the best you can ever make.
"What do I need to do", you ask?
How does one get in on the program with this King?
Psalms 2 says, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way. Trust Him and be blessed".
Begin by trusting Him as your King; as your Lord and Saviour.
Then, worship Him as the One and Only King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords
You asked," What did Jesus do?"
I will tell you.
Jesus did all that needs to be done, so there's nothing left for you to do.
Except trust.
We pray that you will trust this hero and bring your worship to this one and only King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The unique one. No one like Him. Not, the one among many, but Him alone.
BRING YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO HIM TODAY.
