Love on the Cross
Text: John 19:1-16
Before we dig in to our message today, let me just remind you of what’s happened so far.
Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was taken before Annas and Caiaphas, the Jewish religious leaders and charged with blasphemy. When you read the other Gospel accounts you actually see that there was kind of an impromptu, illegal, sham of a trial, and they decided that Jesus should be put to death. But they didn’t want to be the ones to do it. Jesus is regarded by many people as a prophet, or holy man, and by many as a political “Messiah” or political type of “Savior” who’s going to break the yoke of Roman bondage and usher in a new “Golden Age of Israel.” So, to avoid angering the mobs, these religious leaders take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, who is the Roman appointed governor of the region, and tell him that Jesus should be executed.
Pilate wants to know what the charges are, and initially they were just like, “Well He’s a bad guy, and you need to kill Him.” But then they came up with some charges… they said, “Jesus was misleading the nation – saying false things, and making false claims that will result in turmoil and possible revolt against Rome… He’s telling people to not pay taxes – which is undermining the authority of Rome… and He’s claiming to be a King!”
POLITICAL CHARGES!
Pilate brought Jesus in and questioned Him. He wanted to know what was really going on and what Jesus did to make the Jewish leaders so angry with Him… Jesus explained to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, nor was it from this world. And that He had come to bear witness to the truth!
Pilate replied with the infamous relativist slogan “What is truth?” But then went back outside and told the Jewish leaders, “I find no guilt in Him.” Meaning, I have nothing to charge Him with.
He then tried to make a deal with them, and offered to release either Jesus or Barabbas, who John says was a robber, but Mark gives us even more detail explaining that Barabbas was an actual insurrectionist and a murderer. And the Jewish leaders demand that Barabbas be released, and Jesus be crucified.
We’re in John chapter 19 this morning, so if you will, please take your Bibles and open them up to that chapter, and follow along as I read our text – John 19:1-16 (READ).
Now first of all, I want us to try to get into the sandals of Pontius Pilate.
Some people have said that Pilate was a “Post Turtle”… What’s a “post turtle”? Well if you’re driving along one of our dirt roads and you see a turtle sitting on top of a fence post, you know that it didn’t get up there by itself. Now I don’t know that we can accurately say that about Pilate. He had some military background, and exploits… but he also married very well. So it might be both. We know he had to have been in the military based on the Cursus Honorum which had been established by Julius Caesar and was the process of how Roman nobility gained such positions and rank.
Many years ago, I actually had a US senator say to me, that accolades can only get you so far in politics. They might get your foot in the door. But if you want to go far in politics, get someone in your debt. Whether it’s money, or secrets, or backroom deals, or whatever.
Regardless; and for whatever reasons – Pilate was the governor of Judea. And he’s met with Jesus, and he realizes that the charges the Jews have brought are bogus, and every Gospel account tells us that Pilate wanted to set Jesus free. And in Matthew’s Gospel account, we even learn that Pilate’s wife warns him based on a dream she had.
So here’s what Pilate knows… Jesus has said that His kingdom is not of this world, or from this world. Pilate’s wife has had a supernatural dream, and she tells her husband to “have nothing to do with that righteous Man for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.” (See Matt. 27:19), and so, Pilate is actually working towards the release of Jesus. He offers Barabbas instead, and the Jews reject that offer.
Now… what is it in a person, who obviously has political power, who’s educated, and wealthy, and who is in a position to do the right thing… what is it in him that makes him do the wrong thing?
SIN!
That’s the big, blanket, obvious answer – Sin does that!
Now last Sunday, we talked about how Pilate was a relativist, and that plays a role as well… but he’s a relativist because of sin. Sin darkens the mind.
Romans 1:21-22, “For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…”. And verse 28, “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, Gad gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done.”
Jesus came to bear witness to the truth – Pilate can’t even acknowledge that there is object truth. His mind is darkened by sin. And when we have unchecked sin, it leads to more sin. It goes from thought, to action, to behavior, to lifestyle.
It goes from questioning, “Did God really say?” To let’s engage in outright rebellion against Him and His commands, and His ordinances, and His design and will.
Relativism usually leads to hedonistic pragmatism. If there is no moral, objective standard, then life becomes about what I want, and what I can get, and about me, me, me!
And so, when the Jewish leaders say, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend, everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” His self preserving, hedonistic, relativistic mind, darkened by sin, takes over, and he compromises. He sentences an innocent man to death… but hey, at least it’s out his hair now – right? Whatever! Just don’t bother me with it. I wash my hands of it.
Pilate did what he did to protect his political career and his cushy, comfortable life.
So, first… Pilate said, “I find no guilt in Him.” And they brought the charges against him that he was misleading the nation, commanding people to not pay taxes, and making himself out to be a king.
So, Pilate took Jesus and flogged Him. It was a terrible thing. I won’t go into detail, but basically it’s the worst kind of beating imaginable. The Roman soldiers shoved a crown of thorns down onto Jesus’ head, and threw a purple robe on Him, and Pilate brought Jesus out and showed Him to the mob. He said, “Behold the Man.” Not “Behold the King”, but “Behold the Man.” This was the second attempt to get them to release Jesus… Basically Pilate was showing them, that this guy isn’t some insurrectionist, look at how pitiful He looks. He’s learned His lesson. Let’s let Him go, but when they saw Jesus they cried all the more loudly “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” And again Pilate said to them, “Do it yourself – I find no guilt in Him.” Pilate was practically begging them, saying, “He’s not guilty of any crime. He’s not a threat to Roman rule or to the emperor.”
And look at what the mob said… verse 7, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made Himself the Son of God.”
Now remember, Jesus has told Pilate that His kingdom is not of the world… Pilate’s wife had a supernatural dream… and now the crowd is telling him that Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God.
Pilate is afraid. That’s what our text says. Verse 8, He was even “MORE AFRAID.”
Fear can be a powerful motivator – but it’s not the most powerful.
Before I became a Christian, I had some vague idea that if I died, I would go to hell, and that was frightening to me… but not frightening enough. I still engaged in sin, and practiced sin, and lived in sin. I loved my sin, more than I feared hell.
It wasn’t until I came to know and understand the amazing love, by which Christ has loved me, that I bowed the knee and received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Perfect love casts out fear! And I saw it, not so much through the kindness of Christians, and all their talk of helping and serving.
Now don’t get me wrong – those are good things, and we should be engaged in those things. But that isn’t what showed me the love of God for a sinner such as I. No… I saw it in the cross.
I saw it in the fact that the sinless Son of God – the very One who created me, and gave me breath. Came to this world, fulfilled all the righteous requirements of God, and was betrayed by a sinner, just like me… and that He endured a mock trial – a sham of a trial, put on by sinners, just like me… that He was beaten and scourged, and mocked and belittled, by sinners just like me, and that He went to a cross, and was nailed to it and lifted up, and mocked and shamed by sinners, just like me… and that while on the cross, God the Father poured out His wrath on His Son, who was without sin, who was undeserving of such a thing… but who did it – for sinners just like me.
I saw Jesus standing next to Barabbas, and I realized that Barabbas’ name could easily be replaced with Ken. I saw that the so called “crimes” they accused Jesus of were actually the crimes I have committed against God – Blasphemy and making myself the ruler – the king of my life.
And I heard John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And I heard John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends.”
Let me close by reading to you from the Apostle Paul in the Book of Ephesians 2:1-9, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom WE ALL once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body, and the mind, and were BY NATURE children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT GOD, BEING RICH IN MERCY, BECAUSE OF THE GREAT LOVE WITH WHICH HE LOVED US, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that NO ONE may boast. For we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in CHRIST JESUS for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
He sought me, and He bought me, with His redeeming love.
Amazing love!
Praise Him forevermore!
CLOSING
