Thank God! Jesus Christ Is Alive Today!

Thank God! Jesus Christ Is Alive Today!

Easter Sunday

04/15/2000 A.M.

We are going to take our text this morning in the nineteenth chapter of John.

I know that I just said that the title to my sermon this morning was thank God Jesus Christ is alive this morning!

Jesus Christ is very much alive this morning and He is giving out blessings to His believers like never before!

But I feel like everyone needs to be reminded of what out Lord went through for you and I!

The way that He suffered on the cross for our sins so that we wouldn¡¦t have to go through all of that pain and suffering!

So if you would turn in your bibles to,

John 19:1-3

1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.

2 The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him.

3 ¡§Hail! King of the Jews!¡¨ they mocked, and they hit him with their fists.

If Jesus was innocent, He should have been turned loose.

If He was guilty of the charge brought against Him, He should have been crucified.

To scourge Jesus was entirely unlawful and wrong.

Pilate did it because he thought this would placate the Jews.

The word scourge, means to whip.

I really doubt that Pilate actually did the whipping.

That is what he used the Roman Soldiers for.

Also it says in the 3rd verse that the soldiers played a very cruel Roman game with Him.

The game was where the soldiers would show the prisoner their fists and then they would blindfold him and all but one of the soldiers would hit the prisoner as hard as they could.

After this they would take off the blindfold and the prisoner was made to guess which one of the soldiers didn¡¦t hit him.

As you know that was impossible for the prisoner to do so they would start all over again.

I believe that the lord Jesus was so mutilated that you would not have recognized Him!

Let¡¦s read what the prophet Isaiah foretold in

Isaiah 52:14

14 Many were amazed when they saw him¡Xbeaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person.

Isaiah foretold long before Jesus was ever born that he would be marred more than any other man!

Let us go on with our scripture

John 19:4-5

4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, ¡§I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.¡¨

5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, ¡§Here is the man!¡¨

Now they come outside again.

I think that if you had seen Him then,

it would have broken your heart.

He had been beaten within an inch of His life.

I find it interesting the way that Pilate comes out to the people and says,

Behold I bring Him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in Him!

Well if Pilate found no fault in Him then why did he allow the Roman Soldiers to beat Him to within an inch of His life?

He sounds like he has the making of a real politician, he would fit right in with today¡¦s leaders.

Now look at the smug way that Pilate say¡¦s Behold the man!

He sounds just like the Sinners of today!

No respect for Jesus.

If that¡¦s all that you think He is,

The Man then you have missed the boat!

He is not just the man!

He is the Son of God.

He is the Savior of the world!

Lets go on,

John 19:6

6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, ¡§Crucify! Crucify!¡¨

¡§You crucify him,¡¨ Pilate said. ¡§I find him not guilty.¡¨

It may have been at this point that Pilate called for the basin of water and washed his hands.

The water would clean his hands but could not cleanse the guilt of his heart.

Again I say, Pilate has the making of a real politician!

He had the power here to stand up and be a man and tell the people to go away,

he could have said this man is not guilty!

But instead he tells then to take Him and crucify Him!

And then he adds yet another time, ¡§ for I find no fault in Him ¡§

As we go on,

John 19:7-9

7 The Jewish leaders replied, ¡§By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.¡¨

8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.

9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, ¡§Where are you from?¡¨ But Jesus gave no answer.