The Day They Cancelled Jesus Series

OPEN: There is a phenomenon that is quickly sweeping through our country that’s called the “Cancel Culture.” It’s a mindset that demands that if anyone says or does something that someone else finds offensive, THAT PERSON must be silenced and destroyed. As a result people have lost their jobs, their careers, their reputations, and have even had their lives threatened. There’s a mob mentality out there that attacks people… even for things they did 20 or 30 years ago.

It’s happened to Politicians, Candidates for the Supreme Court, Actors, Comedians, Media types, Business people and even cartoon characters and children’ books (Dr. Seuss; The Muppets). They’ve ALL faced being cancelled because somebody got offended.

Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t people who should have been cancelled years ago, but this “Cancel culture” seems driven by a kind of “self-righteous” hatred that’s kind of scary.

Actually though, this desire to destroy others is as old as mankind. Cain … cancelled Abel; Joseph’s brothers… attempted to cancel him; Jezebel tried to cancel Elijah… and it went on and on throughout Bible history.

However, no one has faced the “cancel culture” more than Jesus. It was the cancel culture that put Him on the cross. A cancel culture that hated Jesus so much that it killed Him! And when He was nailed to the cross, people rejoiced because Jesus had finally been cancelled. (Idea gained from an article by Harold Rutledge, the Buffalo Christian Church in Buffalo, IN)

But unlike others who have been cancelled by Culture… Jesus wasn’t a victim. The attempt to destroy Jesus had been planned (BY GOD) for centuries.

In fact, that was one of the major themes in Biblical preaching. Peter preached: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Acts 2:22-23

Paul wrote: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” I Corinthians 15:3-4

The cross had been planned. Jesus’ death had been on purpose. And the cancel culture… did exactly what God pre-determined they would do. It was all part of God’s design!!!

(PAUSE) With that thought in mind, I want to look at the 4 events that John tells us about, as Jesus hung on the cross. These 4 parts of the crucifixion story are important to God. They are there in this chapter because God wants them there. In other words: there’s something here God wants us to see!

1st – we’re told that the soldiers gambled for Jesus’ TUNIC the foot of the cross. “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.’ THIS WAS TO FULFILL THE SCRIPTURE which says, ‘They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.’ So the soldiers did these things” John 19:23-24

Notice, it says “this was to fulfill the Scripture…”

OK… but why? Why had God even bothered to make this a prophecy? Well, we’re not told, but I’ve got a pretty good idea. Despite what you may have seen in various paintings and movies Jesus was totally naked on the cross. When the Romans crucified people, they stripped them bare. Their intention was to cause as much suffering as possible, including embarrassing their victims by exposing them, and robbing them of any form of modesty or decency.

Now when Jesus was arrested he didn’t have much… just his clothing. And some of his garments were easily divided. But His tunic was valuable. To cut it up would have been senseless, and so they gambled for it… winner take all.

But still the question arises: WHY? Why would God prophesy about people casting lots for his garments? And my suspicion is this: God wanted us to focus on Christ’s clothing. He wanted us to remember Jesus was naked on the cross.

ILLUS: In her book “The Hiding Place” Corrie Ten Boom told of her experiences in the Nazi prison. She wrote: “every Friday the Nazis made the prisoners completely undress for medical inspection. The women were// humiliated// having to march by the grinning guards. On one of those mornings “yet another page in the Bible leapt into life for me. “He hung naked on the Cross.” I had not known – had not thought… the paintings, the carved crucifixes showed at least a scrap of cloth. But this, I suddenly knew, was the respect and reverence of the artist. But oh – at the time itself, on THAT OTHER Friday morning – there had been no reverence. No more than I saw in the faces around us now.