We Believe: Suffered Under Pontus Pilate Series

We Believe: Jesus Suffered Under Pontus Pilate

Text: John 19:1-16

Introduction

1. So far, the Apostle’s Creed has been pretty happy.

a. It’s talked about God the Father, creator of heaven and earth.

b. It’s talked about Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God.

c. It’s also talked about the Jesus birth; He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

2. But it jumps from the birth of Jesus to His suffering.

a. It does talk about the fall of man or of original sin.

b. But the fact that we go from the birth of Christ to His suffering, tells us that something was not right.

3. Some Christians today want to stay focused on the happy part of the creed, but we cannot stay faithful to the orthodox and historical teachings of the faith without talking about Christ’ suffering.

4. Read John 19:1-16

Transition: Let’s look at why the Apostle’s Creed talks about the…

I. Importance of Pontus Pilate

A. The Apostle’s Creed jumps right from the birth of Christ to the Sufferings of Christ.

1. Why does the Creed leave out all of Jesus developmental years?

2. Remember that the Creed is all about what we believe. It’s about the big picture items.

3. While there is a telling of what Jesus did in His ministry years, the emphasis of the New Testament is on His death, not His life.

4. As far as His suffering, Jesus Himself said that was a major purpose to His coming to earth.

5. “Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” (Lk. 24:25-26).

B. But why does the Creed mention Jesus’ suffering under Pontius Pilate and none of His other sufferings? During His life, Jesus suffered mentally, He was rejected by His family, He was betrayal by one of His disciples, nor does the creed mention any of the sufferings He faced during the Passover week.

C. There are three reasons that the Creed focuses on His suffering under Pontus Pilate.

1. First, it fixes in history the time of his death.

a. Pontius Pilate ruled as the Roman Prefect (Governor) of Judaea from approximately 26 to 36 or 37 CE, serving under Emperor Tiberius.

b. His time as governor is known for his clashes with the Jewish population and for presiding over the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.

c. So, from this we know that Christ’s crucifixion happened in this time period.

d. Most scholars believe that Jesus was crucified in 33 A.D., which fits within Pilate’s reign.

2. Second, it provides an external testimony of Christ’s death.

a. A man named John Dominic Crossan, who was not a supporter of the traditional Christian faith, said, “Jesus' death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate is as sure as anything historical can ever be. For if no follower of Jesus had written anything for one hundred years after his crucifixion, we would still know about him from two authors not among his supporters. Their names are Flavius Josephus and Cornelius Tacitus.”

b. The two men that Crossan mentions are both ancient historians, and both wrote about Jesus’ suffering under Pontus Pilate.

c. So, you cannot say that the story of Jesus’ death was a myth made up by His followers. It is a historical fact!

3. Third, it confirmed prophecy about the Messiah. “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” (Is. 53:3-5).

D. Now, let’s look at our text that talks about how Jesus’ suffered under Pontus Pilate. In v. 1, John tells us, “Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.”

1. Pilate handed over Jesus to be flogged by the Roman soldiers.

a. Believe it or not, this was an attempt to let Jesus go free.

b. He didn’t believe Jesus was guilty of any crime deserving of crucifixion.

c. “Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.” (Jn. 18:38).

2. Pilate thought having Jesus’ flogged would satisfy the Jewish leaders. This punishment was brutal, but not intended to kill Jesus, although it was not uncommon for prisoners to die from these floggings.