We’re moving closer
to the final leg of Jesus’ journey to the cross, the crucifixion, which
we will look at this Sunday morning. But before we get to the cross
we must look at the person, who in all the Bible, is the most to be
pitied. This individual spent some intimate moments with Jesus, but
probably is now spending the rest of eternity separated from him, all
because he rejected Jesus Christ as his king.
Human eyes have looked upon some wonderful sights: the grandeur of the
Rocky Mountains, awesomeness of the waves of an ocean, or even the radiant
colors of a beautiful sunset. But no eye has glimpsed a more awesome
sight than God Incarnate, Jesus Christ! He, who is altogether lovely,
who is the thrice holy One, who possesses all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge, allowed the sinful Pilate to look at him and not be slain
in an instant.
On those few occasions when God allowed some of his servants to cast
his glory, we always find them profoundly affected. At the sight of
the burning bush and the voice of God, Moses fell on the ground before
him. Elijah stood in the mouth of a cave on the mountainside, awaiting
the revelation of God in the wind, earthquake, and fire that passed
before him. But it was “a sound of a gentle blowing” that humbled Elijah
as the Lord passed before him. Isaiah caught a glimpse of God on His
throne and cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” John, in the book
of Revelation, saw the Lord and fell at His feet as a dead man.
But not Pilate. Pilate’s encounter with the living God seems to have
no impact on him whatsoever. I say this because despite the fact that
Pilate has found no evidence of Jesus committing any wrongdoing, he
inflicts upon the innocent Jesus the worse kind of punishment known
to mankind--v. 1.
This kind of beating the Romans inflicted upon criminals was a horrible
& brutal punishment. The person was bent over a pole, with their hands
tied in front of the pole to keep them from trying to escape. Then the
Roman soldiers, who had been trained in executing people, would take
a wooden pole that had leather thongs attached to it. And on the end
of each of the leather thongs there were pieces of lead or bones that
would pull out chunks of flesh every time they were laid across the
person’s back. The body at times was so lacerated that the veins, arteries,
and sometimes even internal organs would be hanging out of a person’s
body. Many people died during the beating.
The madness of sin is so clearly seen as Pilate says he finds no fault
in Jesus, then he sentences him to one of the worst kind of punishments
ever devised by human beings. If the cruelty of the flogging isn’t bad
enough, we next see that Jesus also had to endure mockery at the hands
of the Roman soldiers--vv. 2-3.
If you ever doubt the sinfulness of sin, just look at what these men
did to Jesus after they had just got through beaten Jesus nearly to
death. Over & over again these soldiers came up to Jesus and punched
him in the face. They had no reason to do so. Jesus had never done anything
to make them so mad. In fact, Jesus had never done anything, to anybody,
to warrant such kind of treatment. All he did was heal a woman who had
been sick for years. All he did was give back grief-stricken people
their sons/daughters who had died. All he did was to reach out and touch
the untouchables. All he did was to take children and set them on his
knees, and tell us that the kingdom of God is for people who have their
kind of faith.
Which of these things would have caused people to get so mad that they
would repeatedly punch Jesus in the face after they had nearly beaten
him to death with a cat-of-nine-tails?
Through my studies I have come to understand the sinfulness of mankind.
I know that within us all is the ability to commit the most vile of
all sins. This is what theologians call the depravity of mankind. What
I can’t understand is why Jesus, the one who spoke and the world came
into being, the one who set the planets in their place, subjected himself
to such abuse. I know Jesus allowed this to happen because he loves
us. But I just can’t completely understand this kind of love. This is
why I pray, not only for myself, but also for y’all, that we might all
understand “What is the width and length and depth and height; and to
know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.” (Ephesians
3:18-19)
For if we can begin to grasp Jesus’ love for us, then maybe we can begin
to understand why Jesus bore the weight of our sins. And if we can begin
to understand just how much Jesus loves us, then maybe we will start
to love him back just as much as he loves us. This kind of love will
be seen in the fact that we are keeping all of Jesus’ commandments.
After allowing Jesus to have to endure horrible cruelty and shameless
mockery, Pilate has the nerve to once again say he believes Jesus is
innocent--v. 4-5. As Pilate parades Jesus in front of the Jews, he presents
to them a person whose body was torn to shreds from being so badly beaten,
whose face was so disfigured from being used as a punching bag, that
you couldn’t tell who it was. And with complete contempt in his voice,
Pilate tells the Jews to look once again at the one they accused of
being a king. But notice that instead of Pilate calling Jesus a king,
he tells the Jews that Jesus is simply a man.
Last Sunday we saw that Jesus told Pilate that he was right when he
remarked that Jesus was a king. Today we see how wrong Pilate is. For
Jesus is not like any man who had ever lived , or who ever will live.
This is the one who has so much power at his disposal that he could
have called on his guardian angels, and they would have come and stepped
on Pilate like he was a little bug.
Jesus may have come to this earth as the son of man, but never forget
that the Son of God became the son of man so that you and I can become
the sons or daughters of God. Never forget that the Lamb of God stood
before his shearers silent so he could rescue sheep who have the tendency
of going astray. Never forget that if it wasn’t for the grace of God,
we’d respond to Jesus just like the Jewish leaders did--v. 6.
Isn’t it sad that there’s not even a hint of sympathy for Jesus in their
voice? If you’ve seen the movie The Passion, by the time we see this
scene in the movie, your heart was probably broken, and tears were running
down your face. But not these men. Instead of the sight of Jesus producing
a lump in their throat, they simply cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
As the fury of the crowd intensifies, I believe Pilate is getting so
frustrated that he is just about to have a mental breakdown. Notice
that he makes one of the dumbest statements of his life. In fact, he
makes a politically suicidal statement, when he tells the Jews to take
Jesus away and crucify him. He knows that the Jews don’t have the legal
authority to crucify anyone.
In fact, since Pilate hated the Jews as much as he did, I am real surprised
that Pilate didn’t go ahead and release Jesus just to spite the Jews.
But as much as Pilate hates these Jews, as much as he would have loved
to make them mad, his emotions were not strong enough to overcome his
fear of losing his job. He knows that if he lets Jesus go, that this
angry crowd would quickly turn this encounter into a full-blown riot.
If that happened Caesar would have removed Pilate from being governor.
And since being the governor of Israel was at the bottom of the political
barrel, that would have ended Pilate’s political career. Which he didn’t
want to happen. For despite the fact that he was merely the governor
of Israel, at least he was a governor. Which meant he got to enjoy all
the perks of the job. So Pilate let’s his enjoyment of creature comforts
keep him from doing what his consciousness is telling him to do.
Aren’t there times when we’re just like Pilate? We know what it means
to be a Christian. But how many times have you found yourself going
along with the crowd because of peer pressure? How many times have you
failed to take a stand for Jesus for fear of being made fun of? The
Jew’s response to Pilate was one Pilate wasn’t expecting--v. 7-9.
Pilate’s fear of losing his job wasn’t nearly as strong as his fear
of making a god angry. Pilate grew up in a society that believed that
gods came down in visible manifestations to people when they were angry
with them. And now he is being told that the one he had just ordered
to be beaten within an inch of his life, the one he has accused of merely
being a man, may very well be a son of one of these gods. So Pilate
is trying to figure a way to keep from losing more than his job, he
is trying to figure out a way to keep from losing his very life.
When Jesus didn’t answer him, Pilate once again speaks as a crazy man--v.
10. Please keep in mind that Pilate is concerned that Jesus may be some
kind of god, but he has the gall to ask Jesus if he realizes who Pilate
is. I really wonder if Pilate thought he could impress God by the position
he had attained & the authority he had acquired so far in his lifetime.
Pilate isn’t much different from us. Many people believe that they are
important enough for God to have taken notice of them.
We think that God is impressed by what we do. We think that if we do
enough good deeds that we can get God to do something good for us. Or
worse, we think those good deeds will get us into heaven even if we
reject Jesus Christ as our lord. The truth of the matter is, none have
done anything worthy enough for the Son of God to come and pay us a
visit. And surely known of us have done anything worthy of the Son of
God dying on a cross in our place. That’s why when we finally give our
lives to Jesus, instead of being proud of all we have done, we’re ashamed
at what we did.
Jesus doesn’t let Pilate go on ranting & raving about his importance.
Instead, he puts Pilate in his place--v. 11. In essence, what Jesus
is telling Pilate is that there is a bigger picture than the one he
is able to see. Although it appears that Jesus is about to die at the
hands of men, in reality God is working behind the scene making sure
that every little detail fits into all their prophetic places. Jesus
told us that “No one takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.
I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This command I have received from My Father.”
When Peter later on spoke to many of this same crowd, he said: “People
of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing
wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.
But you followed God's prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles,
you nailed him to the cross and murdered him.” The Bible makes if perfectly
clear that although man put Jesus to death, his death was God’s plan
for saving us from the penalty of sin.
This is Jesus’ way of letting us know that he was not a victim, but
a victor. Despite what’s on the sign on the church up the street says,
Jesus was not a victim of the cross, he was a victor even before he
went to the cross. The only victims of the cross were, first of all,
Satan & his demons. For “When Jesus had disarmed the rulers and authorities,
He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them by the
cross.” The other victims of the cross are those who reject Jesus Christ
as the Son of God. For that is the greatest sin of all. In fact, it
is the only sin that will send someone to hell.
Once again the Jews resort to blackmail--v. 12. At this moment they
had Pilate backed into a corner. Pilate knew that the Jews hated him
just enough that they would travel to Rome to accuse him of being disloyal
to the emperor. Pilate knew that the moment they told Caesar that Jesus
said he was a king, and Pilate did nothing about it, that he would lose
his job.
So it appears that the only way Pilate can keep from losing his job
is to go along with the Jews. Even if that meant doing something that
was dishonest and immoral. Pilate was more concerned about his position
than being a man of integrity. Pilate was more afraid of what people
thought of him then he did in doing what was right.
Do you know that many people who attend church are just like Pilate?
The actions of their lives indicate that they don’t believe in Jesus.
But to publicly admit that they were playing a spiritual game is just
too humiliating. So they continue to go to church, week after week,
pretending to be a Christian, while week after week they resist the
call to give their hearts to Jesus. All because they afraid of what
people might think. And sadly, they may wind up in hell all because
they were afraid of what people might think about them.
I wonder if perhaps I’ve described some of you? I wonder if some of
you tonight are so close to being a Christian, but because you’ve never
asked Jesus to come into your heart to rescue you from the penalty &
power of sin, you’re not. Oh, you may believe everything you’ve been
taught about Jesus, but the only place Jesus is real is in your head,
not in your heart.
All Jesus is to you is some great character in the Bible. But you’ve
never received him into your heart as your lord. You may have taught
Sunday school or sang in the choir, you may have served as a deacon
or an elder, but you know that Jesus is not your lord. And right now
you know that I am talking about you. But sadly, you won’t invite Jesus
into your heart because you’re afraid of what people may say. But are
you more afraid of people saying you were a phony then you are to hear
Jesus say, as he casts you into hell, “Depart from me you sinner, for
I never knew you as your Lord!”
Please remember that the people Jesus said this to are those base their
relationship to Jesus as Lord solely upon the many great things they
did for him. Things like preaching, casting out demons, and even performing
great miracles. Yet Jesus said that none of those things prove he is
the lord of one’s life. The only way a person makes Jesus the Lord of
their life is to invite him into their life in that capacity. Have you
done that? Are you wanting to do that but you don’t want your friends
to know that for all these years you’ve merely been playing a Christian?
Please don’t let peer pressure keep you out of heaven.
Pilate had every reason to trust in Jesus as his king. He had every
reason to let him go. Yet he just couldn’t do it because he was afraid
of what others might think of him. So Pilate ignores his superstitions,
he ignores the warnings of his wife, he even ignores his conscious,
and he compromises his convictions, proving that he was nothing more
than a coward--vv. 13-14.
Notice that John tells us that it was noon time when Pilate made that
announcement that Jesus is the king of the Jews. Throughout the rest
of history, this hour would be infamous, like the day Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor, or like the moment you heard that JFK was killed, or the
moment man walked on the moon, or even when the planes that the terrorists
used as missiles hit the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Certain
events are forever etched in the minds of people who experience traumatic
situations.
For years to come, as the Jews were getting ready for the Sabbath during
the Passover feast, when the noon hour approached, they would remember
that this is when Pilate announced that the king of the Jews had arrived.
And they would wonder if perhaps Pilate was right. Especially as Jesus’
disciples started going around saying that Jesus had risen from the
dead.
Pilate’s announcement didn’t phase the Jewish leaders one bit. In fact,
it caused them to say the most blasphemous thing a good Jew could ever
say--v. 15. Never before in all the history of the nation of Israel,
did any of the leaders ever align themselves behind any other king than
the ones God appointed over them. Never before had they bowed their
knees to any foreign dignity. But at this moment, they were willing
to reject the one who had been anointed by God, to worship the man they
hated the most: Caesar.
The Jews loathed the idea of Caesar being their king. But compared to
bending the knee in submission to Jesus Christ, they gladly claimed
Caesar, the pagan Roman emperor, as their king. In reality, all they
were doing was a covering for their own self-rule. They did not want
Caesar ruling over them, but they certainly did not want Jesus ruling
over them!
His rule over us means that we no longer rule ourselves. Sinful man
wants to be king over his life, with no rivals. That is why the gospel
is rejected. For Jesus said very plainly, “If anyone wishes to come
after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow
Me.”
Self-denial is the very opposite of self-rule. To be Jesus’ disciple
means that you are willing to give your passions and lusts, your desires
and ambitions in total submission to Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free
gift from God. But it is costly to be a disciple of Jesus. It means
we must be willing to follow Jesus wherever he wants us to go. It means
we must be willing to do whatever Jesus wants us to do. But the eternal
rewards of following Jesus far outweigh any earthly pleasures we must
forsake.
Matthew tells that when the Jews said this that Pilate sent for a bowl
of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent
of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours! And all the people
yelled back, "We will take responsibility for his death: We and our
children!” When the Jews said that, Pilate let them have Jesus to do
what they wanted to do to him--v. 16.
Not much has changed in over 2,000 years. If Jesus were to appear in
the center of Aiken, not many people would fall down on their knees
and worship him. They would reject him because they are too proud to
let someone else be their master. They would reject him because they
are too rebellious to let him tell them what to do.
What is sad is that when people reject the kingship of Jesus, they are
also rejecting the love, peace, and joy that only he can give. Is it
worth being miserable just for the sake of saying you can do your own
thing? Is it worth going to hell for the rest of eternity just so you
can do what you want to do for the few years you are alive? I hope your
answer is no!
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