The Passion of Christ, Part 4: The King, Our Substitute

The Passion of Christ, Part 4: The King, Our Substitute

John 19:1-16

Introduction: Our Solemn Assembly last night began with a look at King Uzziah (a.k.a “Azariah”), and reminded us that sin has consequences. He did a lot of “good things” but still tolerated idolatry in the land. God chastened him, he was leprous until he died, living alone in a separate house (2 Kings 15:1-5).  Isaiah 6 begins, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord…”  Mentioning Uzziah’s death calls attention to his failure – toleration of sin brought terrible consequences.  God is holy, He is of purer eyes than to look upon iniquity.  As we’ve been studying John perhaps the central theme has been that in Christ God has supplied the only answer to the sin problem.  The awesome “I AM” who sat upon the throne in Isaiah’s vision, was made flesh and dwelt among us. He came for a purpose. The passion of Christ specifically points us to that tremendous moment, in the unfolding drama of redemption, when the sinless Son gave himself so that we could live. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

     Remember the context: At the end of John 18 Pilate sought to release Jesus in accordance with a tradition of releasing a Jewish prisoner at the Passover, but the leaders chose Barabbas, a thief and insurrectionist, and rejected One who was in fact their own messiah.  They were insistent that Jesus should be crucified.

     The passing of a verdict is usual in the context of a trial. Under normal circumstances it comes after the accused is pronounced “guilty.” In the case of Jesus there is no such pronouncement. He was sinless, yet rejected and condemned.  The justice of God was being satisfied in that He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. How could a just God justify sinners? A substitute was needed, a perfect substitute. Jesus said earlier, “For this hour I have come into the world.” God had a plan that was more than any of us could imagine.

The Big Idea: It was necessary for the Passover King to be rejected so that the Father’s gracious plan of redemption could be accomplished.

I. We see the depravity of humans in the mocking of the King (19:1-5). At its core, sin is the rejection of the true kingship of Jesus. Psalm two describes human sin very succinctly in Psalm 2:1-3,

“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  ² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.  ³ ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’”

That attitude is illustrated in the most graphic terms in our passage:

“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.  ² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.  ³ Then they said, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they struck Him with their hands.  ⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.’  ⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’ (John 19:1-5).

        First, we see human depravity in the horrible torture of a man known to be innocent (1,2).He was scourged – a punishment so horrible that those so inflicted sometimes died. The bits of bone or metal on the ends of the straps would rip into the flesh, sometimes cutting to the bone.  John does not emphasize the gory details. There was no need. Anyone living in the world under Roman oppression at that time had seen scourging and crucifixion.  These punishments were not conducted quietly behind closed doors and then reported on the evening news—they were public, designed to instill fear in the populace. Not only was Jesus horribly beaten, he was mocked as he was dressed in purple and he had a crown of thorns pushed onto his head.

NB. The irony: though they mocked him, dressing Him in “royal attire,” a torturous crown of thorns pushed down on his head, and calling Him “King of the Jews,” ironically their words were true! The reader of the Gospel by now has an understanding that He is the King –but not a king like the nations, not a kingdom “of this world.”  His kingship was of a different order, it was a kingship that had its origins in another place.

       Pilate’s words seem to be intended to ridicule the Jewish leaders, “Behold the man!”  It’s as if he is saying, “Look at Him! Is this the one that you are so worried about?  Are you concerned about this guy’s claim to be a king?”  Think of the contrast with declaration of John the Baptist at the beginning of this gospel: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John saw the Truth – the Jewish leaders and Pilate are blind to who Jesus is, they can’t understand.  The drama of redemption was unfolding at this moment.  He was a man to be sure, he took upon himself a human nature, and in the words of Isaiah became “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” He allowed mocking, and ridicule, and a torturous death, for us.  It was necessary for the Passover King to be rejected so that the Father’s gracious plan of redemption could be accomplished.

II. We see the spiritual blindness of the unregenerate in the insistence that the Son of God be crucified (19:6-7).

            It may be that Pilate thought the horror of scourging would have been enough to pacify the Jewish leaders. “Behold the Man!” Look at this pitiful person; hasn’t he endured enough pain and humiliation? But their minds were made up, they were determined to seize the moment and be rid of this “Jesus” once and for all. We read in v.6, “… they cried out, saying, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.’” Again Pilate states that He found no basis for condemning Jesus, yet they insist that He be crucified.

The irony in v.7 is tremendous: “The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.’” They are thinking that Jesus is a law breaker who deserves death because of blasphemy. But just like Caiaphas in John 11, they said more than they knew. He had asked, “Is it not profitable that one man die for the nation?” John tells us, that being high priest, unwittingly, he had prophesied the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Here, they are correct, their Law, the Old Testament, predicted that it was necessary for the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lamb, to die. On the road to Emmaus Jesus appeared to two disciples and taught them:

“Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’" (Luke 24:25,26).

Then again in 24:44-46,

“Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’  ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day…’” (Luke 24:44-46).

It was necessary for the Passover King to be rejected so that the Father’s gracious plan of redemption could be accomplished.

III. We see the sacrificial love of Jesus in the Silence of the Lamb (19:8-12).

             Pilate’s reaction to the “charge” as it is stated in v.7 is striking – Son of God?  It’s one thing to deal with a so-called king, but someone who claims to be a son of god? When he heard that, he was “all the more afraid.” Pilate almost surely had no respect for the God of the Jews, but he was superstitious. He certainly didn’t want to offend the “gods” (lower case “g”).

Pilate goes back in to talk to Jesus, he wants to assess the situation. “Where are you from?” he asks. Jesus had already said that his kingdom was not of this world (18:36). Now, he is struggling to put together what Jesus said, and the charges of leaders.  Was He claiming to be a god or from the realm of the gods?  The prospect seems to have Pilate worried, might it just be true?  Jesus responds with silence (v.9) which frustrates Pilate! But Jesus is the suffering servant, willing to drink the cup the father was giving Him. Isaiah had written 700 years earlier: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7).

Pilate thinks he is in control, or at least that is what he claims in v.9, “Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you?” The word “power” is the word exousia, “authority.” It’s the same word the was used back in John 5:26,27, which talks about what the Father gave Jesus: "…the Father has granted to the Son to have life in himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” The same word comes up again in the Great Commission in Matthew when Jesus says “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth…”  Who is in control? Not Pilate.  He can’t even dissuade the Jewish leaders in their quest to kill Jesus. The Passover King is sovereignly working out his plan, willingly preparing to lay down his life for his friends. Greater love has no man than this!

Jesus extends amazing grace toward Pilate in v.11: "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." So Pilate sought to release him. He was by no means guiltless, as he allows himself to be manipulated by their questioning of his loyalty to Cesar. But the Jews, the guardians of the oracles of God, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they were guilty of rejecting their own messiah!  It was necessary for the Passover King to be rejected so that the Father’s gracious plan of redemption could be accomplished.

IV. We see the revelation of the Passover King as Jesus is seated on the “Judgment Seat” and rejected (19:13-16).

            The scene here is incredible as the Jews are determined to be rid of Jesus, and Pilate tries to get in a few mocking jabs at them, all the while Jesus, the creator incarnate, quietly takes their abuse. Pilate takes Jesus out before them. The text in 19:13 says either “he sat down” (meaning Pilate sat on the Judgment seat) or, “he sat him down” (referring to Jesus) on the judgment seat. The verb can legitimately be read either way. John wants us to consider the question of who really is in charge. If Pilate mockingly sat Jesus on the bema and said to the Jews “Behold your King!” it would have been a slap at them as much as at Jesus. Ironically, He was the King, He is the King. No one was judging Him, but by their unbelief they were being judged. Remember for example John 3:18, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

            Notice v.14  “Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!" The sixth hour, on the day of preparation, was the hour had come for the Passover Lamb to be sacrificed. This King was like no other, he was the Passover King, born to die, so that we could live through faith in Him. Then again in v.15, to force Pilate’s hand by questioning his loyalty, “We have no king but Cesar!” The Passover King, The Lamb, was delivered up to be crucified (v.16).

What is God saying to me in this passage? It was necessary for the Passover King to be rejected so that the Father’s gracious plan of redemption could be accomplished. If you know Jesus, that means you are included in His plan, and He knew you and loved you from before the foundations of the world. He willingly died, so that you could live.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? If Jesus so loved you, will you love him in return? Will you trust Him and obey Him? Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” Will you determine to be a “Christ follower” today? The Christian life isn’t burdensome, it’s walking with Jesus, learning from Him, living for Him. It means loving one another, recognizing we are a family, we have the same Father! It means considering the need of those in our sphere of influence.  Have you identified a list of people that you are praying for, people that need to know Jesus? Pray for them, and pray that God will give you an opportunity to give a reason for the hope that is in you. Be available, and watch what God will do!                        AMEN.