It certainly is wonderful to be with all of you today.
As has been mentioned, we have a wonderful crowd and we
appreciate your presence. So, very much today is the most
significant day of our week. It's the Lord's day.
We have an opportunity to worship God today in spirit, and
in truth, for which we are thankful, and which we are
grateful. I hope that what we have to
consider for a little while perhaps might give you a greater
appreciation for Jesus and what Jesus went through for the sins
of the entire world. So long ago, our texted me found
in the Book of John, the 19th Chapter and we want to begin
reading there in verse 14. Now, it was the preparation day
of the of the Passover and about the sixth hour.
And he said to the Jews, behold your king but they cried out
away with him away with him. Crucify.
Him pilate said, to them, shall I crucify your king?
The chief priests answered. We have no King.
But Caesar, then he delivered him to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus and led him away.
One more passage. I'd like to notice in our
introduction and that's found in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 22.
Pilate said to them, What then shall I do with Jesus?
Who is called Christ? They all said to him, let him be
crucified. After Jesus was tried in Pilots
Hall pilot had to make a choice. Even though he knew that Jesus
was innocent, you remember that there were two trials, there was
the religious trial and there was the Civil Trial By the time.
Jesus, is now, before Pilate, he had already been really
convicted of nothing. He was guilty of nothing in the
religious trial and all of a sudden now pilot has to make a
decision. And I think there's something
that even Rings true today. What am I?
Going to do about Jesus and in all the times and in all the
instances where Pilot wanted to pass the buck and not make that
decision, he had to make that decision.
And you know what? So do we everybody has to make
the decision in their life. What am I going to do about
Jesus? And nobody could ever make that
decision for you and God will not make that decision for you,
either. You got to make that choice.
You got to make that decision. Where am I going?
Play it. How am I going to be?
What is my decision about Jesus? Well, pilot is faced with the
problem. And interestingly when John
chapter 18, when they bring Jesus before Pilate and pilate
says, for the first time, what evil has he done?
What is he guilty of? What did he do?
It's interesting what they respond to.
This is how they said, they didn't say, well, he was guilty
of X y&z, the first thing out of their mouth.
They said, do you really think we would have brought him to you
if he really wasn't a bad man? In other words, don't indict us.
We're pretty important people. And yet they had nothing to say,
and they came to Jesus, they came and brought Jesus to
pilate. And now pilot has to make a
choice. You know the spiritual
application. I think applies to all of us
today. What does pilot do?
First thing he does is he sends him to Herod Herod was the big
cheese. I guess you might say in Galilee
back then. Jesus was From Galilee and so
pilate sins Jesus to Herod Herod.
Basically says, it's not my problem and send him back to
pilate. And again, pilot has to make a
decision. Well, as we move into John
18:39, we're going to show three things.
Number one, we have Pilots failing proposals.
Number two. We have Pilots fatal panic.
And number three. We have Pilots final
pronouncement. Let's begin.
Now, with five Pilots failing proposals.
He doesn't want to make the decision.
He doesn't want to crucify Jesus.
Here, they are proposal number one in John, chapter 18 and
verse 31, you take him and judge him yourself, you remember?
They said, they said, you know, it's unlawful pilot, we can't
crucify anybody. We can't execute anybody.
You have to do that. And by the way, a little side
note here, you've heard me preach this.
You've heard me say this, I'm going to say it again.
I just love it because there's no other way to put it other
than God's Towing control. At the time of the crucifixion
at the time of the Lord's, sentenced to die in ad 33, the
power to or the power to or the authority to inflict capital
punishment, the right of the sword only belong to Rome that
was at a t-33. When did the law change?
Not by accident in about ad, 30 the law changed.
So in other words about the whole time that Jesus would be
on the face of the Earth preaching and Personal Ministry,
beginning in ad, 30 and ending in a t-33.
The right of the sword only belonged to Rome.
Brilliant God was because if the Jews had that Authority, they
would have stoned Jesus to death.
And if they did that, the Bible is not true.
Jesus even said, if I be lifted up, he means on the cross.
I will draw All Peoples under myself.
The Old Testament, refers to Jesus being hung on a tree.
He has to be elevated and crucified.
God is totally in control. So yes, pilot says.
Now, you judge him. Yourself and they said we can't
we don't have the authority to do that.
So here was another failing proposal.
Shall I recently released the king of the juice and you know
what's interesting about this? There was a custom you remember
around Passover time That they would release someone and pilate
said this, that we would release someone to you during the
Passover, do you? Therefore want me to release you
the king of the Jews? Now, can you just put yourself
in the mind of pilot? Maybe he's thinking about a week
prior. Obviously, the religious leaders
want to crucify Jesus, right? What about the people?
Maybe the people will rise up in fact only a week before when
Jesus came in and he made his triumphal entry on the back of a
Colt of a donkey into Jerusalem. It was Hosanna to the highest.
It was Hosanna to the King, right?
Surely, somebody will say, no, we don't want Jesus to be
crucified. And you remember this to a
little side, note about the donkey.
I used to think that when Jesus rode in on the Colt of a donkey,
I thought the donkey was part of the humiliation part of the huge
humbling of our King and so forth and so on coming in like
no other king ever had, I was wrong in that the donkey had
nothing to do with his humiliation at all.
When a king in the Old Testament rode into battle, he rode a
horse. When a king came in a time of
Peace, he wrote a donkey. Jesus being our King setting up
a kingdom of Peace Road. The peaceful animal called a
donkey into Jerusalem. Amazing. what God did, just
maybe some of these people say No, let's not crucify Jesus.
Jesus is there now between standing next to a man named
Barabbas, he was a robber in the Greek.
It means Bandit or Highwayman. I just little thought here.
Have you ever wondered didn't anybody cry out for Jesus?
And if they did, how loud was their voice.
Didn't anybody stand up for Jesus?
Here you have the worst of all men, standing next to the Lord.
And pilot says, which one of these do you want me to release?
They didn't say Jesus. But did anybody?
Did anybody cry out for Jesus? Kind of the same thing today.
Sometimes Jesus is now standing next to a man that he described
himself. When the story of the Good
Samaritan, he said that a man goes from Jerusalem to Jericho
and he fell among Thieves. You know what kind of thief he
was talking about, he was talking about this exact kind of
a man, a horrible man, a terrible man.
And now he's standing next to the Lord and pilot says, which
one you want me to release Jesus, the king of the Jews.
And they said, no. They said, no, interestingly
about the word Hosanna when they came in a week.
Before saying, when Jesus came in, they said Hosanna, if you
look up the word Hosanna by definition, you will find this
one. Definition is this, it's an
expression of adoration praise or Joy.
Now, what were they actually doing the phrase that we're
reading about? In the New Testament?
Hosanna is a Greek form of the Hebrew appeal, to God, for help.
In fact, you know what it's called?
It's called OSHA. Nah, and it means this save.
Now we pray. Give us victory.
They weren't praising Jesus. They were saying, give us
Victory. What kind of Victory?
Maybe National Victory, take the thumb of Rome of the oppression
that they were under and lifted. Jesus is going to be a king.
He's going to establish a kingdom.
They misunderstood they followed him into Jerusalem as he wrote
in the culprit, code of a doggy. You said, Hosanna to the king to
the heist. amazing, you know, I reach this series Back in, I
don't know. Three.
Four years ago you remember on the last week in the life of
Jesus? I will tell you this.
It was one of the most enjoyable studies for me that I have ever
done or series that I've ever done.
And the reason that I did the series was really this I did
this series because I wanted to know what happened from the time
that they said, Hosanna to the time, they said crucify him.
Hosanna day to crucify day. And I enjoyed that study very
much. I learned quite a bit.
So all the people follow, like, sheep in fact, in Mark, chapter
15 and verse 11 and the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so
that they should rather release Barabbas, to them.
And the people followed like sheep and you know what's
amazing? Jesus is the very best man ever
that lived. And he standing next to the
worst and they chose Barabbas, again, folks the life of a June
is the greatest life you will ever live.
It really is but sometimes people don't look at the life of
a Christian as a life. That's all that fun.
It is the greatest life you ever live.
Some people choose a life of sin and Barabbas represents sin and
all the bad stuff you can be and some people choose Barabbas in
their life, but the choose Jesus means to change your life and
have a life that's better than any life you can ever have, and
that's the life of a Christian. So failing proposal.
Number one, here's another one. So, then pilate took Jesus and
scourged him. This amazing is the second
proposal here. He scourged him.
Kind of a way of compromise. Have you ever wondered though,
if you really found, no fault in him at all?
Why you going to beat him? It was a compromise, but if you
really found no fault in him, why are you going to beat him?
I want to talk about this for just a moment.
This was a Roman Scourge and it's awful.
It was a thick stick wrapped with leather.
At the end of it were leather thongs, have some length.
And in the end of those thongs were held bits of brass and lead
and Bone filed, the sharp points.
The victim was then either stretched flat on the ground
with his backup or tied to a post.
Hanging or strap suspended from the ground.
The soldier would thrust that Scourge across the back of the
victim, tearing the flesh from his back, man.
I used to say this, you've heard me say they took us, they
scourged him. Maybe they took a cat of nine
tails. Okay.
That's not what they did. Did a little research about a
cat of nine tails, it was different than a Roman Scourge.
A cat of nine, tails, by the way, was something that did have
straps, but it had razor blade type edges.
And all that was all that did when they thrust the cat of nine
tails on the back of a victim. It superficially cut the skin.
That's bad enough, right? Right, that's not what they did
here. A Roman Scourge is also called a
flagrant and what it would be is, you've got sheep bones,
short, shared their, you have lead.
You have a lead ball. You have a LED piece, you got
all this stuff and when they thrust it across the back of the
victim, it took the flesh off. If you knew he was innocent.
Why did you beat him? Why?
Did you know that as we've always said?
That death by crucifixion or dying on a cross, on a Roman
cross was so awful. How many times we said this?
It was so awful. That a Roman citizen could never
be crucified. it was a form of execution for foreign slaves and
criminals, we've said that many times But did you also know that
the scourging that happened prior to the crucifixion was
also? So difficult also.
So horrible and horrifying a Roman citizen could never be
scourged either. What does pilot do takes an
innocent man, I got an idea, I'll just beat him.
I'll Scourge him and maybe that will suffice and maybe it goes
away. I don't know if they laid Jesus
flat on the ground. I don't know if they suspended
him up like that, I don't know. But that's what they did to
those victims. That was one of the two ways
that they did that tearing the flesh from his back, from his
body. What else did they do?
They put on a crown of thorns and the purple robe.
They put on a crown of thorns and a Purple Rope.
You know, I've probably thought in my mind it would have looked
like a crown like that, right? And that they would take it and
press it down on the head of Jesus.
I read a scholar though. It said, you know, It may have
been worse than that. It may have been a helmet of
thorns. Where the Thorns would cover the
entire head? And they would press down on the
thorns and they would do this because the outer Thorns would
not prick. The hands of the one that put it
on his head. And they would shove it down on
Jesus head like that. Perhaps, and the blood streaming
down his back. But not just that they put on a
purple robe. Why would they do that?
Why would they put on a purple robe and what else do they do?
And they smote him. They hit him with their hands in
the original. The Greek translation, get this
and they kept saying, hail King of the Jews and they kept on
punching him in the face. So, why?
He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities.
And by his stripes, we are healed.
Prophecy fulfilled. Why the purple robe?
You know what they do? I read as historian said this,
they had a game, okay? Had a game.
And the game was for with idiots and imbeciles.
Said that's a direct explanation.
And what they would do is they would take people that had some
challenges. And I hate that when people take
off, pick up somebody or take on somebody that's less fortunate,
in some way and make fun of them.
Had an awful thing. But that's what they would do
with these idiots and imbeciles, they would take them here.
What they do, they would put a purple robe on them and they
would bow down before them like they were some kind of King and
they would make fun of them. That's what they did to the Lamb
of God. The king of kings.
The Lord of lords. And Jesus says nothing amazing.
so, then what? He's beating his scourged and
then brought before the people as if to say, you will know that
I find no fault in him. In fact, in verse 5, pilate said
to them behold the man Can you imagine the bloody mess?
The Lord was a takes him before the people and he said, behold
the man, isn't it enough? Isn't it enough?
Does he really look like a king? Does he really liked it?
Look like he's gonna hurt anything.
I think pilot really thought this would suffice.
Dangerous though, look at him. Look at him.
It's bad enough for an innocent man, to be beaten.
They should have said that's enough, but that wasn't enough.
And by the way, it wasn't enough because God said it wasn't
enough. When you look and you see that
God was thoroughly in control, it should give you a greater
appreciation for Jesus. That God was doing this for you
and Jesus who could have called down those Legions of angels and
put a stop to the whole mess. It ought to give you a greater
appreciation. That Jesus was no man's victim.
He was the ultimate Victor and he was totally in control.
It doesn't lessen, the pain of the beatings and the
crucifixion. It just gives you a greater
appreciation. It was done on purpose for you
finally, though this You take him and crucify him for I find
no fault in him. And by the way, this is time
number five, of six times. Pilate said, I find no fault in
him, but there's more There's more.
Finally, they said this. He's got to die.
Because he said he was the son of God.
He said he was a Son of God. The Son of God.
Let's notice in summary now, all the things, they accuse Jesus
of, this is what they said and why he had to be crucified.
All, this is what the Jews said. Here we go.
Number one, they said he threatened to destroy the
temple. I didn't work.
They said he was an evil doer. No, I wasn't.
They said he tried to pervert the nation.
Nope, that didn't work. They said he forbade paying
taxes to Caesar. That's not what Jesus said.
Jesus says, Render unto Caesar that, which is Caesars Render
unto God, that which is God's Render unto Caesar, that, which
is Caesars, that didn't work either.
There's more then they said, oh, he's stirring up the people.
That didn't work. They said he was a political
revolutionary going to come in and start a new kingdom against
Caesar, right? That didn't work.
But then this they said he makes himself.
To be the son of God. That means this, this is what
they were saying. He's a false god pilot and we
don't like those guys. He's a false.
God. Now I'm going to tell you
something, put yourself in Pilots place.
Now, put yourself right there. Do you remember in the New
Testament when in Acts chapter 14, when Paul and Barnabas were
called Jupiter and Mercury? They actually believed it was
Idol Gods, but they believe that the idol Gods, the gods
somewhere where they were, they came down to the Earth and they
actually inhabited the Earth and dwelt among men.
So that's why on Acts chapter 14 when they look, they see.
Oh, look at these two guys here. There's Paul and Barnabas, it's
Jupiter and Mercury. Can you imagine Pilots thinking?
Now, I just scourged the son of God.
I discourage the son of God. now, what Pilot saw the
character of Jesus, he's concerned about his moral
judgment. He understands all of this, he
understands that his wife even said, do nothing about this man.
I've heard some things in a dream.
Don't touch him. Here's his fatal Panic, folks.
His fatal panic. What have I done now?
And when the Bible says, when pilate heard that he was more
afraid, it literally means he was in a frenzied panic.
I just scourged the Son of God a frenzied Panic.
What am I going to do with John chapter 19 and verse 9?
All of a sudden Jesus is taken two.
Pilots praetorian, okay? And Pilots trying to figure out,
how am I going to get out of this?
He took him two pilots. Pretoria I said, where are you
from? I guarantee he didn't mean hey,
what's your address over there Nazareth?
No. He wanted to know if you're the
Son of God, where'd you come from?
Where you from? Scared to death.
At Pilots Pretoria. Jesus already admitted.
He was a king. He was a king not of this world
and pilot wasn't impressed. But now he says, I'm the son of
God. You know, it's interesting when
he's asked the question. Where are you from?
Get this now. Very powerful, Jesus answers.
Nothing why did Jesus answer nothing?
He said absolutely nothing for two reasons.
Reason number one, Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 7.
I think it is and Isaiah chapter 53.
Yes. In verse 7 as a sheep before her
Shearer's is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
It was prophesied. That's exactly what happened.
But have you ever stopped to consider?
That might be a second reason to.
There was a second reason to Jesus had already said that.
He was a king from another world but pilot didn't buy.
It had nothing at all to do pilot rejected that had nothing
to do at all with pilot didn't mean a thing.
And so Jesus was silent. I think there's a lesson for us
folks. I really do.
I think there's a lesson for all of us.
We're going to get to that lesson just a second.
Look at first 10 though and verse 10 don't you know that I
got the power to crucify you in the power to release you.
He answered absolutely nothing. But don't you know I got the
power to crucify you or release you.
Then the next verse Jesus says, you would have no power at all.
Unless it had been given you from above.
In other words, all of that is ordained of God anyway.
Then Jesus says this get this. Therefore, the one who delivered
me to you has the Later sin. What does that mean?
And who's he talking about? So he's before Pilate and pilate
had the was the guy that could say that if Jesus would be
crucified or Not, Jesus said, you wouldn't have that Authority
if he didn't get it from my father.
And by the way, there's more the ones that deliver me to you has
the greater sin. Who is that?
Judas. He's talking about Caiaphas,
he's talking about the religious leaders, the Jewish religious
leaders. Do you know why they did not
have any write any legal right to do anything to Jesus?
And when they had the greater sin, they had, they had the
greater fault pilot had the authority to execute Jesus, but
they didn't. That's why you saying they had
the greater sin. Okay.
Have you ever stopped to think? Could anybody ever be that
guilty? To have the greater sin in this
regard. we take a step back in the Bible says this when
somebody knows, the truth teaches us, that Rejects it and
Hebrews chapter 6. It says that we crucify, the Son
of God afresh and put him to an open shame.
Have you ever stopped to consider that?
There may be a time, please hear me.
This is important. There may be a time in the life
of a person when the Lord is silent.
And when I mean silent, I mean the Lord has no longer has an
influence in their life. Remember, what happened to
Judas? All of them wonderful appeals in
the softness and the love in the Heart of Jesus.
In all that, he said, even in the Last Supper, as they sat
down there and it's to the Lord's, Supper it was Judas put
to the left of Jesus, which was the ultimate position of honor
and he turned and gave him first.
But there was a time when Jesus spoke no more everything changed
member that and finally Jesus says, whatever you're going to
do do it quickly then it says get this and Satan entered
Judas. You know what that means?
That meant that Satan was now directing his ways.
Not Jesus. Jesus was now silent.
All right. Listen to this.
That's why. When somebody drifts away.
That's why we have to be the lighthouse.
That's why we don't write people off. if you're drifting out at
sea, but you can faintly see the lighthouse on the shore.
And you can barely hear the sound of the horn from a
distance. At least, you know your way
back. We do too much, right?
And off folks. when you're too much writing off and it just
can't be Now, you're not the light.
You are not, I am not. Jesus is the light.
But we are the lighthouse. And sometimes people drift so
far, you know, what happens. It goes so long, they drift so
far, they forget where they came from and they forget how to get
back 3 years ago, held a gospel meeting in Texas. and I went out
one morning and I was, I just felt good and I started to run
And I ran and I ran I just felt better and better.
It got that second win. I just felt great.
I literally quit paying attention to where I was.
I just kept running. I ran for one hour in the
opposite direction of where I was staying.
Wow! Finally I had enough and I
thought, wait, I got it back. And I turned around, you know
what happened? I was completely lost.
I was so lost. I forgot how to get back.
I made a phone call to a guy. I said, hey I need brother
so-and-so's address, he said I don't have it but I got his
number. I had to call the guy was
staying with and ask him what's the address.
So I could put it in my phone. And I can figure my way back.
Because I was lost. When people drift, folks, we
have to still be some kind of an influence in their life so that
they can see clearly some day perhaps.
How to get back. How to get back.
Verse 12, verse 11 from that point on pilate sought to
release him verse 12. Pilots still can't get rid of
Jesus, though. He knew he was innocent but
notice what the Jews said they finally said.
If you let this man go, you're not Caesars friend.
Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar and we
know that they hated Caesar. That's how bad the hated Jesus.
They were so clever to twist it all around, and pilate knew it
would be the end of his life. Pilate knew that to tolerate a
traitor. Was the end.
Tiberius would never tolerate a traitor.
So this did it. Finally pilot had to choose
between neck and so. And now we have Pilots final
pronouncement. Here it is.
John chapter 19. Verse 13 pilot took his judgment
seat. verse 14, he says, behold your king verse 15.
Once more shall I crucify your king?
They said, let his blood be on us and on our children.
Can you imagine saying something that bad?
Let his blood be on us and on our children.
What else? Then he delivered him to be
crucified and they led him away. Folks, what's that saying about?
What's it saying about us or to us today?
I think it's saying this It doesn't matter who you are.
It doesn't matter when you live, you have a choice to make you
have a decision to make about Jesus.
And the entire point that I want to emphasize to you this morning
is this Pilot attempted repeatedly to get rid of Jesus
and he couldn't, you know, why? Because nobody can no man.
Can, if you think that we can wiggle out of our commitment to
Jesus Christ, and our final decision, we are wrong.
We are wrong. That's a choice that we need to
make. So, folks, listen to me when you
hear the invitation, when you hear, what the word of God says,
about your life. You listen.
Now, you listen to the Lord, listen to me, you listen to the
Lord, because it just may be that in time complete rejection
of Jesus, you'll stop hearing his voice, he has no more
influence. So, listen to it before the Lord
is silent. Now, the Lord is constantly
reaching out, wanting you to be saved, what I mean by silent.
Again, I want to clarify. So I'm not, I don't want you to
confuse this, it's not the Lord's giving up, but the Lord,
no longer has a voice. If you gave up on the invitation
on what to do, in order to be a Christian, don't ever let that
happen. Alright in closing.
What shall I do with Jesus? Well, he was taken to Golgotha.
He was taking a gothis, brow. He was taken to a place of.
Crucifixion, the word gone gotha.
Why is it called that? It's Aramaic for the word skull.
It's also called Calvary. That word comes from the Latin
word calva and it means bald head or skull.
What else? The skull-shaped hill in
Jerusalem is what it's being referred to.
I don't know if that's it because you know what?
You know what? There's two different Hills like
I know that I've heard that I've read that, I don't know what it
looks like. Is this the one?
Who knows? But this was served as a
representation there of it was of he'll similar to that.
And it looked like a skull. And some commentators tried to
say they called it, the place of a skull because so many people
were executed, they were skulls laying there.
I don't believe that at all. I think it's talking
specifically about the look of the Hill.
Mount Calvary Golgotha. He was crucified.
And then he had to be buried. He was buried in a rich man's
tomb. Some Scholars say it would have
been something like that. I don't know.
Some Scholars say it must have been something like that.
I don't know that either. But he was buried in a rich
man's tomb. And Joseph of Arimathea just
happened to be standing by with a brand new Tomb for the Lord.
Fulfilling the prophecy. His grave was to be assigned
among Wicked, man, but with the rich man in his death, that's
what he would be. Don't you see God is taking care
of it. All he was buried.
And on the third day that early Sunday morning, As the song we
used to sing up from the grave. He arose.
Up from the grave. He arose.
He now is sitting at the right hand of God.
He's on his throne. He's our King, he's our Lord.
And do you know, right now? Right now as we live in, as time
stands, you know what Jesus is? He's our King.
And he is our Lord. When he comes back, he will not
be those when he comes back, he will be the judge, and it's
fitting for. The Bible says, he's the one
with the nail prints in his hands.
He's calling out to you today. Are you not a Christian?
You need to be one today. You need to come today believing
in Jesus. Repent of your sins confess, his
name as the Son of God and be baptized in water for the
remission of sins. Maybe you've taken those steps.
Maybe you have drifted. Don't do that anymore.
Come back. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional
information, or you would like to receive a free Bible
correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at her
Church of Christ Bakersfield.com.
Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us.
We would love for you to be our honored guest.