The Sinless Son Rejected & Condemned

Transcript

GR 411
9/6/1981
The Sinless Son Rejected and Condemned
JOHN 19:1-7
Gil Rugh

John chapter 19 in your Bibles. John's gospel and the 19th chapter. We basically looked through chapter 18 where again Jesus is before Pilate for consideration. In our last study together, we spent some time looking at the character of Pontius Pilate, something of his rule, the position he occupied, what a fragile position it was, held at the whim of the Caesar, and it was dependent upon his ability to control this region, keeping it tranquil and in submission to the Romans without a lot of problems. We also looked at the character of the man Herod Antipas, before whom Jesus Christ stands as well to be judged. Both Herod and Pilate find Him innocent, and Herod sends Him back to Pilate for final determination.

In verse 38 of chapter 18, the second statement, "When he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them, 'I find no guilt in Him. But you have a custom that I should release to you at the Passover. Do you wish then that I release for you the king of the Jews?'" Now we don't know anything else about this custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover time. It perhaps has its origin in the fact that Israel was a prisoner in Egypt. And Passover signifies the release of the prisoner from bondage. So it became the custom to have a prisoner released to typify again that Israel was a prisoner that had been released by God from Egypt.

At any rate, this custom is mentioned. Pilate does it with the seeming presupposition that Israel, the nation on this occasion, rather than choosing a known criminal, one who is guilty in everyone's eyes, will instead choose Christ. Pilate knew that the Jews had delivered Jesus up because they were envious of Him. They were jealous. And at this point, Pilate still thinks that there is enough integrity in the leaders of Israel that they will not choose a guilty man over an innocent man just because of their envy and jealousy.

Verse 40 says they cried out and wanted Barabbas. But in the flow of events, there's something that goes in between verses 39 and 40 that we ought to at least be aware of. Back up to Matthew chapter 27, verse 15 where he counts what John has said. "Now at the feast the governor (talking about Pilate here) was accustomed to release for the multitude any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they were holding at that time a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?' For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him up." So you see Pilate is offering them a choice here. But a choice that he believes will result in the freeing of an innocent man. That when it gets down to the bottom line, these religious leaders will set aside their envy and their jealousy so that justice might be carried out. You note here that being religious is no guarantee, no assurance, that an individual is going to conduct himself in a proper or right manner.

Now evidently they have time to think about this for a moment, to stir up the multitude to choose Christ over Barabbas. Because verse 19 tells us that Pilate is interrupted by a message. "And while he was sitting on the judgment- seat, his wife sent to him saying, 'Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."' Here you note again, a pagan woman about whom we know nothing, except that she is the wife of the Roman governor, here declares Christ to be a righteous man, and evidently God has seen fit to plague her in her dreams through the night regarding the person of Jesus Christ, so that she is greatly agitated. So much so that she interrupts her husband in the midst of these proceedings to warn him that he ought to have nothing to do with that righteousness Man. By that she means to release Him. Don't allow yourself to be ensnared in punishing that righteous Man. This is going to weigh upon Pilate, as we'll see in our later study of chapter 19, that he is fearful of the situation now. He becomes alarmed and afraid regarding the person that he confronts. But during this interruption evidently, the Jewish leaders have opportunity to stir the multitude even further. And in verse 20 of chapter 27 says, "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. But the governor answered and said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, 'Barabbas.'"

So back in John chapter 18, verse 40, "They cried out again, saying, 'Not this Man, but Barabbas.' Now Barabbas was a robber." We’re told in the other gospels that he had taken part in an insurrection, perhaps against the Roman rule as part of the Zealots group and murder had been carried out in that insurgency. So Barabbas is a convicted criminal, a convicted murderer and robber. The Jews cry out, "Release Barabbas, Execute Christ." This is picked up by Peter over in Acts chapter 3. I’d like to look at a number of parallel passages at different times this morning with you.

Acts chapter 3. Peter is speaking and he addresses the nation Israel at the temple. In verse 13 he says, "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him." So you note the burden of responsibility that is placed upon the Jews. Pilate had determined to release Christ, but you would not have it so. "But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead,—a fact to which we are witnesses." So you note the choice that they made. Rather than the Righteous and Holy Son of God, we would prefer to have a murderer. Now this kind of choice in an even more magnified way is going to be offered to people at a future time again. Remember at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, after He has ruled and reigned over the earth for a thousand years, in absolute holiness and righteousness. At the end of that thousand years, Satan is loosed, set free to go throughout the earth and deceive men again. And as a result of that, a multitude like the sand of the sea choose to have Satan as their king rather than Jesus Christ. The choice has not changed. People are unwilling to have Jesus Christ as King, as Lord, and they make all kinds of other decisions. But they are all prefaced by this one basic decision. The decision to release Barabbas is not made out of a love for Barabbas. It is made out of a hate for Jesus Christ. So today decisions made regarding the lordship in a life are made out of a basic decision that a person is unwilling to have Jesus Christ as Lord. Unwilling to have Him as King, as Savior. Then people move out from that to decide whom and what will rule in their life.

Back to John chapter 19. Pilate is not done. He repeatedly attempts to have Jesus released. This is not to take Pilate off the hook because Pilate is a-countable as the Roman authority that crucifixion could not occur without his approval. Even though the Jews are held more responsible, Jesus will speak to this later as well, but nonetheless it is his own weakness, his own fear, his own jealousy for his own position, fear of losing that position that keeps him from standing firm in doing right.

So chapter 19 opens, "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe; and they began to come up to Him, and say, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and to give Him blows in the face. And Pilate came out again, and said to them, 'Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.'" Now it's amazing as you consider the account being given here, that up in chapter 18, verse 38, the last statement, Pilate says "I find no guilt in Him." At the end of verse 4 he declares, "I find no guilt in Him." But in the midst of all this, he has Jesus Christ scourged. And if you want to read about an awful punishment, get a Bible dictionary or encyclopedia and read about scourging. A punishment so cruel and so severe it was forbidden to scourge a Roman citizen. That was too severe, too degrading a punishment. You remember Paul acts upon this in the Book of Acts as he is about to be scourged, he asks the question "Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman citizen?" and the commander is alarmed. They had even come to the brink of scourging one who was a Roman, and he is afraid for his own position. Scourging took place, they either took rods or leather thongs and at the end of the rods or leather thongs was attached bits of metal, sharpened bone. And the person was stretched over a pillar. They had a pillar in Jerusalem that they believed was used for this purpose at the time of Christ, and the person was stretched over this to tighten the skin across the back and then he was beaten. It was not unusual for a man to die from the scourging. It was normal practice to scourge one who was to be crucified. One, to increase the agony; and two, it hastened the death. An early writer in biblical times describes the scourging and notes that it laid bare the bones of the back and often even the internal organs. The beating would be so severe. So we ought to have in mind something of the severity of the punishment that takes place here, a punishment that in and of itself often results in death. Not simply a beating, but a scourging.

Now what Pilate is attempting or hopes to do is to satisfy the demands of the Jews, short of crucifixion. But you get something of the character of Pilate here. He is even willing to scourge an innocent man to satisfy the demands of the Jews. The soldiers join in with the ridicule and the mockery. They make a crown of thorns and place it on His head. And I take it this increased the agony. It was placed upon the head as part of their mockery. Threw a purple robe around Him. Then they began to mock Him, for you see this delights the Romans. Here are these Romans who despise the Jews. Here’s one who professes to be King of the Jews, and they have the opportunity to make fun of Him, to mock Him. So they dressed Him up as a mock king, and then proceed to bow down to Him. "Hail, King of the Jews," then to come up and strike Him in the face. The brutality of it all, the humiliation that is taking place. And it’s awesome when you think of the contrast—Jesus Christ has been scourged, having the crown of thorns placed upon His head, being beaten in the face by these Roman soldiers, the humility, the suffering of it all.

Go back to Isaiah. Two passages, Isaiah chapter 6. I couldn't help but think of Isaiah 6 as the contrast. We've already looked at Isaiah 6 in our study of the Gospel of John, but the tremendous contrast that exists between the preincarnate glory of Jesus Christ and then as Paul writes to the Philippians and tells us that Jesus Christ humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross, Philippians chapter 2. And Isaiah chapter 6 you see something of the glory of Christ before He became a man. "In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne..." Remember John chapter 12 told us that this was Jesus Christ that Isaiah saw. "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.' And the foundation of the thresholds trembled at the voice of Him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke." You see something of the glory and splendor that belonged to Jesus Christ by right of His being the Son of God, the King, the Lord. And then you see Him with the total degradation, humiliation that He is voluntarily enduring at the hands of Pilate and the Jews and the Roman soldiers. There could be no greater contrast. For no one ever had such great glory and exhalation as the preincarnate Christ. No one suffered such humiliation and degradation as Jesus Christ at His crucifixion.

Isaiah chapter 53 prophesied this very event that we're studying now in
John in some detail. Isaiah, writing some 800 years before Christ. And in Isaiah 52, verse 14, "Just as many were astonished at you, so His appearance was marred more than any man..." You note the extent of the suffering that Christ undergoes on this occasion, that God says His appearance is marred more than any man. "His form, more than the sons of men..." Down in chapter 53, verse 2, "He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him. Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” The Romans don’t stand in awe in the presence of Jesus Christ on this occasion. To them, He is a figure to be mocked and ridiculed. He has no stately form, no majesty that was attracting them. "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." The nation Israel had no recognition of who He was.

Note verses 4-6, got to appreciate what is going on in chapter 19 is for us in our place to bear our sins, to bear our punishment. Verse 4, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." We’re going to see this in just a few moments that the Jews believed that this punishment is of God. Now you note how totally twisted the religious mind can be, that here the Jews are in the process of crucifying the Son of God and they declare it to be an act of God. They believe it is God’s doing. Remarkable how twisted the mind of the unbeliever can be.

Verse 5. "He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” And this account continues about His silence in the presence of His accusers, the presence of those who would judge Him. All to be an offering for our sin.

One passage in the New Testament on this, Hebrews chapter 12. Here Jesus Christ is set down as the pattern for you and I as believers. Now Jesus Christ’s life is not intended to be a life we follow and thus are saved by. We are saved by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith in the Son of God. However, His life is a pattern for those who have been saved, and that’s what the writer to the Hebrews is talking about in chapter 12. Verse 1, ’’Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside very encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” And you ought to underline that word endurance just in passing. ’’Fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus Christ endured the humiliation, He endured the suffering, He endured the shame because He was looking beyond that to the joy of exaltation in His Father’s presence, the accomplishment of salvation on behalf of sinful mankind. So He endured that. Endurance ought to be a characteristic of every child of God.

So we come back to John 19. The tremendous suffering here, and I don't believe we have an appreciation of the depth of the agony that Jesus is experiencing. The extent of the cruelty that He is suffering, for you see here Satan has opportunity to buffet and attack the Son of God in a way that He has never had before or would never have since. And verse 4, Pilate brings Him and declares again, ”1 find no guilt in Him.” And Pilate seems to expect that there will be a wave of sympathy, that here is a man who is again declared to be innocent. And is in such a pitiful state, having been scourged, having been beaten by Roman soldiers, wearing a crown of thorns. Could this fail to move the multitude and the Jewish leaders to pity and sympathy? But Pilate failed to calculate how deep the hatred of the unregenerate man is toward Jesus Christ. A mistake that we often make. We fail to take into consideration how deep and strong the hatred of the unbeliever is toward the person and work of Jesus Christ. These who were so meticulous in observing minute details of the Law, so scrupulous about religious traditions, but their hatred of the Son of God is supernatural. And that is true of every single unbeliever. How else can you account for the fact that they are not moved by this great demonstration of love. That One would love them enough to endure such suffering on their behalf. But they are unmoved. They are unaffected because of the depth of hatred and antagonism the unbelieving person has toward Jesus Christ. The character of the unbeliever is no different today than it was 2,000 years ago. The character of an unbeliever sitting in this church auditorium is the same as the character of the chief priests or the Jewish leaders in Jesus' time. A heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Who can know it, Jeremiah wrote. Pilate didn’t because he didn’t calculate that the hatred was this deep, this vehement.

Verse 5. "Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ’Behold, the Man!’" Draw your attention to this Man. Focus your attention on Him, the one that I have declared innocent that Herod has declared innocent. But they are unaffected. They are unmoved.
It could be that the Spirit of God was using Pilate as a spokesman, even as He had used Caiaphas earlier in John, to declare that it is necessary for one man to die for the nation so that the whole nation not die. This statement "Behold, the Man." Mindful of a statement in prophecy, back in Zechariah chapter 6. This statement, just pick up with verse 11, "And take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ’Thus says the Lord of hosts, ’Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord." This is a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, and here's the statement, "Behold, the Man!" And in John 19, "Behold, the Man!" Crowned but not crowned with glory on that occasion. Crowned with a crown of thorns, here to suffer and die. But a striking statement that I'm sure many of these experts in Jewish Law would identify. "Behold, the Man!" "Behold, a man." God's Man, God's branch, here to accomplish God's purposes.

Over in John chapter 1, verse 14, John had written "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." But the unbeliever didn't behold the glory. They failed to perceive the glory, so here is the Word become flesh, presented now to the nation Israel by a pagan governor. "Behold, the Man!"

Back to John 19. The response has not changed. Verse 6, "When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, 'Crucify, crucify!'" Now you note who was taking the leadership here—the chief priests, the officers. They lead the way in opposition to Jesus Christ. And again, I don't think that has changed. The New Testament verifies this as well as the Old Testament, that religious leaders lead the way in opposition to Jesus Christ. They are those who promote, foment, antagonism, and hatred, who stir the hatred. Lead the rebellion against Jesus Christ. Sometimes in more subtle ways, sometimes in less subtle ways. But here it is the leaders of the nation Israel. Those who are the most religious, the most righteous, humanly speaking, in the eyes of men, leading the opposition to Jesus Christ. They are not moved to sympathy. There is nothing that can be done by Jesus Christ or to Jesus Christ that changes the set of their heart against Him. They are not moved by the same pity that even Pilate feels on this occasion. "Crucify, crucify!" Pilate seems to evidence disgust here, because he says "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him." And you get the sense of disgust that he is repulsed by the whole thing. That these so seemingly righteous could be so vile and vehement of an innocent man. That even in this pitiful state they still cry out for crucifixion. Pilate’s disgust manifests itself when he says, "Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” Even though I've been willing to go this far, you crucify Him because I don't find Him guilty.

Now, it's sarcasm because it's already been made abundantly clear that the Jews have no right to crucify. Pilate is not giving them the right and they recognize that, and they have no intention of taking over from the Romans here, but it just shows Pilate's disgust. I think again that we eluded to this in our last study.

Turn back to Exodus chapter 12, just so you've got it marked in your minds and in your Bibles. I think this statement of the innocence of Jesus Christ is crucial. It's been demonstrated repeatedly through His life, but now that you come to the conclusion of His life even the unregenerate, Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate, declare Him innocent. And this is important because He is about to die on the cross, as the Lamb of God, and so having been examined as God's Passover Lamb, He is declared to be unblemished, spotless, according to the demands set down in Exodus chapter 12, verse 5. Instructions for the Passover Lamb, "Your Lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats." You note. An unblemished male. This is elaborated over in Leviticus chapter 22, verses 17-25, but there more elaboration is given that this must be a lamb without blemish, without spot. So Pilate declares Him to be.

Turn over to II Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21. A verse that many of you have memorized. "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” You see that God has placed our sin upon Him and His righteousness upon us. But Christ is the One who knew no sin, who Himself was without sin because if He Himself had sin, He would have had to die for His own sin. It took one who was righteous in every way, perfect in every way, to be able to stand and bear the penalty, bear the sin of sinful men.

Over in Hebrews chapter 7 this fact is repeated. Hebrews 7:26, "It was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens." That's the high priest we have—holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners. Peter, the verse we looked at before and mentioned in our study—I Peter chapter 1, verse 18, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things, like silver or gold from your empty way of life, inherited from your forefathers..." What a tragedy that there are still people today who think they're going to be saved because of the traditions they got from their parents. They were raised Lutherans, they were raised Baptists, they were raised Presbyterians, they were raised Catholic, they were raised something. All of us were raised something! And multitudes of people putting their confidence in the traditions that they inherited from their parents, where the Word of God which is the final authority in all these subjects says that's empty. That's futile. You're not redeemed in that way. "But with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." Undefiled in any way. Peter says the same thing in chapter 2, verse 22, "Christ is the one who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, he did not revile in return; while suffering He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and life to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed." One other passage. I John 3, verse 5, "And you know that He appeared in order to take away sin, and in Him there is no sin." Essential requirement in anyone who will take away sin, there must be no sin in Him, and Jesus Christ is the only One who meets that demand of God. I cannot take care of your sin. There is not a preacher, a priest, a rabbi, any individual on the face of the earth who can take away sin. Only Jesus Christ because He alone is the sinless Lamb of God. I have my own sin, you have your own sin, but He was without sin. And as the sinless Son of God, He died to pay the penalty for sin.

Come back to John 19. So this statement of Pilate at this crucial juncture is important, 1 think. That 3 times now immediately preceding the crucifixion, John has reported that Pilate has declared Him to be innocent, declared Him to be without guilt. Important. This is not a prejudiced judge. This is not a man who has anything to gain by such a declaration, but rather the opposite is true. All the pressure is on him to find a reason to crucify Him. But in spite of it, he declares Him to be innocent. And such He is.

The Jews make a statement that tells why they want Him crucified. "The Jews answered him, 'We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.'" We have a law—now note here. Here are people who are very religious, who are now resorting to the use of the Scripture to validate the execution of the Son of God. Now we see here a principle that we have observed on other occasions, that just because a person uses Scripture, just because a person quotes from the Bible, says nothing about whether they are true or not, because much of what is quoted is out of context. Here they are using Scripture to give weight to their demand to crucify the Son of God.

Leviticus chapter 24 and verse 16 says that anyone who blasphemes shall be put to death by stoning. Leviticus 24:16, "Moreover the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death, all the congregation shall certainly stone him, the alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the name shall be put to death." Scripture says that. That's right. They say He is blaspheming because He made Himself out to be the Son of God. Now you note, in spite of all the trickery of men today, many of the cults that use the Scripture and yet deny the deity of Jesus Christ. To the Jews the claim was very clear. When He claimed to be the Son of God, He claimed to be deity. If He is not deity, He is a blasphemer, worthy of death. And we ought to see the issue is very clear. The Jews have a point. Either Jesus Christ is indeed deity, the Son of God, or Jesus Christ indeed deserves to die! According to the Law of God. The problem is, He is the person He claims to be. He is the Son of God. But you see, in their twisted minds where they use the Scriptures for their own ends, they miss what the Scripture reveals. They miss the Son of God and they twist the Scripture to support the sinful desires of their heart. That’s why it is so important for us to know the Word of God, to understand the Word of God in its context. Not to just throw verses out here and verses there. We ought not to be surprised at the unbeliever using Scripture. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, ’Don't be amazed that Satan’s servants masquerade as angels of light.' Satan himself does! Satan himself used Scripture in his attack on Christ in the temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the Scripture is misused and abused, and many unsuspecting people are lured along because in their heart they don’t believe and so they are set in their opposition to Jesus Christ and opened to be deceived, and opened to be led astray because the basic premise of their life, their basic foundation is opposition and resistance to Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The concern to me in a group like this is that you have been confronted with the truth of God that has been revealed in Jesus Christ. You too have been privileged to behold the Man, Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Word of God. But where are you? These Jewish leaders had been repeated confronted with Jesus Christ during His years of ministry, had heard Him teach, had seen Him work and their hatred simply deepened. You've been exposed to Him. Where are you this morning? You're not indifferent. That's a trap of the devil. There's no such thing as an indifferent person. There are those who are for Jesus Christ, and there are those who are against Jesus Christ. Now there are those whose animosity towards Christ is more evident and there are those whose animosity towards Christ is less evident. But there are only two kinds of people—those who believe in Him, the Son of God who died for their sins, and those who do not. Where are you?

Let me ask you another question, if you haven't believed in Him, why haven't you? Why do you think you can look and consider 1) He loved you so that He would bear this kind of indignity for you, and yet you can be unmoved by it, unaffected by it? Perhaps you need to ponder and consider how hard your heart really is. How deep the animosity really lays, that you might consider that in love Jesus Christ died for you. If you will believe in Him, you will have forgiveness. You'll have cleansing. You'll be brought into a personal relationship with Him who is life.

We who have believed in Him ought never to forget the tremendous price of our redemption. That the Son of God had to leave the glories of heaven where the Seraphim proclaimed continuously His holiness to come and suffer the greatest possible humiliation, degradation, the agony of death on a cross so that we might know what it means to be forgiven our sins, to have a personal relationship with God and be destined ourselves to the glory of His presence. Let's pray together.