The King of the World, is also the Prince of Peace and the Light and the Life and our very best friend.
Please read John 19:1-7
The Crown of Thorns
1 So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him [a]scourged (flogged, whipped). 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him; 3 and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], “Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!” And they slapped Him in the face. 4 Then Pilate came out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, “Look! The Man!” 6 When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify [Him]! Crucify [Him]!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law [regarding blasphemy], and according to that law He should die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
I’ve read these seven verses many times and all I can do is feel it, like there are two horrible things here, the first is what Jesus went through here and the second is the fury of the chief priests and other Jews. And that fury seems so wrong. So much like jealousy and maybe a little fear caused that fury. Yes, I know God planned this and made this happen, but still, the horror of it is so hard to go through every time I read it.
Please read John 19:8-12
8So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more [b]alarmed and afraid. 9 He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not answer him. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the [c]one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own].” 12 As a result of this, Pilate kept making efforts to release Him, but the Jews kept screaming, “[d]If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who makes himself out [to be] a king opposes Caesar [and rebels against the emperor]!”
Just sit with it. There’s so much here it’s like Pilate’s fear turns out not to help him, because the Jews switch tactics to the political. And once that happens, Jesus loses, though we know this was God’s plan, it doesn’t make it any easier to miss the horror of it as it happens, (or happened).
Please read John 19:13-15
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called [e]The Pavement, but in [f]Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the [g]Passover [week], and it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” 15 But they shouted, “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!”
He is most certainly our King. He’s the King of the heavenly kingdom those of us who are faithful belong to. But He is also our Savior and our greatest friend.
The Crucifixion
Please read John 19:16
16 Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.
Just stop. Right there. Can you see how this happened? Do you realize this was part of God’s plan or do you see it as a tragedy and if so, is it possible to see it both ways at once? I will suggest it is because I feel it that way. It’s horrific and also God’s plan to save me from all the sins I have every committed and will ever commit on my walk through this life of faith.
Please read John 19:17-22
17 So they took Jesus, and He went out, [h]bearing His own cross, to the place called [i]the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription [on a placard] and put it on the cross. And it was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 And many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but, ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written I have written [and it remains written].”
I think Pilate realized something that the chief priests could not see in their jealousy and self-righteousness. I’m not saying he is without sin in this, but even he could have chosen to believe and then be forgiven. The problem is jealousy and self-righteousness often block the faith to believe.
Please read John 19:23-25a
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the [j]tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “They divided My outer clothing among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” 25 So the soldiers did these things.
See? Even here He’s fulfilling prophecies. So many His life, death and soon to come resurrection fulfilled, yet there are more and those are waiting for His return.
Please read John 19:25b-27
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister [[k]Salome], [l]Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the [m]disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Jesus made sure His mother would be taken care of by a faithful one. There’s something fundamental here. Jesus never asks us to go alone, to be alone. He wants us to be together.
Please read John 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of [n]sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] [o]gave up His spirit.
The best last words ever. Three beautiful words. Everything He came to do, and all His dying accomplished, finished.
Please read John 19:31-37
Care of the Body of Jesus
31 Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs [p]broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out. 35 And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe. 36 For these things took place to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of His shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look at Him whom they have pierced.”
So many prophecies fulfilled. These all included as stated so that you may believe. Because the point of His coming was to have you believe He is who He says He is and believe in what He has done for you.
Please read John 19:38-42
38 And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] [q]pounds. 40 So they took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
There’s a line in a song that says, Friday’s good because Sunday’s coming. So while it’s so sad and grief is something we all know, this death is the one we all need to know about, because this one is not permanent and no one who believes in Him will have a permanent death either. But first we sit here with the Light of the World dead and in our grief and quiet we just wait.
Footnotes
[a] John 19:1 -Pilate took Jesus and had Him [a]scourged (flogged, whipped).- Because Pilate viewed Jesus as innocent, he may have ordered the beating expecting that the Jews would consider it adequate punishment and consent to Jesus’ release. Scourging was a horrific, brutal form of punishment. The glass and metal of the whip tore the body apart, exposing the vital organs. Men frequently died of the scourging.
[b] John 19:8 -he was [even] more [b]alarmed and afraid.- As a Roman pagan, Pilate would have been superstitious and may have feared that Jesus actually had some sort of magical or divine power.
[c] John 19:11 -For this reason the sin and guilt of the [c]one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own].- This may refer to Judas Iscariot, but Caiaphas may be the more likely one since he was directly responsible for Jesus’ going before Pilate.
[d] John 19:12 –[d]If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar!- This put political pressure on Pilate. The Jews indicated if Pilate released Jesus they would inform Rome and Pilate’s career would be in jeopardy.
[e] John 19:13 -on the judgment seat at a place called [e]The Pavement,- Gr The Lithostrotos, i.e. the Mosaic Pavement, the Stone Platform.
[f] John 19:13 –[f]Hebrew, Gabbatha.- I.e. Jewish Aramaic.
[g] John 19:14 -Now it was the day of Preparation for the [g]Passover [week]- See note 18:28.
[h] John 19:17 -So they took Jesus, and He went out, [h]bearing His own cross- The vertical post remained permanently in the ground. Jesus carried the cross beam.
[i] John 19:17 -to the place called [i]the Place of the Skull- Latin: Calvarius or Calvary; Aram: Golgotha; Greek: Kranion.
[j] John 19:23 -But the [j]tunic was seamless- Gr khiton, the long shirtlike undergarment worn next to the skin.
[k] John 19:25 -His mother’s sister [[k]Salome]- The mother of the apostles John and James, the sons of Zebedee.
[l] John 19:25 –[l]Mary the wife of Clopas- The mother of James the Younger (also called James the Less). Believed to be a sister or sister-in-law of Jesus’ mother.
[m] John 19:26 -and the [m]disciple whom He loved- John, the Apostle and author of this Gospel was Jesus’ cousin.
[n] John 19:29 -A jar full of [n]sour wine- This sour wine was not to dull the senses, but to provide minimal relief to the victim. The wine mixed with gall (myrrh) that Jesus earlier had refused to drink (Matt 27:34; Mark 15:23) had narcotic qualities to deaden the pain.
[o] John 19:30 -And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] [o]gave up His spirit.- This wording implies that Jesus voluntarily and sovereignly released His spirit from His body in submission to God’s plan.
[p] John 19:31 -the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs [p]broken- After the legs were broken with a heavy blow, the condemned prisoner could no longer push upwards to assist his own breathing and would soon suffocate due to the awkward position that was forced on him by crucifixion. At the same time, breaking the legs was more painful than a quicker end with the point of a spear.
[q] John 19:39 -about a hundred [Roman] [q]pounds- Lit litras, equal to 12 oz each.
Menu for this study.
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