Lenten Series #5 Behold The Man John 19:1-22 Pastor Barry Kerner
Lenten Series #5
Behold The Man
John 19:1-22
Pastor Barry Kerner
A group of people volunteered to do a parachute jump for charity. On their first day of training, the instructor made an important point about preparing for landing at 300 feet off the ground. One woman asked “How do you know when you’re at 300 feet?” The instructor smiled and said: “Good question. At 300 feet you can recognize the faces of people on the ground.” The woman thought about this for a moment and then said: “What happens if there’s nobody there I know?”
If you’ll open your Bibles to John chapter 19 we’re going to be reading verses 1 through 22.
Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” 7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
Recognizing people… it’s an important part of living. It’s embarrassing when somebody comes up to you and they know you but you’re pretty sure you don’t know them!
In our text today, we have a number of people who don’t know WHO Jesus is.
John 19:2-3 says, “The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands.”
THEY DIDN’T REALLY BELIEVE HE WAS A KING… BUT HE IS!
John 19:6-7 tells us that, “The Jews answered (Pilate), ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.’”
THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE HE WAS THE SON OF GOD… BUT HE IS!
In John 19:15, “Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’”
THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE JESUS WAS THEIR KING and yet Philippians 4:9-10 tells us the day is coming that “At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The soldiers, the Jews and the chief priests none of them recognized who Jesus was! But there’s one man on the scene who seemed to get it right. One man who spoke as if he almost knew who Jesus was. Pontius Pilate
In John 19:5, He stands before the masses and declares: “Behold the man!”
And again in John 19:14, Pilate speaks and says: “Behold your King!”
And in John 19:15 he asks: “Would you have me crucify your King?”
Each phrase has power. Each phrase has a deep a powerful meaning. Each phrase was spoken as if they were the very words of God. It’s almost like… Pilate is reading from a script. In fact, I think he was reading from a Script… God’s script.
Acts 4:27-28 declared that, “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”
You see, there was a script and Pilate and Herod were reading from that same script. It was a script God had written LONG beforehand. And this wouldn’t have been the first time that somebody read from God’s script: In John 11:48-51 we’re told “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘… You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation’”
Caiaphas didn’t speak on his own he was reading from the script. And I don’t think Pilate said what he said that day on his own. I personally believe that the words that Pilate spoke that day were the words that God spoke… through Pilate For example, Pilate stood before the crowd & declared “BEHOLD THE MAN!”
Now, this puzzled me for a little while. The phrase didn’t seem to make any sense! Why Pilate would say that? It just doesn’t seem to … mean anything. Then someone noted that Pilate didn’t want to crucify Jesus. Pilate saw this whole episode as totally unnecessary and irrational. He didn’t understand the hatred that drove these people. And so, Pilate’s made this declaration “HERE IS THE MAN you find so dangerous and threatening: can you not see he is harmless and somewhat ridiculous?”
Essentially, Pilate is mocking the Jews for their cruelty, and he’d like to shame them into changing their minds. And that’s probably what drove Pilate to say what HE said. But there’s another layer of meaning to that statement: “BEHOLD THE MAN.” There’s a layer of meaning that I believe GOD wants us to see.
You see, without realizing it, Pilate had quoted a Messianic prophecy from Zechariah 6:12 “BEHOLD THE MAN whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.” This was such an obvious Messianic prophecy, that the Targum, which was an ancient Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible from about the 1st century AD, declared: “BEHOLD THE MAN, Messiah is his name.”
Jesus… was THAT man! He’d come to fulfill even that prophecy from Zechariah: “Behold The Man.”
It’s also interesting that, when Jesus stood before Pilate, it was on a Friday morning. Friday. Does anyone know what day of the week that is? It’s the 6th day of the week, isn’t it? Do you recall what God created on the 6th day of creation? MAN! Genesis 2:7 tells us “the LORD God formed THE MAN of dust…” That MAN was ADAM.
And the Bible teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit.” The Bible goes on to say in I Corinthians 15:21-22′ Because that FIRST Adam chose to sin “… by A MAN came death, (and) by A MAN (Jesus) has also come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
You see, Jesus, was the second Adam. He was THE MAN who took away my sin and disgrace. He was the ADAM who defeated death and gave me everlasting life!
So… what God is saying to us here is this: DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? Do you believe that Jesus is “The Man” who took away your sin and disgrace, and has brought you eternal life? BEHOLD (says God) THIS IS THE MAN!… Do you believe in Him!
Pilate also asks the Jews “Would you have me crucify your King?” It’s like he’s pleading with the Jews to reconsider their decision. But notice how the Jews respond in John 19:15, “We have no King but Caesar”
We have no king but Caesar? Seriously? Now, just a history lesson for those of you who don’t know this – but the Jews hated the Romans, and they despised Caesar. Rome controlled and dominated Israel, and the people longed to be an independent nation where they could be in charge of their own lives. they were not a free people – and they hated that. And yet, when asked if they would crucify their King (Jesus) they basically said “we’d rather be enslaved than accept Jesus.”
I’ve seen that kind of attitude numerous times. I even had one troubled and miserable young man tell me – “Your Christianity may work for you but it doesn’t work for me” In other words, “I’d rather suffer MY way. I’d rather be miserable all MY life than to turn to Jesus for help.” People want to freed from their unhappiness, but they don’t want Jesus’ help.
And yet in John 8:34-36 Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” In other words – if you want to be freed from your burdens and troubles… turn to Jesus! If the Son sets you free, you’ll be free indeed!
Lastly, let’s take a look Pilate’s words: “Behold Your King!” Now, I don’t think Pilate really thought that Jesus was a King. I think Pilate was just annoyed by the Jewish leaders and he wanted to get their goat. And so he says “BEHOLD YOUR KING” … and the Jews take the bait! “They cried out, “Away with him, away with him. Crucify him!”
So, when Jesus hung on the cross, Pilate tweaked them again. Pilate had a plaque placed above Jesus head declaring “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19) Pilate wanted to remind them “You wanted to Crucify this man, Then KNOW that you have crucified your King.”
And that was the message that God wanted the Jews to remember: “You crucified your king!” Once again, I believe God inspired Pilate to make that statement, because God brought that topic up again about a month later. The day was Pentecost – and a huge number of Jews had gathered in Jerusalem to observe that feast. God got their attention when the Spirit came upon the Apostles, and they began to speak in languages they’d never learned telling of the mighty works of God. It was so unusual – that a large crowd gathered.
Peter began to preach to them explaining from Old Testament prophecies that Jesus was their Messiah – the KING they had waited so long for. And then, Peter told them, “YOU CRUCIFIED HIM!” In Acts 2:22-23 Peter preached, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, YOU CRUCIFIED AND KILLED by the hands of lawless men.”
Later, in Acts 3, Peter is driving home the same point to a different crowd: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him… YOU KILLED THE AUTHOR OF LIFE, whom God raised from the dead.” (Acts 3:13 & 15)
God drove it home, over and over again – YOU crucified you King. Did you realize that that’s what Scripture says that you and I did? It was because of our sins that Christ was on the cross. In 1 Peter 2:24 we’re told “(Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” It’s important that we understand that truth: Jesus died to take away YOUR sins… and MINE.
Back in the 1600s there was a famous Dutch painter named Rembrandt. He did numerous famous paintings but there was one that particularly unique called “The Raising of the Cross.” There at the base of the cross Rembrandt painted… HIMSELF. Rembrandt wanted his audience to understand that he believed that it was his sins that put Christ on the cross.
There’s a song that drives that home: “How Deep The Father’s Love For Us.”
The words of the 2nd and 3rd verses go “Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear MY MOCKING VOICE call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished.
“I will not boast in anything – no gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.”
Now, one last thought here: Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but He died there because He VOLUNTEERED to be crucified! It was His idea. He died there so that our sins could be forgiven and so we could be changed. Look again at 1 Peter 2:24 “(Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, THAT we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
Jesus didn’t do what He did because He hated you! He didn’t do it because He thought “I’ve got to do that, but I don’t want to do that, and I don’t even like these people!” No. He died on the cross because YOU mattered to Him. We’re told, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” He LOVED YOU.
You see, Jesus wasn’t nailed to the Cross BY our sins! He volunteered to be nailed there… FOR our sins. Jesus freely offered His life in exchange for yours and mine; because He wanted to free us from our sins.
That’s the whole concept here. He died so that you could be free. And the way in which you accept His free gift is simple. It’s not complex. He’s not making you jump though hoops. It’s very simple. In fact it talks about in Acts chapter 2 verse 38. You want to change your life? Do you want to be forgiven of your sins? Well, all you have to do is “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The idea is – it’s talked about in Romans 6 – that just as Jesus died FOR your sins, you choose to die TO your past. You say “I don’t want to be that person anymore!” And then, just as Jesus was buried in the ground, you allow yourself to be buried in a watery grave. You join with Jesus. Jesus died and was buried for you. And now you die to your sins and are buried with Him. But you don’t stay there! You see, Jesus didn’t stay there. He rose from the grave to give us a new life. And so, YOU rise from that watery grave to “walk in newness of life.” It’s that simple.