The Love of Christ: His Suffering
John 19:1-27
I. Jesus endured beating and mocking for you; 19:1-16.
1 Then 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 struck him in the face.
Pilate had failed in his manipulative attempt to release Jesus, so he devised another plan. The Jews normally protested the Romans for their harsh treatment of Jews. The next step was to have Jesus whipped to appease the Jews and justify Jesus' release. To the robe and crown, they added their verbal taunts: "Hail, King of the Jews!" The soldiers administered the slap of rebuke or challenge on Jesus.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "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!"
What problems could such a pathetic figure cause? Pilate's introduction of Jesus in "Here is the Man!" is filled with sarcasm toward the Jews. Pilate's second verdict was once again a declaration of innocence.
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 Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
The Jewish reaction was swift. Pilate’s strategy was shattered by their cries to "Crucify!"" Riots were something that Rome could not tolerate, so many leaders were removed from their posts if they failed to keep the Roman peace. In complete frustration with Pilate's manipulation, the Jews blurted out their real concern. The charge of treason against Jesus was a Jewish sham, created to obtain a Roman sentence of death against Him. But now their real concern was clear. The Jews refused to accept the fact that Jesus claimed to have a direct relationship with God, and therefore they interpreted His statements as though He made Himself 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."
The words "Son of God" caused Pilate some fear. All Romans had heard stories about the gods visiting the earth in human form. The possibility that Jesus was some sort of divine person required another review of the case. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. So, Pilate retreated for reconsideration.
Pilate's response shows he wants the answer and respect he deserves. Although Jesus had remained silent concerning Pilate's probe of "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" He responded to Pilate's claim of authority over Him. Pilate was not in control of Jesus, and Jesus was not ready to let Pilate think he was. Indeed, even though Pilate believed he was the presiding judge, Jesus was doing the judging.
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews 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 Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "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. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
The Jewish leadership could not have chosen a more forceful argument to dissolve Pilate's opposition to their demands than the challenge that Pilate was not loyal to Caesar. It was a devious argument, used by a people who hated Caesar. The Jews had reported to Pilate, and Jesus Himself had admitted, that Jesus was a king. Pilate could not deny this fact. How then could he explain to his superiors that if Jesus was a king, that He was not a challenger to Caesar?
The Jews had won the case, but Pilate was still cunning. With all the grandeur he could marshal he brought Jesus out to face the Jewish accusers, and he sat down on the judgment seat to render his verdict. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. Their first response was “Take him away! Take him away!" together with "crucify him!" Pilate knew they refused to acknowledge Jesus as their king, yet he asked them, "Shall I crucify your king?" He was also obviously aiming at removing from himself responsibility for any perceived wrongful death of Jesus.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. The religious leaders committed the ultimate hypocrisy by responding to Pilate with the blasphemous words "we have no king but Caesar." With the hypocritical acknowledgment of the Jewish leadership that Caesar was their only king, the case was closed. To conclude the trial, the sentence was rendered, and Jesus, the condemned one, was handed over to those who would execute Him.
II. Jesus endured crucifixion for you; 19:17-27.
17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Although Jesus had been whipped and condemned as a criminal, He was not a helpless victim, but the King carried His own cross to crucifixion and to His glorification. Jesus was crucified, rejected, and condemned by those who should have accepted Him. He was betrayed and handed over to others who should have released Him.
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."
The title attached to the cross was "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
The place was near the city so that many persons had the opportunity to see the victim and read the charge written in Hebrew or Aramaic (the language of the general populace), Latin (the language of the army and the presiding government), and Greek (the universal language of commerce in that time). There is an ironic declaration that Jesus was being declared universally as the expected Messiah, the King of the Jews.
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
We see a squad of soldiers completely unconcerned about the dying victims on the crosses and instead engrossed in dividing the spoils of the event. John saw this as a clear fulfillment of Ps 22:18. The friends, however, offer a significant contrast. There are four women mentioned: the mother of Jesus, her sister, Mary (the wife) of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. In addition to the women, one man standing nearby is also mentioned as a friend of Jesus. Jesus, who was concerned to care for the disciples at the time of His arrest, was likewise concerned to care for His mother at the time of His death while the soldiers played their game for His clothes.
The suffering of Jesus reveals the wickedness of our sin, our inability to please God, His grace in saving us, and the certainty of future acceptance. He is not a victim, but a king assuming His throne. The story is a tragedy, but it is not Jesus' tragedy; it is a human tragedy as we witness the futile and tragic efforts of people blinded by darkness, unable to see the true king in their midst.
Jesus endured beating and mocking for you. Jesus endured crucifixion for you.
