John Lesson 47

Introduction

Would you have participated in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? There are many who say that they would not, and yet they demonstrate some of the same attitudes as those who were involved in this, the most unjust crime ever perpetrated in the course of human history. I hope you’ll be getting your New Testament open and studying with us from the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John as we let the Bible speak. A pleasant good day. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is recorded in four chapters of the New Testament. In Matthew chapter 27, in the fifteenth chapter of Mark, and in Luke chapter 23, and then in our text for study this today, is in John chapter 19. Indeed, when you begin to read together these four chapters and synchronize the story about Jesus Christ and his crucifixion, it is one of the most touching scenes in all the Word of God.

1. Pilate Found No Fault, Yet Scourged Him

Indeed, it is a marvel that such a scene could be described actually in such brief terms. And yet when we stop to visualize, it is so moving. When we consider the attitude of those who put him to death, and then the attitude of Jesus Christ, who said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. I hope you have your Bibles open and read with me from John the 19th chapter. In verses 1 through 5, as we continue our verse by verse study of the Gospel of John, the Bible says, Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews.

And they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. We were studying in chapter 18 how that the Jews first took him, of course, before their own council. And then in the middle of the night or early morning, after convincing themselves that he was worthy of death, and trying to find some charge by which they might convince Pilate, they brought him to Pilate in the wee hours, evidently, of the early morning, and uh before him they began to present charges. At first they really just simply said, He’s a malefactor.

He’s one who’s broken the law. And Pilate said, Well, if you’ve already judged him, then why don’t you also sentence him according to your law? And the Jews then responded that the reason they had actually brought Jesus to Pilate is because they sought his death. And according to Roman law, which of course was the controlling law at this point in time, Rome ruled the world, and the Jews were but a puppet government under the Roman law, in order to put Christ to death, they had to have Roman approval. And therefore they brought Jesus to to Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Palestine. Pilate, of course, uh, as he viewed Jesus, could find really no fault in him. Three different times he said, I find in him no fault at all.

Pilate, a fair-minded judge, at least, at this point, at least an impartial judge, found no reason by which they should seek the death of Jesus Christ. But the Jews clamoured for his for his death. They were not satisfied that Pilate could find no fault in him. And uh then when Jesus said, Well, or when they first said, Well, uh, he made himself a king, and Pilate questioned Jesus about that, and and Christ said, Well, uh to this end was I born, for this cause came I into the world but my kingdom is not from hence in other words Pilate I do not offer any opposition to Caesar Jesus Christ did not try to set up a kingdom that would be in opposition to the Roman law at all really still could find no fault in him.

The scripture then tells us that that Pilate tried to avoid making a judgment but also trying to appease the the Jewish rulers who brought Jesus to him as they began to to clamor for his death they spoke about Galilee and and Pilate here in Galilee and knowing that Herod was was in the region Herod the the king of the Jews from the region of Galilee and that he was in Jerusalem Pilate just sent Jesus to him. Now that’s number one an attempt of Pilate to avoid making a decision. But Herod after a short examination sends Jesus back to Pilate. And then Pilate again tries to evade making a decision and it’s a customary thing that at the time of the Passover that that Pilate would release some some prisoner unto the Jews.

And so he selected Barabbas to be put parallel to Jesus Christ which would you want delivered Jesus or Barabbas now Barabbas was a noted criminal a robber and a murderer one who’d committed insurrection and surely Pilate thought that that they wouldn’t want Barabbas released certainly not in in place of this man Jesus in whom he could find no fault but Pilate underestimated their hatred for the Lord. Well, they sought the rabbis to be released. Well, again, Pilate, not willing to to just give Christ over to crucifixion. He had found no fault in him. Evidently he then thought that what he could do to appease their wrath would be to scourge Jesus. And so in our text of chapter 19, the scripture says that he took Jesus and scourged him.

Now, history records how that a Roman manner of scourging was very painful. Perhaps they would stretch the man over some kind of a wall where his back would be totally stretched and the skin stretched, and they would take a whip and unlike the Jewish rod, where maybe it would make one mark in the back of a man, the Roman form of scourging would be a text, some sort of a whip had had leather thongs, and maybe tied at the end of the thongs would be little bits of rock or of a bone. And so that when it would whip into the back of a man, it would make more than one mark, in fact, even cut into his flesh. And so they scourged Jesus, and and surely it was a very painful whipping that they’ve given him.

Not only that, they mock him. The scripture says they put a purple robe about him and a crown of thorns about him, and they they mock him, hell king of the Jews.

2. He Made Himself the Son of God

Isn’t this enough? But the Jews aren’t aren’t willing to let him go. Verse 6, I’m reading now verses 6 to 11. When the chief priest, therefore, and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him and crucify him. For I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law. And by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid. And went again into the judgment hall and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then said Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me. Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee.

Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. You may have noticed three times Pilate said, I find no fault in him, in John 18, verse 38, and then in John 19 and verse 4, and now in our text of verse 6, three times. He admitted that he found only innocence in Jesus. He had discovered no reason for which he should be crucified. And yet the chief priests keep crying, crucify him, crucify him. And then he said, Well, why? And now they offer yet another reason. He made himself the Son of God. Now that’s one charge Jesus never denied. It was a true charge. Jesus had made himself the Son of God.

The Jews had considered that to be blasphemy, and that’s why they wanted his death. But they had not made this charge before Pilate up to this time. Perhaps they thought that if they had, that Pilate would have regarded this as a purely religious matter and would have dismissed the case, because it would not have been a civil matter over which really he had jurisdiction. He wasn’t concerned about their religious matters. But they wanted his death. And so finally now, perhaps seeing that every other charge they’d made against him didn’t matter to Pilate, they now said he made himself the Son of God. That seemed to disturb Pilate. In fact, when Pilate went back into Jesus, he said, Whence art thou? In other words, do you claim to be the Son of God?

Jesus gave him no answer. That isn’t to deny the fact. Jesus has plenty, many times said that he was the Son of God. But but Pilate has already been told something about the Christ. Back in chapter 18, verses 36 through 37, he said, My kingdom is not of this world. He told him something about the nature of his kingdom. He’s told Pilate, of course, that he came for the purpose of being a king. But what had Pilate done? Though Pilate had heard the words of Jesus and had found no fault in him.

He’s released Barabbas instead of Jesus. He’s had Jesus scourged. What value would it be had Jesus replied to Pilate at this point in time, Yes, I am the Son of God and begun to give them proofs to him. Would Pilate have accepted it? It seems that silence really spoke louder than words at this point in time. Now Jesus did not reject being the Son of God. He had claimed to be that. Sometimes our Muslim friends will tell us that Jesus never really claimed to be the Son of God, but it was only his disciples who said that about him. But it wasn’t just the disciples. These Jews who were his enemies, said that’s the claim he made. And it was a true claim. Jesus didn’t deny that claim.

Back in John chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, Jesus had said, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. My Father. Now who’s he talking about? Well, the Jews understood. The Jews in chapter 5 and verse 18 sought the more to kill him, because they said he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God. They understood his claim that he was the Son of God. Again in John chapter 8. In John chapter 8 and verses 58 and 59, Jesus had said, Before Abraham was, I am. And they understood that to mean that Jesus was speaking about as though he were eternal, that he existed before even Abraham. I am. And that expression, I am, is the description of the Father Himself.

I am that I am. And in John 8, 59, they took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple at that point in time. They would have killed him. They understood the claim of Jesus. And then in John chapter 10, verses 30 through 33, Jesus said, I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones, began to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father. For which of these works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And because that thou being a man makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law? I said ye are gods.

If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the Father had sanctified and sent him to the world, thou blasphemous. Because I said I am the Son of God. You see, Jesus had said, and even in John 10 36, because I said I am the Son of God, he had said it on many occasions. He did not deny being the Son of God. But now these Jews make this charge. And Pilate is somewhat fearful about it. And verse 10 of John chapter 19, when Jesus gave him no answer, Pilate said, Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know I have power to crucify you or to release you? Why aren’t you speaking to me?

3. He That Delivered Me Hath the Greater Sin

Somewhat agitated, it seems, because Jesus doesn’t respond to his questions. But Jesus replied, You’d have no power at all against me except it were given you. In other words, the only authority you have, Pilate, is that which has been delegated to you. And you have a responsibility before God that you even fulfill your office properly. And yet it is true that those who have delivered me have greater sin than Pilate or than you, Pilate.

They’ve heard Jesus speak, they’ve seen him work the miracles. Indeed, they had the greater sin. They should have accepted Christ as the Son of God, Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Pilate was guilty, and he had sinned, but not as the Jewish leaders. And that says something about those who have responsibility. You and I have opportunity to hear the word and to believe it and to obey it. And if we reject it, then we have great responsibility come judgment day. Just as Jesus in Matthew 11, verses 20 through 24 spoke about the cities of Cares and Bethsaida and Capernaum. He said, Why the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, then indeed they would have repented long ago.

But it’ll be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. I wonder if Jesus would say to you and to me today, you have greater responsibility. And it would be more tolerable. There’ll be people throughout the world who do not have the opportunity you and I have. And maybe come day of judgment, it’ll be more tolerable for them than for you. You have a responsibility to obey as you understand the word of God. And we’re going to continue studying just a moment, and we’re going to look more deeply at some of the attitudes that were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And I hope you’ll think with me, could you have been found at the cross of Christ, would you have participated in his crucifixion?

4. We Have No King but Caesar

We’ll return in just one moment. As we continue reading in the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John, the Bible says in John 19, verse 12, and from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. So the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your king. But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king?

The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him, therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. We’ve just pointed out in the earlier verses how that Jesus uh they made the claim that Jesus said he was the Son of God, and Jesus did not reject that. And Pilate sought the more to release them. In fact, Pilate had found no fault in him. But the Jews began to pressure Pilate. They they rather intimidate him, in fact. They’ve already said to Pilate that he made himself a king. And now they say, How will this sound if word comes to Caesar that that you’ve released a Jew who who called himself a king? And sort of without pressure, Pilate wouldn’t want that word getting back to Caesar and trying to have to explain himself.

So so when Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and and sat him down and and befold them and said, Behold, you’re king. Now, verse 14 says it was about the sixth hour. That’s evidently according to Roman time, as as John uh customarily follows the Roman reckoning of time. When I say Roman time, there is a distinction between the Roman keeping of time and the Jewish method of time. The Roman kept time much like we do. Their day began at midnight and they would have a twenty-four-hour day. So the sixth hour, according to Roman time, would be about six a.m. It’s still quite early in the morning. But in Mark chapter 15 and verse 25, uh Mark says that Jesus was crucified at the third hour.

And there are those who’ve taken Mark’s account and John’s account and said, Well, there’s a contradiction here. But uh when you see that Mark was really going by Jewish time and John was going by Roman time, there’s no contradiction whatever. In fact, if it were 6 a.m. that Pilate now brings Jesus uh before the Jews, and and shortly after this he delivers him to be crucified. What’s taking place is that by the third hour, Jewish time, and the Jews kept time from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. That’s that’s a daytime. So so the third hour according to Jewish time would be about 9 a.m. And Jesus was nailed to the cross about nine o’clock in the morning, and he hung on the cross from so for some six hours.

So the time of of John 19 and verse 14 is about 6 a.m. in the morning. And they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. And Pilate again said, Must I crucify your king? Shall I crucify your king? And they said, Well, we have no king but Caesar. Pressured by their own hatred and envy of Jesus Christ. They they really deny something that they’ve looked forward to ever since the days of David. They’ve been looking for a Messiah, they’ve been looking for a king to come of the lineage of David and the reign on David’s throne, but now in a political way, they’re saying, Oh, we have no king but Caesar. Which really, they had rejected Jesus as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

5. Attitudes Involved in the Crucifixion of Christ

Pilate being pressured, as he really was, not really wanting to see Jesus put to death, yet he delivered Jesus unto them to be crucified, and they took Jesus and and led him away. It’s a sad scene. There are various different attitudes that were involved in the crucifixion of Christ. I wonder sometimes if they’re not repeated in our own day. There are those who say they wouldn’t participate had they been there, but but really by attitudes, they they show some of the same concepts and attitudes. When you take a look at at some of the attitudes, for example, they were the Jews who who hated Jesus. They would not listen to the words of Christ. They had the scriptures, they saw the could have seen the fulfilled prophecy in him.

They they saw the miracles that he worked, the signs and wonders which God did by him. They heard the various lessons, the the evidences that he had a thorough spoke at one with authority and he knew the scripture, and and yet they would not listen to him. They were so prejudiced in heart that it did not matter what Jesus said or what he did. There are some religious people today who have their minds made up on what they’re going to believe. And it matters not if you have a Bible open and you say, here is book, chapter, and verse, they will not listen, they will not see, they will not take it into their hearts. They have they have closed their eyes and they become dull of hearing and their hearts are waxed gross.

And there are some today who are religious who would have crucified the Christ today, just as the religious Jews crucified him then. Well, not only was there the attitude of hatred demonstrated by the Jews, but then there was the attitude of Judas. And Judas was a man who walked with Christ closely, and yet he betrayed him with a kiss. That’s the hypocrite. And there are those who pretend as though they love the Lord, they can sing, oh, how I love Jesus. And yet their action proves that they do not really understand what loving Christ is all about. They do not stand up for him and obey him. And like the hypocrite, there’s words there, but there is not the sincere action. And then there’s there’s Peter.

Peter who who denied the Lord out of shame, perhaps, perhaps embarrassed at the point in time at the court of the high priest. He denied the Lord three times. But the good thing about Peter is that when he came to himself, he went out and wept bitterly. And it may be that out of weakness you have sinned. Perhaps maybe like a Peter, and I hope is so, that when you come to yourself you will repent and turn back to the Lord. But maybe there’s the attitude of Pilate today. And I see Pilate as one who had an attitude of indifference. He tried to avoid making any decision. He really couldn’t avoid it. He’s responsible. His guilt perhaps is not as great as the Jews who had every opportunity, but he had a responsibility.

And he he failed in his responsibility as the Roman governor. There are those today who do not want to make a decision about Christ. They’d like to be in between. They don’t want to be against him, they don’t want to befell him. But you have to make a decision one way or the other. Jesus said in Matthew 12, He that is not with me is against me. He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Which side are you on? Would you have participated in the crucifixion of Christ? Indeed, perhaps if you have attitude of one of these men, you would have even then, just as today, you’re not standing up for the Christ. May the Lord help us and get our attitudes correct and obey him as we understand truth.

6. They Crucified Him Between Two Thieves

In John 19, verses 17 and 18, he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him, and two other with him on either side, one and Jesus in the midst. They made him the central figure. Between two thieves they hung him, as though he were the greatest of the three, the greatest criminal of the three. Jesus had done no wrong. To say simply they crucified him does not really go into detail. I want to read to you a comment of one man who spoke about crucifixion in these terms, what it was like. So surely diabolical human ingenuity never devised a crueler scheme for putting men to death. The victim, his clothes having been removed, was stretched out on the cross.

His arms were extended along the horizontal timber, and into the palm of each hand was driven a large nail, fastening it to the cross. Through each foot was also driven a nail, and to prevent the weight of the body from tearing the nails out of the hands and feet, a wooden rod was inserted between the legs to support in part the sagging body. Then the cross, with its human burden, was raised to a perpendicular position and dropped into a hole dug for the purpose. It was not unusual when this was done for bones to become disjointed as the body lurched downward against its supports. Pictures of crosses high above the crowds are most likely incorrect. The feet of Jesus on the cross were no more than a foot or two from the ground, and thus he was able to look full into the faces of his tormentors.

As unspeakably inhuman as this mode of execution was, it stopped short of producing merciful death and delivery from its agony. And those thus executed often lingered for days on the cross, unable to live, unable to die. The wrenched position made every movement one of agony. The pierced hands and feet soon became inflamed and then infected. Arteries were distended and blocked. Fever shot upward. Intolerable headaches often drove those thus being put to death into insanity. It was to such a death that our Lord was condemned, and this by men who affected to be the guardians of the truth and the favored of Jehovah. They crucified him. Indeed, it was a sad scene that they crucified Jesus, the Christ. Would you have participated in his crucifixion? There are those today, indeed, who have not stood up for the Christ.

Conclusion

What a horrible way to die, the cruelest form known to man at that time, and yet Jesus was crucified between two thieves. Indeed, what a sad time. But come judgment day, there are those who will stand to give answer to why they have not accepted the Christ who died for them. He died voluntarily. He gave himself willingly because he loved you and me. He knew what kind of death it would be, and yet Jesus Christ died for you and me. He bore our sins on the cross. Have you accepted him? Won’t you believe and obey him? I hope you’ll continue with us as next time we continue in John chapter nineteen. Until then we bid you God speak.