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John 18
The “Guilty” Creator
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
If anyone in the Roman culture had cared or understood,
the newspapers might have covered it. If they had cared, the
headlines of the story might have read:
CREATOR JUDGED GUILTY BY HIS CREATURES TODAY!
But in the Roman culture
at the time, no one neither cared nor understood about this judgment and
sentence passed on the Son of Man, as many do not care or understand it in
our time. Nevertheless, the Apostle John gives us an account of what
it was like to be on the "inside" and to be a witness to the
event. It is truly unbelievable that the Creator of Heaven and Earth
would subject himself to a judgment by his creatures because he loved them
enough to be judged "guilty" by them, so that he could secure
their everlasting salvation with him! Yet God has allowed himself to
be judged time and time again in his infinite patience and mercy!
Think about it.
Why Do Bad
Things Happen to "Good People"?
"That's not
fair!" "I can't believe this is happening to me! What
have I done?" "How can bad things happen to good
people?" These are exclamations and questions we have all
had! And then we blame God for what has happened against our will in
our tiny little self-centered kingdoms! Have you ever noticed that
when anything bad happens to so-called "good people", whether in
our individual lives or in major events throughout the world, God is always
the one who is blamed! We pronounce God "guilty" for
allowing such things!
It has always been
this way. Philosophers and all those who belong to the Kingdom of Man reveal their boastful arrogance and thoughtless
pride when they declare that God is guilty for all the mess and misery here
in this world. The reason why many people today claim they do not
believe in God is because they think he is either unloving or he is
not powerful and thus weakly trivial and inadequate to help them in
their judgment. And so they continue to rebel against the Living and
so-called Guilty Creator, adding to the mess and misery in this world and
continuing to pass judgment upon Him despite the fact that He is the only
One to save them! (Anyone remember C. S. Lewis' 'God in the Dock' essay?)
Yet we must remind
all those who take it upon themselves to judge God Almighty, it was not
God's fault that there is sin and misery in the world! God is not
guilty for the mess and misery- - man is! It was God's great love for
sinners that provoked the heart of God to be judged "guilty" of
sin so that while we were yet still sinners and his enemies, we might be
made his children. God is guilty!! God is guilty
for loving ungrateful, selfish, idolaters, who are unholy, unloving,
rebellious Law-breakers. God is guilty for loving us. And for
that reason we must remember to "be still and know that He is
God". As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 3, let all the
earth keep their mouth shut and know that we are the guilty ones for all
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Apostle John
allows us access to the important event of God being judged guilty in John
18. As you read, be reminded that Jesus is pronounced
"guilty" by both the Jews and the Gentiles in the Sanhedrin and Rome respectively.
John 18
John
18: When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with
his disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a
garden, into which he entered, himself and his disciples. 2 Now
Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus oft-times resorted
thither with his disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the
band of soldiers, and officers from the chief priests and the
Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Jesus
therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth,
and saith unto them, Whom seek ye?
5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas
also, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When therefore
he said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the
ground. 7 Again therefore he asked them, Whom seek ye? And they
said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8
Jesus answered, I told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek
me, let these go their way: 9 that the word might be fulfilled
which he spake, Of those whom thou hast given me
I lost not one. 10 Simon Peter therefore having a sword drew it,
and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. Now the
servant's name was Malchus. 11 Jesus
therefore said unto Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath: the cup which
the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 12 So the band
and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound
him, 13 and led him to Annas first;
for he was father in law to Caiaphas, who was
high priest that year.
14 Now Caiaphas
was he that gave counsel to the Jews, that it was
expedient that one man should die for the people. 15 And Simon
Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple
was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of
the high priest; 16 but Peter was standing at the door without.
So the other disciple, who was known unto the high priest, went out and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in
Peter. 17 The maid therefore that kept the door saith unto Peter, Art thou also one of this
man's disciples? He saith, I am
not. 18 Now the servants and the officers were standing there,
having made a fire of coals; for it was cold; and they were warming
themselves: and Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
19 The high priest
therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his teaching. 20 Jesus
answered him, I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues,
and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing. 21 Why askest
thou me? Ask them that have heard me, what I spake
unto them: behold, these know the things which I said. 22 And
when he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with
his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest
so? 23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness
of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? 24
Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter
was standing and warming himself. They said therefore unto him, Art thou
also one of his disciples? He denied, and said, I am not. 26 One
of the servants of the high priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter
cut off, saith, Did not
I see thee in the garden with him? 27 Peter therefore denied
again: and straightway the cock crew.
28 They lead Jesus
therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves
entered not into the Praetorium, that they might
not be defiled, but might eat the passover. 29
Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith,
What accusation bring ye against this man? 30
They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we
should not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Pilate therefore
said unto them, Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.
The Jews said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32
that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should
die.
33 Pilate therefore
entered again into the Praetorium, and called
Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus
answered, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did
others tell it thee concerning me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a
Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests
delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered,
My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but
now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto
him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born,
and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto
the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth
my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him,
What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews,
and saith unto them, I find no crime in him. 39
But ye have a custom, that I should release
unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore
that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 They cried out
therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.
Now Barabbas was a robber.)
The Sanhedrin have
decided that they know Jesus is a permanent threat to them as long as
he lives, so they continue to work out their judgment upon Messiah-the
Christ, with no fear nor trembling about what it is they're doing. In
the account of Jesus' trial and sentencing, He is literally handed back
and forth on this day to be judged by the Jewish people as well as by the
ruling Gentiles. This was the day when the Kingdom of Man, represented in the Sanhedrin and in Rome, would put to death the Son of Man.
A lot happened in the
dark that night under the light of the full moon as Jesus was betrayed by
Judas and arrested for the crime of revealing the Living God to
sinners. Lot's of trouble, deception, as well
as revelation happened that night. Jesus had finished praying
his prayer of the High Priest and Prophet of God for His people, and he was
about to enter the presence of God, not to receive His Father's blessing,
but to receive his curse on behalf of sinners (John 18:11). Jesus was
about to shed his precious blood in the Most Holy Place in Heaven.
The next day of Jesus'
trial and execution was when the unthinkable happened! The Creator of
Heaven and Earth was judged and sentenced to death by His creatures whom He had made because of his love and grace and
desire for glory. He would be glorified, but not through His
creature's obedience, but through the death and resurrection of His
Eternally Begotten Son who represented the creatures who
were his own chosen out of the world.
In the judgment,
sentencing, and execution of Jesus is the rejection of the Sanhedrin (the
Jews), the Romans (Gentiles), as well as some denial and rejection from
those whom he has called "friends" (the Apostles). Woven
into John's narrative of Jesus' mock trial and judgment is Peter's denial
of Jesus. While those who hate Messiah are judging him and accusing
him falsely, Peter whom he loves, had prayed for, and called
"friend" is denying that he knows him - - not to a
strong Roman Centurion, but to a young, weak maiden around a fire. Yet
Peter is later restored, because Jesus had prayed for
him!
Jesus' Final Words
and Testimony Concerning Himself
Jesus had told his
disciples that he must leave them and it was for their good (John
14). He had told them of the close living union with the Son of
God and how because they remain in him they will bear much fruit that
will last (John 15:1-16). Jesus had encouraged them that no matter
how intense and terrifying the persecution and judgment they receive from
the hands of unbelievers, they were to rest in his peace and know that he
had overcome the world (John 16). Jesus told his disciples several
times of the true judgment of the world in those who reject him (John 3:16-36), and the judgment of the Holy Spirit because
of sin (John 16:8-11). Jesus tells his disciples that the forces of
the world system at the disposal of the Evil One has been ultimately
defeated and therefore they are not to fear as they represent the
Son of Man before the eyes of the world (John 12:31; 16:33; 17:15).
Then he prays for them
as their Great and Holy High Priest and Prophet of God (John 17).
Jesus, knowing he is about to offer himself up as a sacrifice for sins,
knowing his time has come, takes the time to pray for His own. In
Jesus' prayer, he prays for the Father to be glorified, for the Son of Man
to be glorified with the glory he had from the foundation of the world
(John 17:1-5), for his disciples to be set apart or sanctified by God's
Truth and kept in the world, but protected from the Evil One (John
17:6-19), and he prays finally for the Church, those who would believe upon
his name because of the witness and testimony of the disciples (John
17:20-26).
This High-Priestly and
Prophetic prayer of Jesus we should constantly remember as the people of
God that all of these prayers have been answered. God
always hears and grants the prayers of Jesus and thus he has given his
people the privilege of praying in His NAME (John 14:13-14; 15:16). Notice Jesus also says there are some he is not praying
for. He is not praying for the world, but specifically for those the
Father has given to him out of the world (John 17:9). This
reveals the tender heart of Jesus and his love for those who he has loved
with an everlasting love!
What care do you have
that you cannot take to Jesus in His Name? Don't ever forget you have
a privilege in this New Covenant time period that those before the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus did not have! Christian, you can
pray in Jesus' Name- -the Name above all Names- - the Name of the Lamb of
God, the Savior of your soul, the Great I AM who came in the flesh- -
JESUS! Call upon the Name of the Lord and you will be saved -- and
you will continue to be saved from all of your cares and troubles as you
walk with Him. He is nearer to you now than he was even to the
Apostles in the days of his flesh (John 14:16-20; 15:1-8).
Jesus prays before the
face of God in John 17 and in John 18 he stands before the face of sinful
men as the fulfillment of his prayer begins to unravel and unfold in time
and space. This was the way for God to be glorified (John
17:1-5). Jesus, the Son of Man, Judge of Heaven and Earth stands
before the Sanhedrin, the 'Court of Moses', or the court of those who sit
in Moses' seat (cf. Matt. 23:1ff). The Sanhedrin were
organized as those who took their instructions from Moses and taught the
people the teachings of Moses and the Old Covenant. Their main
"calling" was to teach and make known the Old Covenant to prepare
the people for Messiah, the Christ. Yet when the Messiah, the One
greater than Moses stands before them, they judge him as guilty and a
threat to the people in what he has said and done in the Father's
Name! Irony of ironies! The Sanhedrin wouldn't heal a man on
the Sabbath, wouldn't believe when they saw Jesus' miracles, and would not
worship him when he claimed to be the Great "I AM", but they
would judge and kill when they got the opportunity to silence Jesus who has
come not only to fulfill the Law of Moses and the Prophets, but to
ultimately be treated like Moses and the Prophets by the people!
The Guilty Creator
Judged by the Sanhedrin
In this scene before the
Sanhedrin (John 18:19-24), the long-awaited Messiah of Israel is being judged! The
Sanhedrin was made up of Pharisees, Saduccees and
Scribes, those who were "authorities" in the understanding of the
Old Covenant. He came to his own, but his own received him not (John
1:9-11)! Let this grip you. Those who were schooled in the Old
Covenant Law, those who had memorized all of the Old Covenant writings in
their original languages, were judging the very One who they had supposedly
placed all of their hopes in. The Messiah, king of his people, was
standing before those who had given their lives to interpret and explain
the Scriptures that spoke of him (John 5:24ff; cf. Luke 24:26-49) and
rather than having eyes of faith so that they could see him, they blindly
judge him.
Yet, what we must keep
in mind is that there is a lot going on in Jesus' last days that men do not
realize they are doing to fulfill the plan of God in securing the salvation
of his people. For instance, in John 11:45ff, Caiaphas
the High Priest says that one must die for the nation of Israel, not realizing he was prophesying as High
Priest that year. Mary anoints Jesus'
feet with expensive perfume which would prepare his body for death and
burial, even though she realized it not (John 12:1-11). The people
who had heard Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead shouted
"Hosannas", not realizing they were fulfilling Zechariah 9 (John 12:16). The Sanhedrin had no earthly idea that
even though they were judging Jesus unfairly, they were sentencing him as
the one who would take the sins of law breakers on himself, so that those
who believe might live. In other words, their judgment was unjust,
but God's judgment upon Jesus was just because he became the sin-bearer of
many, but they did not understand this. The Apostle Peter sums it up
this way in his "Pentecostal" sermon:
Acts 2:22-24:
"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- 23 this Jesus,
delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God
raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for
him to be held by it.
This reminds us that
God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than our ways and
thoughts! None of the people, neither Jews nor Gentiles, would have
been able to put the Creator to death had they not been given their
strength and authority from God (John 19:11). The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
and Prince of Peace of whom Isaiah prophesied and the people
of God waited in expectation for him to come to them, was being judged by
sinners who had no right to speak to him because of his greatness and
majesty, much less to judge him according to the Law of Moses that they
themselves had not, nor could keep!
It gets worse
though. The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace was slapped by a sinful
creature (John 19:22) because he didn't answer the High Priest in the way he thought he
deserved. It must be remembered, even before the Son of Man is handed
over to common pagans to be spat upon, beat with whips, and crucified, he
was slapped in the face by One who had sat under the special revelation of
God's mercy and grace in the Holy Scriptures! Notice how Paul
explains this after Jesus' resurrection from the dead:
Acts 13:26-31:
"Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear
God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 27 For
those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize
him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every
Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And though they
found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him
executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was
written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30
But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he
appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who
are now his witnesses to the people.
None of them would have
been able to put the Creator to death had it not been his plan from the
foundation of the world to secure the salvation of those he loved.
And what love! As the people of God, think today of Jesus undergoing
a slap on the face from sinners who had had the kind and merciful
revelation of God given to them. Think of his great love for
us! We don't know whether the one who slapped him ever came to
believe in the Christ and to have this and many other sins washed away, but
we all know how we have in our own ways done much worse than merely
slapping God in the face! Many of us lived lives in pursuit of sin
and rebellion, rejecting every opportunity and moment of grace held out to
us by God's gracious hand before we came to believe in the Son of Man who
died for us. As Augustine wrote: "In some mysterious way,
God loved us even when he hated us" (paraphrase). The Apostle
Paul sums this up well in Romans 5:6-11:
Romans 5:6-11: For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good
person one would dare even to die- 8 but God shows his love
for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall
we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while
we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
None of those judging
Jesus, neither Jew nor Gentile, fully knew the extent of what they
were doing in "ridding the world of Jesus". For when they were
judging him, they were ultimately judging themselves for he was the only
hope of salvation for the world. Therefore, if sinners judge the
only Savior of sinners, there is no hope nor an
Advocate to mediate for them before the Holy Living God!
Jesus had no Advocate,
no defense attorney as he is judged before the Sanhedrin and Rome, yet he
underwent the judgment so that He could be an Advocate for sinners like us
before the throne of grace before the face of Almighty God (1 John
1:8-2:2). Those who judged Jesus, who never repented of their sins,
as well as all those who judge Jesus as anything other than the Savior of
sinners, Judge and King of the world, will find that they are without an
Advocate and Counselor on the Day of the LORD! The Apostle John sees
this in a vision toward the latter part of his life. Read only if you
can bear it!
Revelation 6:14-17: The
sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and
island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the
earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful,
and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the
rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks,
"Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of
their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
It is a very bad day
when the only decision a person can make is between facing the wrath of the
Lamb or having sharp and heavy rocks crush their
bodies. With all seriousness, this is the a
devastating and fearful position to be in, perhaps best described as the
proverbial "rock and a very hard place".
People have complained
against God's goodness and power when difficult times of misery came into
their lives. People have faced serious decisions and been in bad
places before in life, but none quite like this! Behold the Lamb of
God who comes this time not to take the sins of man, but to mete out
justice and serve up the terrible wrath of God that sinners have been
storing up to be poured out on them for this day! The Apostle Paul
describes this judgment to come for both Jews and Gentiles in Romans 2.
Romans 2:4-11: Or do you presume on
the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that
God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But
because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for
yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7
to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are
self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there
will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress
for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10
but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good,
the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no
partiality.
Behold, the Lamb who
sits on the throne in the Book of Revelation is not smiling
affectionately at sinful mockers and scoffers as he
calls them too himself, he is pursuing them with vengeance and
wrath! Fade to black. Woe be to the
Kingdom of men on that day! Woe be to those
who have no advocate before the Father in Christ Jesus! They will be
sentenced to eternal punishment in hell where the worm does not die and the
flame is never quenched (Isaiah 66:24ff; Matt. 23:33; 25:41-46; Mark 9:48; Rev. 18-19). The Lamb is pronouncing all
unbelievers "Guilty"! But those who have trusted in him, we
have been pronounced "not guilty" because He has clothed us in
his righteousness and with glorious white robes stained by the blood of the
Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world! Praise
God! Let his people cry: "Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus!"
Reflect upon this poem
concerning "the Guilty Creator":
"God, guilty you
are!
Stained with the sins
of your people who judge
you;
shown forth to the world
as feeble
and poor!
Yet, gracious and
glorious you are!
For your guilt, O
God is not
your sin;
but your constant love
for undeserving sinners!
Guilty?
Yes!
But guilty of love for
hopeless creatures
like me!"
"THE
GUILTY CREATOR" - Part Two
What a night it had been
for Jesus before the Sanhedrin! He had been betrayed by Judas, denied
by a close friend, tried in a court at night and this was forbidden
according to the rules of the Sanhedrin. He had been falsely accused,
questioned with no witnesses, and had no advocate before the Jewish court
who decided that he was guilty and that he must be handed over to Rome for final judgment. Jesus had said nothing
in private, but had spoken and taught in synagogues. In all that
Jesus had done and said, they failed to see or hear anything. They
were deaf, dumb, and blind spiritually (John 12:37ff).
In the previous study,
Jesus was judged by his own in the Sanhedrin rather than being received as
their King and Messiah. Before Pontius Pilate, God undermines the Kingdom of Man by His humble submission to death and
crucifixion! Today's study continues the trial of Jesus as he is
rushed from being judged by the Sanhedrin and handed over to Pontius
Pilate.
The Creator Judged
by Rome
Immediately, the
scene changes from the Sanhedrin and Jesus is
quickly taken to the home of Pontius Pilate, the Governor of
Judea and upholder of Roman Law. He tells
the Jews to judge this man according to their own law. And suddenly
the Jews who hate Rome
and Roman rule are now are seeming to be good
and upstanding citizens of Roman Law. They say: "Why we cannot
put a man to death!" (John 18:31), but they imply in their response that they have already decided
Jesus' fate and judgment: He is to die (John 18:32; cf. 11:45ff).
Pontius Pilate is not at all interested in the Jewish Law or their way of
life, but they have gotten him involved and now he must do something to
appease the Jewish court so as to ultimately keep Caesar happy (cf. John
19:12ff).
Pilate asks Jesus about
himself. You can imagine him looking on this common Jewish man with
perhaps a disinterested pity. It seems that Pilate senses something
innocent, something even great about him (cf. John 19), yet the glory
of God is cloaked in human flesh and only seen with eyes of faith (John 12:37-42). Pilate interviews him and asks
"Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replies that he is a
King, but his Kingdom is not of this world. Our words often mask our
power struggles, the real intent of our questions and remarks (as the Postmodern
scholars rightly point out to us all). What Pilate is asking him is
this: "Are you a threat to me?" "Are you a threat to Rome?" Jesus knows this. So the way
Jesus answers is particularly pointed in his response.
Jesus says in essence my
Kingdom is from another place, or my servants would fight. Jesus came
into Jerusalem a city under Roman rule, as a King humbly
sitting on a donkey's colt. Jesus is telling Pilate that HE IS A
KING, no, he is THE KING, and he will be a threat one day, but not
now. For now, this King will lay down his life for his own so that he
might secure their salvation and overthrow all kingdoms of men that set
themselves up against God! Pilate wants it straight: "Do you
have any plans to pursue the overthrow of Rome?" Jesus says ultimately: "I am
not a threat to you or Rome,
Pilate." By now, Pilate must have been very confused! He
could have said to Jesus: "The people of your kingdom are handing you
over to me so that you might be dethroned, unseated from your throne.
What kind of servants do you rule?" Pilate must have thought
that it was about time that the insurrection of the Jews was directed
toward their own and not once again to Roman rule!
The Creator of Heaven
and Earth who will come again to judge was on that day going to be
mockingly made a King with a crown of thorns. He did not look
like a King, he didn't fight and demand his rights like a King, but he
entrusted himself to His Father so that he might be delivered over to death
and to be judged "not guilty" in his resurrection! Since
the Tower of Babel, the Kingdom of Man, in an effort to make a name for
themselves and to undermine the rule of God Almighty, have tried to storm
the gates of heaven in order to dethrone and unseat the King of Heaven!
Here, man finally has God "in his
clutches", because the King has laid aside his glory and his
throne to enter the governing representative of the Kingdom of
Man. Jesus has entered Pilate's palace to ultimate "give himself
up" so that he might defeat once and for all the power which oppose
the LORD and His Anointed One! Psalm 2 captures the ongoing
opposition of the Kingdom of Man to God's rules and sovereignty!
Psalm 2: Why do the nations
rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and
against his anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds
apart and cast away their cords from us." 4 He who sits in
the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then
he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6
"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my
holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the
earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 10 Now
therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss
the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the
way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in
him.
Jesus, the Anointed One
of God, says he has come to witness to the Truth. Jesus revealed
the truth of the Kingdom of God in himself.
Rather than asking "What is truth?" Perhaps the better
question would have been "Who is truth?" because the Way, Truth,
and the Life was standing right before Pilate that day. Close, we
might say, but not close enough.
Pilate, although he
found no guilt in Jesus, did not humbly bow on bended knee before the Son
of Man, the King of Heaven and Earth, begging of him his grace and clemency
to save him from the wrath to come! Rather, Pilate would
commit the King to the crowd, and allow him to be crucified. The
Kingdom of God in Jesus will only be seen with eyes of
faith. Jesus does not deny that he is a King, but he is a king who
rode a donkey's colt of peace to declare salvation to all those who
believe. Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to declare peace to the Jews and
to the Gentiles, yet both of them end up judging them. The whole
kingdom of man passes judgment on the Kingdom of God!
We usually are not as
quick to judge Pilate as we are the Sanhedrin when we compare the two
groups. The Apostle John probably did want us to feel the irony of a
Roman treating Jesus with more respect than his own people. However,
Pilate is just as guilty, and all of the hand washings in the world can
never cleanse the blood from his hands as he held out his blood-stained,yet authoritative hands to say "Behold,
Your King" to the crowds (John 19:1-11). All of the signs that
read "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19) were
written with hands of spite and unbelief rather than hands of faith who
gripped hold of the Savior's garment, bowing before him so that he might
have forgiveness of sins and life. This is Rome's representative and there "is no other
king but Caesar" according to Rome (even the Jews later claim to know and
abide by this truth!).
So, at the end of the
day, Pilate did not show mercy or understanding to Jesus. He pitied
him, scoffed him, mocked him as much as anyone
else. He was just the type who even in their rebellion against God do
not have neither the backbone nor the courage to be truly opposed and
openly rebellious in their defiance of the Living God because somewhere
inside of them is a heart of fear, and a knowledge written on their hearts
that they will be judged (cf. Romans 1:18ff; Acts 17:26ff). Not like
the members of the Sanhedrin who had learned to push down and suppress this
fear of God by a false righteousness of their own making, thinking somehow
that no matter what they did, God was pleased as punch with them and the
very "bees knees" in the mind of God. Yet, the test of
their heart is revealed when Jesus is brought out to them and they request
for Barabbas to be released rather than Jesus!
A robber for a
Savior! A Savior for robbers! A Savior for sinners. You
must understand this! Barabbas had been a
Jewish zealot, brigand, or robber whose sole purpose in life was to
overthrow Roman rule. Now, Jesus who is supposedly the King of the Jews, is being handed over to Pilate rather than this
zealot. From Pilate's perspective as a Roman, he must have been very
confused that day!
At the end of the day,
whenever Jesus is revealed to men, whether it be in the flesh as it was on
this day, or in his word when the days of his flesh are revealed to us in
all his saving glory, men make a conscious decision based on how God
has worked in their hearts prior to that moment. We don't see the
work of God in men's hearts, nor do we see the thoughts of men's hearts,
but what we do see is the fruit of those sinful hearts. Here in the
final moments of Jesus' life, we glimpse the sinful and dead branches
broken from the vine rather than the fruitful branches of faith.
On that memorable and
terrible day of Jesus' judgment, the hearts of both Jews and Romans were
revealed. Yet, the same Messiah would be the One who will unite both
Jews and Romans by grace through faith as one people in Him, as those who
would not be sentenced on the Day of His Judgment, but be those who will inherit
Eternal Salvation and be crowned with an imperishable Crown
of Righteousness (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
The Creator was judged,
bled and died a just as well as an unjust death that day. He died a
just death on behalf of sinners. He was the Lamb of God whom God
placed all of the sins of his people upon his back. God caused
Jesus to suffer and to experience his awful wrath because of sin -- not
his own- - but the sin of those whom he loved!
The judgment was also
unjust because sinners have no right to judge a perfect Messiah, the Son of
Man himself! So on the cross that day was just as well as unjust
judgment. Yet, the Creator who died as a sacrifice for sinners took
into himself the depths of God's cup of wrath so that he might offer a cup
of blessing to all those who would believe! Paul describes our
condition and the glorious God who is just and the justifier of
those who believe in Jesus in Romans 3.
Romans 3:23-26:
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and
are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness,
because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It
was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just
and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Because Jesus was
"not guilty" before the Living God, the Father would
look upon His Son and would say "Arise, my Son, up from the dead!". In Jesus' resurrection, before the Living
God, the courts of heaven, and every principality, power and authority, not
only in this age, but also in the age to come, Jesus was pronounced
"NOT GUILTY" and opened up the way in his via dolorossa (way of suffering)
to the ultimate and final way to God! Jesus, the Son of Man,
opened up the way into a New Creation so that those who believe and love
him may spend eternity with him in everlasting glory. The Apostle
Paul sums Christ's entire work for his own in 1 Timothy 3:16:
1 Timothy 3:16 Great
indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in
the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the
nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
Those who believe in
Jesus shall never be judged "GUILTY" by the Living God, because
Jesus was judged "GUILTY" in their place! What grace and
fantastic love to sinners who only deserve and have only merited an eternal
sentence of judgment away from the presence of God.
Through Jesus, he has opened up the way for God to ultimately dwell with
man (Rev. 21:1-7).
Through Jesus'
judgment, the Father has permanently established Christ's Kingdom over
all kingdoms as he said he would do! Notice in the following Old
Covenant as well as New Covenant passages how God's Kingdom would be set up
contrary to all who oppose him! God is Sovereign and reigns over the
kingdoms of man.
Daniel 2:44 And
in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It
shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it
shall stand forever...
Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and
the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall
be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom
shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey them.'
Revelation 11:15 Then
the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven,
saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our
Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
Let the people of God
say: "God's ways and thoughts are indeed higher than anything we can
imagine. Glory be to the Lamb who sits upon
the throne!" God has undermined and overthrown all the
principalities, powers, authorities, and rulers who set themselves up
against God and His Anointed One! The Anointed One has sat down at
the right hand of God and placed all rule, authority, dominion, death,
hell, and the devil under his feet.
CRB
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