| |
Book: John
 Print ( PC Only )
John 19:12
I. "From thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him."
A. Pilate was convinced of His innocence.
1. We are told that he knew that Jesus was delivered to
him because the religious leaders were envious of
Jesus.
2. He knew that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death.
B. But the Jews cried out saying, "If you release this man, you
are not Caesar's friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king
speaketh against Caesar."
1. This is the statement that turned the tide.
2. Pilate knew that they would complain to Caesar should
he release Jesus, and that they would make their false
charges to Caesar.
3. Pilate's job was on the line.
a. He has to make the choice to be loyal to his
convictions or to lose his position.
b. Many Christians are faced with the same
situation. To remain on their jobs, they are
being required to deceive, or to cheat a
customer.
c. Some of you have had to make that decision,
so you can understand the position Pilate was
in.
4. Pilate bowed to the pressure of the crowd.
C. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus
forth, and sat down in the judgment seat, in the place that is
called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
1. The decision has been made, now all that is necessary
is to make it formal.
2. It may have been the seat of judgment, but it was
surely not the seat of justice.
3. There is often no justice in the judgments that are
made.
II. "It was the preparation of the passover."
A. There is something that has bothered me for many years. How
could Jesus be crucified on Friday, and be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth, and still be risen
early Sunday morning?
1. At most, He could have only been in the grave two
nights, Friday and Saturday.
2. Where was the idea developed that He was crucified on
Friday?
3. We are told that the day that He was crucified was the
day of the preparation for the Sabbath.
4. They wanted to hasten the death of the prisoners so
that their bodies would not be hanging on the cross on
the Sabbath.
5. Mark 16 tells us that when the Sabbath was past, the
ladies came early in the morning to take care of the
body of Jesus.
B. I would like to suggest a possible answer.
1. Sir Robert Anderson in his book, "The Coming Prince"
goes to great length to prove that what we commonly
term Palm Sunday took place on April 6th 32 A.D. He
said that it equated, that year, with the 10th of
Nisan on the Jewish calendar.
2. This means that the 15th of Nisan would have been of
Friday.
a. In Numbers 28:16 it declares that the 14th day
of the first month is the Passover of the Lord.
That would have been then on Thursday. That was
the day that the Passover lamb was then slain.
b. Remember that the Jewish day begins with
sundown, thus it is possible that Jesus had the
last supper with His disciples on Wednesday
night.
c. We must remember that the Lamb was slain the
day before the Passover.
d. It was the night after the slaying of the lamb
that the blood was put on the door posts and
the angel of the Lord passed through the land
to slay the first born.
e. But that night would have been the beginning
of the next day.
f. Numbers 28:17 declares "And on the 15th day of
this month is the feast.
e. Numbers 28:25 then declares that the 7th day
would be a holy convocation. Or a Sabbath day.
f. Notice that in verse 31 John tells us
concerning this day that it was a high day.
3. I suggest that it is possible that Jesus had the supper
with His disciples on Wednesday night which would have
begun the 14th day of the first month. That He was
crucified on Thursday, the day that the passover lamb
was to be slain, still the 14th until sundown.
5. That He spent Thursday night, Friday night and
Saturday night in the tomb, and rose early on the first
day of the week.
6. That in this particular week with the 10 of Nisan
falling on Sunday, you would have had consecutive
Sabbath days, one on Friday, the 15th of Nisan, which
would have been designated the holy day of convocation,
or the high day, and then the regular Sabbath day on
Saturday.
C. Having said all of that, it really does not make that great a
difference what day of the week it might have been, the fact
that matters is that He died on the cross for our sins.
D. We can look at the cross from five viewpoints.
1. From the viewpoint of God, the cross was the
propitiation for sin. Their the full holiness and
justice of God was satisfied, and now God can forgive
mans sin without violating His justice.
2. From the viewpoint of Jesus it was an act of obedience
unto the will of the Father. Becoming a sin offering
and giving Himself as a sacrifice for man's sin.
3. From the standpoint of the believer, it was
substitution. He was their for me, the just for the
unjust. God made Him to be sin for us, that we might
receive the righteousness of God through Him. He was
there in my place dying the death that I deserved.
4. From the standpoint of Satan. A victory as he bruised
the seed of the woman, but his ultimate defeat as
through His death, he destroyed him that had power
over death, even the devil. There He spoiled the
principalities and powers that are against us making
an open display of His victory, triumphing over them
through it.
5. As far as the world is concerned, it was a unjust
brutal murder.
E. John tells us that it was about the sixth hour.
1. Mark's gospel tells us that at the third hour Jesus
was crucified.
a. Mark began the hours with the daylight which
was at six in the morning, so that the third
hour would be at nine in the morning.
b. John is writing his gospel for the Gentiles
that is why he would often interpret the
Hebrew words that He used, or give to you
the Hebrew word. He then used the Roman
accounting of time, which began at midnight.
c. It is possible that this judgment was passed
at six in the morning, and that it getting all
of the issues formalized, and the time it took
to prepare the crosses and pass through the
streets of Jerusalem and pass through the gate
and up the hill to golgotha that three hours
would have transpired.
d. The Jews were up all night and it is quite
possible that they wanted to get the issue
before Pilate very early before any of the
populace knew what was going on, so that a
judgment may be made, and carried out before
the majority of the people even knew about it.
III. "And he saith to the Jews, Behold your king."
A. I think that he did that with anger toward them knowing that
they had gotten the better of him.
1. It was in a sneering way.
2. At this point Jesus was already unrecognizable as a
human being, so vicious was the abuse that he received
both from the officers of the high priest and the Roman
soldiers.
3. He was probably a very sight.
B. Pilate and the crowd were at great odds at this point, there
was a total loss of control and order.
1. They respond with screaming, "Away with Him, away with
Him."
2. Again I believe that Pilate answered with a sneer,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
C. "We have no king but Caesar."
1. This is bitter debate.
a. The sensitive point with the Jews was his
insistence that Jesus was the king of the Jews.
b. The sensitive point with Pilate was the
mention of Caesar.
2. What a horrible confession this is.
a. Earlier in their history they came to Samuel
and demanded that he appoint a king to rule
over them that they might be like the other
nations.
b. God spoke to Samuel and told him not to feel
so bad, they had not rejected Samuel from
ruling over them, but they had rejected God
from ruling over them.
c. Now they are doing the same thing. They would
prefer to bow their knee to Caesar than to the
Son of God.
d. The day will come when they shall bow their
knee however.
3. Earlier they had said to Jesus in John 8:33, We are the
defendants of Abraham, and were never in to any
man.
a. How they change their tune when it is to their
advantage.
b. They are seeking to taunt Pilate even as Pilate
had taunted them.
4. We must note however that Pilate got in the last word,
for he had the accusation of Jesus placed above Him on
the cross written in three languages, JESUS OF
NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS.
a. When they saw that they were incensed, and came
to him demanding that he altar it to, "He said
that He was the king of the Jews."
b. Pilate's answer was, "What I have written, I
have written."
|