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Book: John
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John 19:19
I. And Pilate wrote a title.
A. Matthew and Mark tell us it was the accusation.
1. It was customary to put the crime above the prisoner's
head.
2. This is the accusation that they brought before Pilate
so as to make Him guilty before the Roman court of a
crime punishable by death.
a. Before their court, He was adjudged guilty of
blaspheme for His confession that He was the
Messiah, and thus the Son of God.
b. That charge would never stand up in the Roman
court.
3. According to Luke's gospel they made three charges
against Him.
a. ing the nation.
b. Forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar.
c. Saying that He was Messiah the King.
4. The first two charges were false.
a. He did not the nation.
1. He did speak against their traditions.
2. He did violate their rules of the
Sabbath.
3. He did drive out the money changers
from the Temple.
b. He advocated their paying their taxes to
Caesar. He said, "Render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesar's, and unto God the
things that are Gods.
5. The third charge was developed before the High Priest,
when Jesus in answer to the question of the High
Priest, "Are you the Messiah?" and Jesus answered in
the affirmative, he then asked "Are you then again the
Son of God?" and again Jesus answered in the
affirmative. The Messiah was to be the King of Israel,
so by claiming to be the Messiah, He was also claiming
to be their King.
6. This is the charge that was of concern to Pilate.
7. This would be subversion against Rome.
8. When Pilate asked Him if He were the King of the Jews,
He answered that His kingdom was not of this world, or
else His disciples would be fighting to keep Him from
being turned over to the Jews.
9. This became His crime, and thus the inscription above
the cross.
B. Pilate had no love for the accusers of Jesus.
1. He knew their craftiness.
2. He did not like them forcing him to make a judgement
that went against his own conscience, and the advise
of his wife.
3. He to needle them said, "Behold your king." He no doubt
motioned toward Jesus who was bloodied, and beaten. It
was in a sneering way to irritate them. They cried,
"Away with Him crucify Him." He said, "Shall I crucify
your king?" rubbing it in. They responded, "We have no
king but Caesar."
4. They had won the argument, they had forced Pilate's
hand.
5. Pilate however will get in the last word, he will dig
them once more with the accusation above the cross.
JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS.
a. He had it written in three languages just to
gall them Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
b. The place of the crucifixion was near the city
so that all could read it.
6. It had it's desired effect, and the chief priest came
to Pilate and said, "Don't say the king of the Jews,
but that He said that He was the King of the Jews."
a. Pilate stood his ground, they had no power
over this decision. "What I have written, I
have written."
b. He is not about to do any favors for them.
II. The parting of the garments.
A. It was the custom that the soldiers who performed the actual
mechanics of the crucifixion, get as a bonus, the clothes of
the prisoners.
1. Evidently their were four soldiers involved in the
actual crucifixion, for they divided His garment into
four parts.
2. Jesus had a special robe that was without a seam, for
it was woven from the top throughout.
3. They decided to cast lots to see who would get the
coat.
B. We stand in awe of the word of God and the wisdom of God as we
read this, for we realize that this is just one more part of
the plan of God that He had revealed in advance.
C. Psalm 22 is a prophetic declaration of His death on the cross.
1. It begins with the words, "My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me."
a. The very words that Jesus cried from the cross.
b. Perhaps in His cry He was seeking to give a
message to the disciples, "Go home and read the
whole psalm."
2. They shoot out the like, they shake the head saying,
"He trusted on the Lord to deliver Him, let Him deliver
Him now if He will have Him.
a. Matthew tells us in 27:39 that they that passed
by reviled Him, wagging their heads.
b. Matthew 27:43 tells us that the chief priests
said "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him
now, if He will have Him, for He said, "I am
the Son of God."
3. All My bones are out of joint.
a. This was a common occurrence during
crucifixion. When the muscles would give out
from hanging on the cross, the bones would
begin to come out of the joints causing
excruciating pain.
4. They pierced My hands and My feet.
a. This we know was done as they drove the spikes
in His hands and feet to hold Him on the cross.
5. They part My garments among them and cast lots on My
vesture.
a. It amazes me that God saw fit to record this
small detail in the prophetic record.
b. God had planned every little detail of the
death of His Son for our sins.
c. He laid out the plan in advance, and then
carried it out to each little detail.
6. I believe that God prophesied all of these things even
the insignificant ones so that you would never doubt
that this was all a part of the eternal plan of God to
demonstrate how much He loves you.
C. Do you know how much God loves you tonight?
1. How do you feel that you should respond to the love?
2. After all He's done for me, how can I do less that give
Him my best and live for Him completely after all He's
done for me.
3. John said, "We love Him because He first loved us."
4. Do you love Him tonight? How long has it been since you
have told Him?
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