Pilate
We have a
number of interesting points that come out of this first passage in John
19. First, notice that Pilate is trying
to walk a fine line between nobility and political correctness. Pilate finds no reason to crucify Jesus. However, he can also see that the Jewish
leaders are ready to do something drastic if he doesn’t listen to them. He doesn’t know why Jesus should be
crucified, but he doesn’t want to lose control over the area that Caesar had
given him to rule. If Jerusalem were to
go into yet another revolt, it would mean more soldiers coming into Jerusalem
as well as a new leader. If the Jews
revolt, then Pilate is out of a job and likely out of favor with Caesar. What can we learn from this? The presence of Jesus in our life will cause
us to confront our priorities. We can
either do the right thing according to God or we can follow the desires of our
heart. The presence of Jesus will bring
us to that point.
Then Jesus
tells Pilate that he only has authority over Jesus because it was given to him
from above. Yet again Jesus is driving
home the point that the only reason this crucifixion is happening at all is
because the Father is in control. Everyone
is playing a particular role of their own choosing – and all will be guilty of
the role that they choose to play. But
if God the Father did not intend for His Son to be crucified at all He would
not have allowed it in the first place.
No King But Caesar
Then we
have one of the significant points of the Gospel of John. When Pilate brings Jesus out for the last
time, the Jewish leaders are frustrated. They just want Jesus dead. In order to accomplish their agenda, they
back Pilate into a corner. They tell
Pilate that if he allows Jesus to continue to live then he will be guilty of
endorsing a challenger to the right of Caesar to rule. Then they make the boldest statement they’ve
ever made. “We have no king but Caesar.”
In their
quest to accomplish their will, the truth comes out. They are not following God. They are not pursuing His agenda. They are solely seeking after their own
agenda. They are willing to say or do
whatever it takes to accomplish their agenda.
When God
established the Hebrew people in Promised Land under Joshua, they seemed
content. But eventually they wanted a
king in order to be like the other nations.
Samuel begged them to not go on this route. Samuel begged them to let God be their
king. But they demanded a king
anyway. In 1 Samuel 8:7 we hear God
foreshadow this moment in John 19. “Obey
the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected
you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” A thousand years later – and many stories of
rebellion – the truth finally comes out.
They have indeed rejected God as their king. The Jewish leaders have no king but
Caesar. In 1 Samuel we know that the
desire to have a king in their life is so that they can be like the other
nations. In John 19 that desire is
fulfilled completely. It is a dark
statement indeed.
Rejection and Acceptance
Jesus is then
led to the cross. The soldiers cast lots
for his clothing. The Son of God dies
according to the ways of the world, in all the lack of ceremony that such an
act of salvation truly deserved. He goes
to the cross with the world looking upon Him in shame. He goes to the cross with people rejoicing
that the “Jesus problem” is about to be resolved. He goes to the cross with the Jewish leaders
feeling as though they got their way. He
goes to the cross rejected by the world.
But He
does not go to the cross rejected by all.
Jesus’ mother is there. Jesus’
aunt is there. Mary the wife of Clopas
is there. Mary Magdalene is there. The disciple whom Jesus loves – personally I
believe this to be Lazarus – is there.
Jesus’ followers do not reject Jesus.
Jesus may have gone to the cross rejected by the world; but Jesus went
to the cross loved by His disciples.
Some may have fled for fear of their life. Others may have followed at a distance. A few approached the cross as He died. I think it is important to remember that
although all people need Christ’s death in order to have our sins forgiven and
in order to have our relationship with God restored – not everyone rejected
Christ and celebrated His death. Jesus
went to the cross loved by His followers.
Death and Burial
Jesus
dies. They come to break His legs but He
is already dead. They pierce His side
and they receive the proof that they are looking for to indicate that He is
already dead. Scripture is fulfilled in
many ways. The Lord – our Lord – died on
that cross for the sake of the world.
God’s plan for salvation to come as a free gift to any who would receive
it is finished. Salvation came to those
who would receive it on that cross.
Joseph of
Arimathea and Nicodemus come to the cross and remove the body. These members of the Sanhedrin not only come
in contact with human blood but they also come in contact with a dead
body! They do this on the day before a
high holy Sabbath. They understand that
purity according to mankind’s understanding is not worth achieving. It is the purity that comes from Christ’s
death on the cross that is worth embracing.
These two Jewish
leaders literally embrace Christ’s purity as they take his bloody body off of
the cross and lay Him in the tomb. I can
only imagine what they must have felt at that moment. As they reach for the body of Christ, the conflict
of the traditional understanding of the Law and their genuine love for Christ
clash.
This
chapter – Jesus death – is all about what we chase after in this world. The Jewish leaders pursued their own agenda
and they got it. Their hearts were exposed
as having no king but the ones of this world.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus’ hearts were exposed as well. Their hearts longed for the true agenda of
the cleansing that comes through Jesus.
As we encounter the cross today, we all have the same choice. Do I care more about my agenda and my kings
or do I care about God? It is time that
we see and understand just how grievously our own understanding clashes with
the agenda of God.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment