We're reading from God's Word
this morning in the Gospel of John, in chapter 19. John chapter 19. And a unique title for the message
today, God's Place on the Cross. John chapter 19, beginning with
verse number 16. Delivered he him therefore unto
them to be crucified and they took Jesus and led him away and
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. And Pilate wrote a title and
put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. This title then read, Many of
the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh
to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priest of
the Jews to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews, but that
he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have
written, I have written. God's place on the cross. The middle cross was God's cross. Men didn't make it His, He made
it His. The hour is God's hour. Man did
not control the events or the sequence of events, nor the timing
of them. It was God's appointed hour. The place without the gate, outside
the city, was God's place. the outcasting, the rejection,
the shame. It was all a place and a position
of His sovereign choosing for the accomplishing of His sovereign
purpose. What happened on Golgotha's Hill
was not just an incident in history of human making. It was divinely
in creed. The death burial, resurrection,
ascension of the Lord Jesus are the greatest events in the history
of this world, decreed from eternity, the fullness of the Godhead,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, came to dwell bodily in the man
Christ Jesus. This earth was created for God
to have a place to stick up a cross that he might hang and die upon
it to manifest his glory. He manifested himself on the
cross as he did in no other place at any other time in any other
way. He revealed himself there in the dignity of his immutability.
the God who does not and cannot change. He kept true to the covenant
that he made in the eternal counsel of the triune God in eternity
past. At the cross, he revealed himself
in omnipotence, the power of his love, a fire that can never
be quenched He manifests His love for His own on the cross. There God revealed Himself in
His holy character, in His suffering. He revealed His wrath because
of man's sin. At the cross, He revealed Himself
in righteous judgment. At the cross, He revealed Himself
in His wisdom as the Sovereign One, able to create the impossible
and then to face, embrace, and conquer the impossible. On the
cross, He revealed Himself in His holiness, His justice, His
mercy, and His truth. As we've read here from the Gospel
of John this morning, I'd remind us that in all four Gospel accounts,
we're clearly told that there were three crosses, not one,
not two, but three. Matthew 27, 38, then were there
two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand and another
on the left. Mark 15 27 and With him they
crucify two thieves the one on his right hand and the other
on his left Luke 23 33 and when they were come to the place,
which is called Calvary There they crucified him and the male
factors one on the right hand and the other on the left Then
in our text, John 19, 18, where they crucified him and two other
with him on either side, one and Jesus in the midst. Three
crosses. It is not a coincidence that
all four gospels speak clearly of three crosses. Why a crucifixion as a means
of death? It was according to God's will
that He, Emmanuel, God in the flesh, should die the death of
the cross. He could not simply die of some
disease. He could not be stabbed to death. He could not be stoned to death.
He must die the death of the cross by His own decree. why? because the death of the cross
symbolizes the curse of God upon sinners we read way back in the
book of Deuteronomy chapter 21 verses 22 and 23 and if a man
have committed a sin worthy of death now we know that our Lord
Jesus committed no sin but he came to bear our sin. If a man
have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death,
and thou hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all
night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that
day, for he that is hanged is accursed of God. that thy land be not defiled,
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." The
Apostle Paul said in Galatians 3.13, Cursed is everyone that
hangeth on a tree. The common curse of sin was upon
all three crosses. The cross to the left and the
cross on the right represents all Adam's race, every man, woman,
boy and girl. We are all under sin. There is
none righteous, no, not one. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. But on the middle cross, God
Himself in human flesh bore the same common cause as all Adam's
race. He bore the same curse as all
the world and yet not for all the world. It was customary at
a Roman crucifixion to make a little sign, a little plaque to be placed
above the one on the cross and written on it his name and the
crime for which he was being executed. In verse 19, absolutely nothing or no one
but God Himself in His sovereignty could have moved Pontius Pilate
to write what he wrote and put on that superscription. Verse 19, it said this, in English,
eight words, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Verse 20
tells us it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Hebrew was the language of the
Jews, as you know. Greek was the language of the
educated, cultured world. and Latin, the language of the
Romans. So it's written clearly for all
to see in three languages. Remember the curse upon Babylon
back in the early chapters of Genesis was confusion of tongues. It's not so here. God put the
curse on himself and all can read clearly in their own language. So this inscription, though from
the pen of Pilate, it's inspired of God. It's God revealing Himself,
declaring His person and His place on the cross. I have just three thoughts from
this statement of scripture, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. First, God's salvation. The first word of the superscription
is Jesus, which as you know means Savior. Nowhere in scripture
is he said to be the potential Savior. of any man, let alone
all men, but rather He is Jesus, the certain Savior of all whom
He came to save. This is precisely what the angel
told Joseph in a dream before the Savior was born. Matthew
1.21, Thou shalt call His name Jesus. Why? Meaning, because, for he shall
save his people from their sins. Not might save, but shall save. Who? His people. Already his people before he is born. He never came
to offer salvation. He came to accomplish it for
a people already His. He said in John 17, 2, I've come
to give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given me.
In that same chapter, John 17, verse 9, I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me. John 6.37, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. That's all that's coming
and that's why they're coming. John 6.44, no man can come to
me except the Father which hath sent me draw him. He's the Savior. John 10.28, I give unto them
eternal life and they shall never perish no ifs, ands, or buts
about it. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand." He's the Savior.
He says to the unbelieving world, John 10, 26, you believe not
because you are not of my sheep. That's why you cannot and do
not believe. So if you truly believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ this morning, and are trusting Him and Him
alone, you're blessed above anything this world has to give. Thank God for it. Don't live
your life whining that you don't believe enough. None of us do.
But thank God you're a believer. We're all like the man who said,
Lord, I believe. Helped thou mine unbelief. And
in these uncertain times in which we live, He's the Savior. He's the Savior. Nobody saves
themselves. Paul wrote to Timothy, He hath
saved us. He's the Savior. You hadn't saved
yourself. He hath saved us and called us
with an holy calling. Not according to our works, you
are not your own Savior, but according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us, don't you love that word given?
Given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. When was it
given us? Before the world began. I have no use for modern religion. that has a God that's still trying
to make up His mind about who He'll save. Oh, no! This was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. We're talking about God our Savior
who declared the end from the beginning and prepared from the
beginning what the end would be. He's not waiting on your
opinion. He's not waiting on my opinion.
He knew where He was headed before He started. So the Scripture
said, Call His name Jesus. Why? For He shall save His people
from their sins. He's the Savior. That's the first
thing. Jesus. That's God's salvation. Secondly, Jesus of Nazareth. That's God's shame. What did God ever do in all eternity
and time that He should bear any shame? Absolutely nothing. But in His great condescension,
He came down into this world to be made in the likeness of
sinful man. And this shame is revealed on
the cross in this that is written, this mention of Nazareth, Jesus
of Nazareth. Nazareth has a shame attached
to it. It was commonly known as a village
of uneducated, uncultured, ignorant, insignificant people, just a
little village of nobodies. It was a very serious question.
In John chapter 1, when Nathanael asked Philip, can there any good
thing come out of Nazareth? He was as serious as could be. Can there any good thing come
out of Nazareth? There never has. Is it possible? So God in the person of His Son,
identified Himself with us. He revealed Himself as one with
us in our shame, the shame of our sin. Nazareth. Not New York,
not Hollywood, not London or Paris, but Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth. Sin has done nothing more in
you than was revealed in Him in His shame on the cross that
day. And He's on the cross in our
stead. We are redeemed. Our sins are
gone because of what He did. He has done more for us than
sin has done to us. That's the very thing some of
you need to get a hold of. He has done more for us than
sin has done to us. We ought to believe Him and love
Him and rejoice in that and live our lives for His glory. The
third thing, Jesus, God's salvation, Nazareth, God's shame, and then
the King of the Jews. God's sovereignty. You say, but
I thought the Jews rejected Him as their King. The natural Jew
did. The spiritual Jew didn't. Those
quickened by the Spirit of God embraced Him as you and I embraced
Him this morning. Who are the Jews? Who is a Jew? Romans 2. 28, 29, Paul wrote, For he is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit,
and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men. but of
God. The New Testament teaches us
that those who are of the faith of Abraham, these are the children
of Abraham. That is who the Jew is. That
is who Israel is, the name Israel. You remember from the very first
was the new name God gave to Jacob when he broke after that
all-night wrestling match. That's who Israel is, broken
Jacob. And if you today as a sinner
have experienced such a breaking by the Spirit of God, then you're
part of Israel. That's who Israel is. So this
Jesus of Nazareth, he's King of the Jews, King of saints.
King of the spiritual seed of Abraham, King of the Church.
He was declared King to marry his mother while he was still
in her womb, before he was born. Luke 1, 32 and 33, He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. The throne.
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there shall be no end. He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever. That is, all of us Jacobs that
are scoundrels, supplanters, deceivers, sneaky, sinners that
belong to him, he'll reign forever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end. The wise men who came from the
East, they knew He was King. They ask in Matthew 2, verse
2, where is He that is born King of the Jews? Not born to be King,
but born King. In John 12, verse 13, on this
very day, one week before the Resurrection, Palm Sunday, today,
when Christ rode into Jerusalem on an ass's coat, they said,
Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel
that cometh in the name of the Lord. In Revelation 1.18, after
the resurrection on the Isle of Patmos, it is given of the
Lord to John to write, I am he that liveth and was dead, And
behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. That sounds like the King to
me. That's who He is. So God's place on the cross was
first to reveal His salvation. Jesus, the Savior. Secondly, His shame. Jesus of
Nazareth. And thirdly, His sovereignty. King of the Jews. So on this
day, Palm Sunday, begins what was historically known as Passion
Week, 200 years ago among God's people. And 100 years ago, this
entire week was observed and kept for prayer and meditation
and worship Palm Sunday today. On Tuesday, the early meal of
the Passover, Tuesday evening, when we'll come together again
to observe the Lord's Supper. And then the Passover day, Wednesday,
the crucifixion. We're not proponents of, well,
I don't know, that's a big word for me. We're not believers in
the Catholic doctrine of Good Friday. Oh no. Our Lord was crucified
on Wednesday, and here's why. That was followed by three days
and three nights, full three days and three nights of our
Lord in the heart of the earth. And He Himself had said, There
shall no sign be given but that of the prophet Jonah. This is
it. As He was in the fish's belly
three days and three nights, So shall the Son of Man be in
the heart of the earth three days and three nights. So it's
a Wednesday crucifixion. And then as on Saturday, as it
approached the hour of the first day of the week, which would
be Saturday evening at 6, that's what Matthew 28.1 means
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. It means
as it began to approach the hour, It's not talking about getting
daylight Sunday morning. It's talking about approaching
the hour of the first day of the week, Saturday evening at
six o'clock. He arose. He arose.