There is a statement at the beginning
of Luke chapter 19 and verse 12 that strikes me as very peculiar. We're told here that Pilate sought
to release him. Pilate sought to release him,
yet Pilate signed the order for him to be executed and crucified. Pilate sought to release him,
yet Pilate delivered the Lord Jesus to their wills that he
might be crucified in response to the Jews' desire. Pilate sought
to release him, yet Pilate delivered him up to the hands of the soldiers
to nail him to the curse tree and hang him up to die. Why? If he desired to release him,
if he sought to release it, if he schemed and planned trying
to find a way to release him, if he offered Barabbas to die
in his place, why did Pilate then have him crucified? Because
God before the world began, ordained that this man Pilate deliver
him up to the will of the Jews to be crucified by Roman law,
hung up upon the curse tree as the scriptures and our Lord Jesus
himself declared repeatedly, he must be put to death as our
substitute. Now, we see the wondrous, amazing,
sovereign character of our God in countless demonstrations throughout
the book of God. The scriptures are full of displays
of God's sovereignty, not only in predestination, but in providence,
working all things after the counsel of his own will. That
glorious sovereignty is demonstrated more clearly in the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus as our substitute than in any other way. Our Lord
Jesus being ordained as the land slain from the foundation of
the world was put to death by the purpose of God for the substitutionary
sacrifice and sin atoning sacrifice of his people that he by his
death might put away our sins. having suffered all the fury
of God's wrath and justice in the room instead of all his people. So pastor, how can I have that
redemption he obtained with his blood? Believe on the Son of
God and it's yours. Faith does not accomplish redemption. Faith does not perform righteousness. Faith does not save our souls
meritoriously, but only experimentally. Faith is the fruit of redemption
accomplished. Faith in Christ is the result
of our Savior's finished work. And all who believe on the Lord
Jesus are those for whom he died. Now believe on the Son of God.
and free eternal life is yours forever. He that believeth on
the Son of God hath everlasting life. The Lord God purposed to
save us by the slaughter of his Son, but the Jewish method of
execution by law was stoning. And the Lord God specifically
wrote in the book of Deuteronomy, cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree. And he would have the Lord Jesus
crucified, not by stoning, but hanging upon a tree. As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
son of man be lifted up. And our Lord said this, signifying
by what death he should die, lifted up as a sacrifice to God. How can this be accomplished?
The Jews must come to a place where they are without power
as a political state and nation. And so it was that the Romans
conquered Israel, and Judea, and all the land surrounding
there. And the Jewish nation was brought
in subjection to the Romans. When the scepter had departed
from Judah, Shiloh stood before them. And the Lord Jesus now
has come. His hour has been accomplished.
The due time had arrived when God would commend his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ would die for
us, not as an ordinary man, not in an ordinary way, not even
as an ordinary criminal in Jewish law, but he would die for us
as a man put to death by the will of the nation of Israel,
and put to death by the law of the Roman government, crucified. And the Lord Jesus was put to
death then by Pilate, putting him to death just under the perverted
justice of Roman law. Let me remind you of the events
of that night. Our Redeemer was arrested in
the Garden of Gethsemane and hurried along the road which
crosses the Brook Kidron. He had come across that brook
into Cedron or over Cedron into Gethsemane and now like David
who passed that brook weeping as he went, our great David passed
over the brook a second time weeping as he went. This brook
Cedron was the place to which all the filth of the temple was
cast. All the filth of the sacrifices,
all the filth coming from the sacrifices, was cast into the
brook, Kidron. And our Lord Jesus is led through
that brook as the foul, filthy thing that he would soon be made
to be when he would be made sin for us. He went by the hand of
these men, led through the sheep gate. through the sheep gate
through which every Passover sacrifice by law was led. Little did these men who were
executing their will upon him understand that they were fulfilling
the will and purpose and decree of God, fulfilling the types
and pictures and prophecies of the Old Testament. May the Lord
himself sanctify our hearts as we follow our Redeemer through
his trial of cruel mockery. First, they took Emmanuel and
brought him to the house of Annas, the ex-high priest. There, they
made a brief call for no other purpose except to gratify that
bloodthirsty wretch with the sight of his victim. Then they
hurriedly took the Savior to Caiaphas' palace, the palace
of the high priest. And there the members of the
Sanhedrin were assembled and they took counsel against the
Lord and against his anointed. Then they drug the Son of God
through the streets of Jerusalem early in the morning to Pilate's
judgment hall. There they sought a legal sentence
to be passed upon him. A sentence of execution to be
pronounced against the Lord of Glory. And Pilate sent the bloodthirsty
mob to Herod. He wanted this out of his hands.
Herod sent him back to Pilate. And finally the Lord of Glory
stands here before us in Pilate's judgment hall. Here he's tried,
beaten, mocked, and sentenced to death. This is where we find
him in John chapter 19. If you will, just hold your Bibles
open at this passage, and we're going to look at the first 12
verses together. Pilate sought to release him. That's the title of my message.
It is always the will of God that rules. It is always the will of God
that rules. We're told in the book of Daniel
that the Lord was determined to teach Nebuchadnezzar something
and teach it he did. The heavens do rule. It is always the will of God
that rules. Never the will of man. Does man have a will? Of course
he does. Man has free will. How often do you hear that? Man
has free will. Man has free will. All right,
I'll give it to you. Like Brother Scott Richardson
said, your will is just as free as a frog in a snake's belly.
He can jump around all he wants to, he just can't get out. And
you cannot act contrary to your nature. Man's will, like all
his being, is depraved and corrupt. There's nothing free about it.
We're bound in the chains of darkness and corruption, depravity
and sin. Man's will never rules. Well, I believe God rules and
man has his way too. Can't both be so. Can't both
be so. Either God rules or somebody
or something else rules. Well, but Brother Don Hart, there
are times when God doesn't rule. Never. The heavens do rule. The sooner you learn that, the
more comfortable your life will be as you walk through this world.
And you won't find a more striking, vivid demonstration of God's
absolute sovereignty than in Pilate's treatment of the Lord
Jesus. Consider these things. Pilate was assured of the innocence
of our Redeemer no less than seven times He acknowledged that
Christ was that man whom he three times stated had no fault. He was assured and publicly acknowledged
that this man who's about to be crucified is altogether without
fault. This man Pilate desired to release
him. Listen to this. Pilate was willing
to release Jesus. Pilate said, I will let him go.
Pilate sought to release him. Pilate was determined to let
him go. We're told in Acts chapter three,
determined to let him go. But Pilate's wife had something
to say as well. Pilate's wife had a dream and
she was scared to death. She urged him not to sentence
the Lord Jesus. She urged him, don't do anything
with this man. I've suffered many things in
a dream this night because of him. And Pilate tried to bring
it about. He told the Jews, you take him
and judge him. Can you imagine them passing
up that opportunity? He said, you take him and judge
him. Well, they tried repeatedly to kill him. They tried to stone
him to death. They tried to throw him off a
cliff. They tried repeatedly to kill him. And now Pilate says,
all right, even though you have no legal standing, even though
you have no right to rule or judge anything or execute any
man, you're under Roman law. I, the representative of Roman
law, now give you permission. Take him out and stone him to
death. They said, we have a law, he's
supposed to die. He blasphemed because this man declared that
he's God. But the Jews wouldn't take him.
Pilate tried to get the Jews then to take Barabbas. It was customary that one man
who was sentenced to die be released on the Passover because the Romans
wanted to placate the Jews. And so they said, well, every
time you have your Passover services, we'll release one of the prisoners
to you. So would you rather have Barabbas, this murdering, seditious,
robbing man released among you or this man? who has no fault. And the Jews said, give us Barabbas,
crucify Jesus. Man's will, you see, is nothing
when it runs contrary to God's will. Here was Pilate, the Roman
governor of Judea, determined to release the Savior. Yet he
is prevented from doing so because from all eternity, God decreed
that Pilate should sentence his son to death. and all earth and
hell could not thwart the will of the Almighty. If that could
be done, he's not Almighty. I wonder why that's so difficult
for folks to get hold of. He's referred to as Almighty
God. Men even in their blasphemous
oaths will say, God Almighty, acknowledging that he's Almighty
God. But if you can stop him, if you
can tie his hands behind his back, if you can prevent him
from accomplishing his will, where is his might? Well, but
that makes pilot to be reduced to nothing but a robot, a machine. Well, my response to that is
this. So be it. Better that man should be reduced
to a robot. than that God be reduced to something
subject to man. But that's not the case at all.
That's not the case at all. The scriptures make it abundantly
clear that Pilate was fully responsible for his actions. And in the end,
the Lord God judged him for his sin, as we're told in verse 12. God judged him for his sin. The
Jews had the greater sin. Pilate had his sin. Why? Because Pilate, this wishy-washy,
good-for-nothing, self-serving politician, the only reason that
he did not accomplish his will is that he was fearful of losing
favor with Caesar, fearful that the Jews might cause difficulty. And so to placate the people,
Pilate delivered Jesus to their will. making a deliberate choice
in the face of everything he knew to be just and right. He's all right. Kill it. Kill it. The fact is, men do
do what they want to do. You do what you will to do. But your will is always under
the control of God's will. And men are responsible for what
they do. But Brother Don, I don't understand
how both could be so. I don't expect you to. But you
better bow to it. And you're going to bow to it
sooner or later. Sooner or later. Our Lord was delivered to be
crucified by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. And Peter said, you by your hands have done what God before
ordained to be done. But it's your wickedness that
did it. You mean, Brother Don, God's
predestinated everything that comes to pass. God governs absolutely
everything that comes to pass. And men are still responsible
for what they do. Read the book. Justice is always
just. God only punishes the guilty
and punishes men because of their willful disobedience to the light
God has given them in creation, in providence and in his word.
Men will be punished. You who believe not shall be
judged for your unbelief and your rebellion against God. Well,
that alters God's purpose. Oh, no. Oh, no. Esau went to
hell because Esau despised his birthright. Jacob's in glory
because God loved Jacob. The vessels of wrath were fitted
by their own works for destruction. Vessels of mercy are aforeprepared
by marvelous grace for glory. See that you understand these
things and see that you bow to God's word. Let me show you four
or five things here in these 12 verses. First, in verses one
through three, The Spirit of God reminds us of our Savior's
scourging and mockery as our substitute. Then Pilate therefore
took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown
of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple
robe and said, Hail, King of the Jews. and they smote him
with their hands. Having failed in their attempt
to release the Lord Jesus by forcing the Jews to choose
between him and Barabbas, Pilate orders the Lord to be scourged.
What is that? Take a man and strip him naked. strip him naked, and then tie
him to a post or a pillar. And a soldier would take a whip
and mercilessly beat the man. And Pilate made this one last-ditch
effort, hoping to appease the Jews and get them now to have
sympathy upon this man and let him go. He hoped that just the
scourging would be sufficient. And so the Roman soldiers gladly
performed the work. and they beat him. Let us never
forget that even now, as he stands in the judgment hall, the Lord
Jesus is our substitute. Turn back to Psalm 89. Psalm
89. All that he endured in the judgment
hall, all that he endured in Gethsemane, All that he endured
on the curse tree and all that he endured is the man of sorrows
leading him up to the curse tree. He endured as our substitute. Here in Psalm 89 verse 30. If
his children forsake my law. And walk not in my statutes.
If they break my statutes. and keep not my commandments.
My God, I confess my guilt. There's not one law, not one
commandment, not one statute I've not violated repeatedly
from my youth up. Is there anyone sitting here
who would dare say otherwise? Which did you not break? Who sitting here would be so
brazen as that rich young ruler and say, Lord, I've kept these
things from my youth up. Oh, no, we've broken these things
from our youth up. Read on. Then, then. Will I visit their transgression
with the rod and their iniquity with stripes? Bless God he was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
we are healed. Read the next verse in Psalm
89. Nevertheless, though I fully execute my wrath upon my children
in their substitute, though I fully execute my justice upon my children
in their substitute, Nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not
utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant
will I not break, nor alter the thing that's gone out of my lips.
Now, Alan put that in shoe leather. Here it is. God made a covenant
with you before the world was. He said, he'll be my son. I'll
be his God. But Adam's sin must be punished.
And the Lord God says, I'll visit his transgressions with the rod
and his iniquity with stripes. And he was wounded for your transgressions. And with his stripes, you are
healed. And now God alters nothing that's
gone out of his mouth. His covenant stands fast. And
He, the just God and the Savior, is God our Father through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Oh, amazing love. Amazing love that Jesus Christ,
God's Son, should die for me. This scourging was followed by
a mock coronation in the soldiers' hall that took bunch of thorns
and plaited them together. Would you like that job? She was out working her roses
yesterday, shoved a thorn in her hand. Imagine plaiting a
crown of thorns. What would possess anybody to
do that? What would possess anybody to do that? For what reason?
Only utter vile hatred in the heart of man for God Almighty. But something else. Back in Genesis
chapter 3 verse 18, this was the symbol of God's curse upon
man upon the earth. The earth will bring forth briars
and thorns and thistles. And so, in God's providence,
these soldiers are instruments by which the curse is pressed
into the Savior's brow. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree. Being made a curse for us. Being made a curse for us. when he was made sin for us. The Holy Lamb of God was made
a curse for us and bore our sins in his own body on the tree and
bore the curse of God upon himself as our substitute. Our Lord Jesus. These soldiers then took a purple
robe and threw it over his shoulders. Not really a robe, more of a
rag, an old purple garment of some kind, and mockingly threw
it around his shoulders. And they put a reed in his hand
to represent a scepter, the scepter of a king. And they paraded around
here. And they said, Hail, King of
the Jews! Hail, King of the Jews! And laughed
and threw a party. And as they'd say, Hail, King
of the Jews! They'd clear their throats and
spit in his face. Beat him with their fist. all
because he stood as our substitute. Oh, how he humbled himself. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God made himself of no reputation and took on
him the form of a servant and was found in likeness as a man
and being in form as a man, he humbled himself. and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. They mockingly bowed
the knee to him and said, hail, king of the Jews, because he
declares himself to be a king. He made clear he's the king,
and they would not hack him. All of his people bowed to him
as king. All of them do. If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, that is, confess with
your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, believeth
with reference to righteousness accomplished. And with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. Confession is made with reference
to that salvation which Christ accomplished. So that when a
sinner is born again, given faith in Christ, he bows to Christ. Some of you are going through
a struggle right now. Your unbelief. The problem is
not that you don't believe the record. The problem is not that
you don't believe that Jesus is the Christ. The problem is
not that you don't believe that Christ accomplished redemption.
There's another struggle, a deep seated struggle in your soul. And the heart and essence of
your unbelief is just this. I'm going to have my way. I'm
going to have my way. I'm going to have my way. Well,
how do you know? Because I've been there. I've
been there. The one thing that no man will
do Is bow to Christ the Lord and surrender your life to his
rule Except God graciously make you bow Bow you will I'm not going to
I won't tell you something you're going to bow If not here seeking
his mercy in the day of judgment, acknowledging his justice. Every
knee shall bow of things in heaven and things in the earth and things
under the earth. And every tongue shall confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father.
Now, the next thing I want you to see is that our Lord here
has his innocence proclaimed by his executioner. We're told
in verse four, Pilate, therefore, sent forth again, and saith unto
them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that
I find no fault in him." No fault in him. Three times he made that exact
statement. John 18, here twice in John 19.
I find no fault in him. God Almighty used this man Pilate
who had no regard for the Lord Jesus. This man Pilate who had
no regard for God. This vile, wretched politician
Pilate. God used him to proclaim as a
representative of law, judgment, and government that the man who
is about to be executed is altogether faultless before the law. Why
do you reckon? Your lamb shall be without blemish,
a male of the first year. Thou shalt not sacrifice unto
the Lord thy God any bullock or sheep. Wherein is blemish
or any evil favored, evil favoredness. For that is an abomination under
the Lord thy God. Why did Pilate pronounce this
innocence? So that all men might understand
what every believer rejoices to know. You would not redeem
with corruptible things a silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers. but with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,
who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you. Now third, there's
a striking sentence in verse five that demands our attention. Behold the man. No doubt, Pilate wanted to stir
sympathy in these Jews. And so he brings the Lord Jesus
out before them, as if to say, look at this man. He's a man
like you. Look at him. Beaten, covered with his own
blood, swollen from beatings, covered with the spit of men. Sure that's enough for you. What
more do you want? What more do you want? Behold
the man, not just any man, the man of whom the scriptures constantly
speak. Beginning in Genesis chapter
three, there is a man who's coming who is the seed of the woman
who must crush the serpent's head. In Revelation chapter 12,
John sees this vision of a woman bearing a man-child in the earth.
And that man-child is the Lord Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer. He is the man spoken of throughout
the book. In fact, he is the only ideal
man there ever was. The man. The sinless man. The suffering man. The substitute
man. This man who is now sovereign
of the universe, this man whose power it is to save all those
the father gave him, this man having power over all flesh to
give eternal life to as many as the Lord God gave him. But
read verse five again. Notice the word pilot is in italics. You know what that means? Our
King James translators added the word. So let's read it without
pilot. Then came Jesus forth wearing
the crown of thorns and the purple robe and saith unto them, behold
the man. Oh, what a difference. Here stands
the Lord Jesus. Pilate brings him out, hoping
to stir the sympathies of the Jews. But the Lord Jesus, remember,
he's God in charge. He's God in control. And here
he stands. And though this man would say
nothing in defense of himself, Though he would say nothing to
pilot to in any way possibly persuade anyone not to execute
him because he was determined to die in our stead. Here he
stands. Be. Covered in his blood, his
visage more marred than any man, so much so that men are astonished
at him. Astonished, as it were, looking
at him turned to stone. As you well know, I don't tolerate
those silly pictures. They're supposed to be pictures
of Jesus. I've never seen one that didn't make him look like
some limp-wristed effeminate fellow, and that's intolerable. But the fact is, we don't have
any images, pictures, or representations of God our Savior. None at all.
But if you had one that portrayed him, you wouldn't want it hanging
over your dining room table. If you saw this man as he stood
before these Jews and these Gentiles and these Roman soldiers in Pilate's
judgment hall, you'd come nearer vomiting than
smiling. His visage more marred than any
man, standing there beaten, bruised, swollen, beard plumped out, covered
with the spit of men. And the Savior stands calmly
and says, behold the man. In the Old Testament, over and
over again, he said, behold me, behold me. God, the Father said
for us to behold his servant. God, the Holy Spirit tells us,
behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And
the Lord Jesus here, it seems to me, stands before those men
who thirsted for his blood, those men who were his crucifiers,
Jews and Gentiles, and issues this call to sinners whose hands
drip with his blood. Behold the man. Behold the man. To look to him is to believe
him. Look, behold this man as Israel
beheld the serpent lifted up in the wilderness. Oh, my God,
the Holy Spirit give you eyes of faith to behold the man. His gospel promises, I will pour
upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the spirit of grace and of supplications. I will call you by my grace to
supplicate the throne of grace and they shall look on me. whom
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth
for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one
is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day, in that day, in the day that God gives you
eyes of faith to behold his Son, there shall be a fountain open
to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
for sin and for uncleanness. Oh, Spirit of God, give me constant
supplies of grace that I may constantly behold the man who
died in my stead until my heart constantly erupts in ever increasing
faith and love for him who loved me and gave himself for me. We see the judge and executioner
trembling before the one he condemns. Verse 6, when the chief priest,
therefore, and officer saw him, they cried out saying, crucify
him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, take
ye him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered
him, we have a law. And by our law he ought to die. Now watch this. Because he made
himself the Son of God. That's pretty plain, isn't it?
Why did they execute him, Lindsay? Because he, being a man, made
himself God. They understood what he said.
Don't you find it amazing? that men can go to college, Bible
college and seminary and study the ancient languages and study
the original text, study the historic background of how we
got the scriptures and the men who wrote the scriptures and
as well. You know, I don't really see how you could say that Jesus
said he was God. Or some Mormon will come along.
Some Russellite, those who call themselves Jehovah's Witnesses,
or some other heretic comes along and says, well, no, the Lord
Jesus, he's not God. He's not God. The fact is, if
he's not God, Rod, and he claimed to be God, he deserved to be
put to death. God's law required it. These
Jews understood clearly that he who is our Savior, this man,
this man standing before them, this man about to be crucified,
claimed himself to be God. And he proved it. Because the
third day after he was put to death, he raised up from the
dead. He walked out of the grave, triumphant
over death, hell in the grave. And when Pilate heard this, he
trembled. He was terrified. Could it be? Could it be that this man is
somehow related to a deity? Could it be that this man is
somehow connected to a God? And the Jews called for his execution. Pilate Recognizing the clamor,
they would not be satisfied, would not be silenced until they
had his blood dripping from their hands. Terrified lest Caesar
should hear about the tumult and he'd lose his position. Why did Pilate do what he did?
Give you two reasons. God ordained it and ordered it. And Pilate was looking out for
Pilate. That's all. The only interest
he had in this whole affair was maintaining his position. Oh,
but he's servant of the people. Worthless man sitting on a throne. But I want you to see a fifth
thing. Look at verses 10 through 12.
Our Lord Jesus, even as he stood before Pilate as a common malefactor,
wrongfully accused and unjustly condemned, asserted God's sovereignty
over his judge and executioner. Then Pilate saith unto him, speakest
thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have
power to crucify thee and have power to release thee? Jesus
answered. Thou couldest have no power at
all against me. You remember what I told you
the other night? The only power there is, is God. The only power
there is, is God. Everything that we call power
comes from God. The only power, well does that
mean might or authority? That's exactly what it means.
Might and authority. The only power, The only authority,
the only might that exists is God's. And the Lord Jesus said
to Pilate, thou couldest have no power at all against me, except
it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that delivered
me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from henceforth, from
henceforth, Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried
out, saying, if thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's
friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king
speaketh against Caesar." Our Lord Jesus standing here
in silence. He didn't answer Pilate a word.
Pilate didn't deserve an answer. More than that, the Lord Jesus
did not desire to be released. He was determined to drink the
cup of his father's wrath until damnation was gone on behalf
of his people. He stood there in silence and
Pilate was angry. He said, Don't you know who I
am? How dare you not answer me? I've got the power to release
you or the power to let you go. And the Lord Jesus then had something
to say. He said, you don't have any power. You don't have any
power except what my father gives you. It's all the power you have. All the power you have. Our Lord
is saying that Pilate, like Pharaoh, was an instrument used by God
to accomplish his purpose for the glory of his name. Robert
Hawker rightly observed, Jesus looked over the heads of all
his foes to eye the hand of Jehovah in this appointment. And it would
be always well for you and me and for all the Lord's people
to do the same. Look beyond men. Look beyond circumstances and
lift your heart to heaven. God, you brought this to pass.
I bow to you. You've accomplished this. Now
teach me why. You've brought this pain. Now
show me the reason. But whether you show me the reason
or don't, I'll bow to you. You're the Lord. You're the Lord. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now understand
this. Whatever power there is in this
world, political, civil, legal, or illegal, Whatever authority
any man has, God gives him that authority and that power. Now, did you hear they rigged
that election? How come? Because God wanted
the fellow on the throne sitting there, that's why. Why would God put some wicked
man in charge of the nation? Because we deserve it. Why would God put some wicked
man on the throne? Because people deserve it. Because
he's accomplishing his purpose. He raises up nations and raises
up pharaohs and casts down nations and dumps pharaohs in the Red
Sea. For one solitary purpose. To accomplish his eternal purpose
of grace. in the salvation of his people
by Jesus Christ the Lord. Pilate then, in his cowardly,
wishy-washy weakness, rather than releasing the Lord Jesus,
turned him over to the Jews. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Jehovah's
righteous servant had no desire to be released from his service until redemption was accomplished,
because he loved his master, and he loved his wife, and he
loved his children. And so it was then, and so it
is now, the heavens do rule. Amen.