Okay, so turn to John 18, starting
about verse 33. I want to look at this examination
of Christ by Pontius Pilate before his crucifixion. We've been working through the
Gospel of John and we've seen how he prepared his people in
these chapters 13 through sixteen and then his high priestly prayer
preparing them for him going away and the promise of the Holy
Spirit and how there was a tortuous path to be trodden. and absolutely
one that would would terrify them and scatter them because
the shepherd would be smitten with the sword of the justice
of God and the sheep would be scattered his disciples would
be scattered and so it was and with all their fleshly bravado
when it came to it they would deny him even Peter so strongly
I'll anybody else can deny you but not me and he did he denied
him and here he is now alone in the judgment hall Caiaphas
and the high priests they've handed him over to Pontius Pilate
Think back to what Cliff read to us earlier, Exodus chapter
12, we won't turn back to it because it's very familiar to
you but it's the account of the institution of the Passover in
Exodus chapter 12. You remember how it says there
that God had said at a certain time this must happen one lamb
per household or according to the amount of eating get together
if you're very small households but you know one lamb per household
and keep it and examine it for two weeks, that's why they kept
it, to look at it, look at it, make sure it was perfect. A lamb,
a male of the first year, in its prime, strong, not the little
sort of fluffy things that jump around in March and April. but
like they are now you know strong in their prime ready for good
roast lamb that kind of thing this is the picture keep it for
two weeks to confirm that it is perfect that it is without
blemish and then on the Passover night and he said exactly when
that would be you must kill it all together each one must all
at the same time you must kill your lambs you must roast them
with fire you must eat them and anything that remains you must
burn it up so that nothing remains in the morning and the blood
of the killing of the lamb you must paint on your doorposts
and on the lintel because something's going to happen that night. it's
appointed to man to die once and then the judgment that is
absolutely certain. We read about it in Isaiah early
on. in Isaiah 24. Judgment is coming. God has said
it. It's unchangeable. God will judge
this earth. God will judge sin. He is a God
who is holy. God is angry with the wicked
every day. God will exact judgment and it is a terrible thing to
fall into the hands of the living God who is a consuming fire,
is, not was, is a consuming fire. God is a God of justice and of
holiness. and that judgment which will
definitely come it will either come when he brings this world
to an end or it will come upon you as Hebrews 9 27 says when
you die for it's appointed to die once and then the judgment
but this night this Passover night that judgment would come
early for the firstborn in every household in Egypt. Are you saying
in the Egyptians' households? No, I said every household in
Egypt. The households of the Israelites,
every household. The firstborn would die that
night, the judgment that was due for sin would come but the
angel of death came through the land looking for those firstborn
wherever the angel of death saw the blood of an acceptable substitute
on the doorposts and the lintels there he would pass over he would
pass by because why if he killed the firstborn in that house that
would be an act of the most atrocious injustice God cannot be just. And what was that hymn we sang
last week? Demand at the same time the price at Christ's hands
and then again at mine. He cannot do that. That would
be unjust. A lamb had already died. The
lamb was the acceptable substitute because it was symbolical of
Christ. And it had died in the place of the firstborn in the
Israelites' houses. Everybody that painted that blood.
I don't know, we don't read of any that didn't do it but if
they were undoubtedly their firstborn would have died. because they
would have rejected what God had said, that this is the way
of salvation. You're either, like I said in
the Isaiah study, the thing when judgment comes, two things, your
sin and your position in the Lamb of God, in the Savior. You're either in Him or outside
of Him. If you're in Him, He has dealt
with your sins. If you're outside of Him, you
must deal with your sins. You must give account. And so
it was. this was such a picture of the
gospel of substitutionary atonement, atonement means making at one
think of the word at one meant, atonement it's making at one
between God who is holy and man who is sinful, his people who
are sinful and it's making at one on the basis of the doing
and the dying of a substitute a perfect substitute who meets
all the requirements for that substitute and from then on all
through the history of Israel and there no doubt were gaps
when temple worship fell into disuse and abuse by godless kings
who did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord but nevertheless
as a general principle the keeping of the Passover went on year
by year by year. Remember when we were looking
at Daniel You know, Daniel had prayed for great things to happen
and he thought they would go back to Jerusalem and that everything
would be built up and would be restored to what it was and how
downcast he was that the report came back that there was not
any great enthusiasm for the things of God back there in those
days. it had been kept then right up
to this time and it was the Passover this was the feast of Passover
about our Easter time, that's where we have our movement moving
Easter it's to try and match the movement of the feast of
Passover at the Passover then there was a lamb do you remember
what John the Baptist said John chapter one verse thirty six
when he's baptizing at Jordan and he sees Jesus coming And
it already said that he's not the one, there's one coming that
is mightier than him. And when he sees him, behold
the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Behold
the Lamb of God, look to him, look to him. I must decrease,
he must increase. Behold the Lamb of God. And for
three and a half years from then, Our Lord Jesus Christ had been
under public scrutiny, his ministry had been under public scrutiny
and what was the verdict of everybody that ever came across him or
had anything to do with him? Words of grace and truth, full
of grace and truth. As Peter says, 1 Peter chapter
1 verse 19 he was indeed because it's not with corruptible things
like silver and gold that we're redeemed, that we're bought back
from the corruption of sin to being right with God it's by
the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. So there was no plausible accusation
that anybody could bring against him. he had the confidence to
say in uh... john eight uh... talking to the
pharisees who were trying their best to pin a charge on him which
of you convinces that's the old language but convicts me which
of you can bring a charge that can stick that i'm a sinner and
not one of them could those that had lived with him most closely
and most intimately you know you you might you might think
that uh... you know i'm i'm a pretty good
uh... moral upright sort of guy you
know you just catch me off guard at home there's a certain lady
here who sees me when things are not perhaps quite as I would
like them to be but they'd been with him and they'd never seen
anything they'd never seen any slip they'd never seen anything
that you could say that's sin never never ever he was perfect
without blemish and without spot and now Here's his final examination. Three and a half years, but now
the final examination before Pilate. And what I've called
this message is examining the lamb. Because the lamb in Exodus
for the Passover had to be kept and examined to make sure it
was perfect, that it might be the acceptable sacrifice. One
that wasn't perfect, it wouldn't have done. You could paint its
blood if you wanted, but it wouldn't work. It would not be an acceptable
sacrifice. you know somebody says oh well
I'll come with my Jesus you do what you like but it will not
avail it will be of no power it will have no influence in
dealing with sin all of this of course was ordained of God
Peter said to that multitude on the day of Pentecost that
it was all done, all of these things, these dreadful things
this was the most dreadful thing that Christ, our Lord Jesus had
to go through these dreadful things were all according to
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God for he ordains all things
according to the counsel of his own will, all things that were
necessary for the purpose of saving his people, of satisfying
justice for his people, that his law might be satisfied, that
there might therefore now be no condemnation to those who
are in him, that he might bring them to glory, that he might
welcome them into heaven as totally accepted because of all that
Christ has done, All of it was ordained but of course the mob
that was screaming and shouting and even Pilate and the Romans
they were all guilty of the most atrocious injustice that has
ever been committed. You say well you don't know all
of history there must be cases that, no there was nobody, nobody
who was absolutely sinless as he was who was ever treated like
this at the hands of man. and the fact that it was ordained
of God doesn't for one second excuse the absolute wickedness
for which those men are held account. And Pilate seems like
a reasonable man, don't undermine, don't think badly of Roman justice,
I know there are many aspects of it that were debauchery and
violent and dreadful as we might count things these days but Roman
society brought order where there'd been barbarity, it brought justice,
it brought peace, where there had been disorder, all of those
things were good things that it brought and Pilate seems to
have been a reasonable man because he examined him and found no
fault in him. nothing whatsoever and the mob's
crying crucify him and he is trying to release him don't worry
I'm not trying to excuse Pilate he ends up letting him go for
crucifixion but you can tell the man is really burdened in
his conscience about this and he says in chapter 19 and verse
5 then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and purple
robe and Pilate saith unto them behold the man look at him look
at this man just look at him I want us to look at him let's
look at him let's examine the lamb what do you see here in
these verses I've picked out four things that I see in the
time that we've got available first of all I see a king who
is not of this world look in verse thirty-three Pilate entered
into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto
him are thou the king of the Jews? What did he open with that
question? I think it was because the Jews,
the Pharisees, the high priests, they'd been thinking of ways
to get him executed because they knew because under the Roman
rule strictly speaking they didn't have power of execution. I know
we hear of mobs stoning people like when they stoned Stephen
but generally speaking under Roman rule they were allowed
to do their own thing but the right of execution was taken
away from them and the Romans had that. They wanted to get
the Romans to do away with this man because he'd been such a
burden, such a problem to them, and so they thought it might
be a good approach to make Pilate think that this man was a political
threat. Why? Because he's setting himself
up as a king. of a kingdom. He's talking again
and again, my kingdom is blah blah, my kingdom, the kingdom
of God. He kept talking about it. So he's a political threat.
So I think this is why probably Pilate opens with the question,
are you the king of the Jews? Jesus asks him, are you saying
this of yourself or did somebody else put you up to it? and Pilate
says well I'm not a Jew but your own nation and the high priests
and those who really are in charge have delivered you unto me what
have you done? look at them they're in an absolute
uproar they're screaming for your destruction what have you
done you must have done something terrible so Jesus answers the
question about his kingdom my kingdom verse 36 is not of this
world if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants
fight. But they don't, because it isn't.
His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is no political threat,
not only to the Roman government then, or to any other government
now. It's not a political threat in
any way whatsoever, because his kingdom is not of this world. It's a spiritual kingdom. It's
an eternal kingdom. It's a kingdom outside of this
realm of time. The citizens of Christ's kingdom,
of which he is king, are his elect, whom the father gave to
the son from before the beginning of time. That multitude which
is fixed and known to the mind of God but from our perspective
is as innumerable as the sand grains on the seashore are uncountable. A multitude that no man can number
from every tribe and kindred. And the citizens? have their
hope in Him, in Christ, in the King. Their hope is in Him. Their
hope is in eternity, not in this life. They know that this life
will be but for a moment as the flower of the field. It blooms
in its magnificence and then it grows old and it fades and
it dies. and you look back on a life and
you think wow it seems like five minutes ago I thought I was young
and where's it gone? Like the flower of the field
fades and dies but for the child of God your hope is eternity
eternity with Christ out of this world out of this realm of sin
and of the flesh Christ's goal Christ's ambition
the purpose of his coming was to establish and guarantee that
kingdom. He says, verse 37, to this end
was I born and for this cause came I into the world that I
should bear witness unto the truth. This was his purpose in
coming, was the establishment and accomplishment of his kingdom. That's why he came, to establish
it, to do that which was necessary to guarantee it, if I can use
that word. to guarantee that it was there,
it was an absolute certainty and reality, something on which
you can absolutely, where was it in Isaiah we're reading about
the nail in a firm place, somebody who thought he was a strong nail
would be taken out of the way but Christ the true nail would
be put in place, absolutely solid, unmovable. Do you know anything
of this kingdom? Do you know anything of it? Do you know anything of its king?
our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you hope to be there when
you're taken from this life because however young, however old, days
coming when you will be taken from this life and do you hope
to be there in that kingdom? Do you hope to have a part in
that kingdom? Do you desire to experience the
presence and the sight of the King in all his glory, in his
kingdom, reigning in his kingdom? unencumbered by the sins of this
flesh you know we see now in part but it's encumbered by the
sins of the flesh we have glimpses the veil is drawn aside and we
see sometimes sometimes it's as if heaven is as brass other
times there are sweet moments rich in blessing but then unencumbered
by the flesh do you long for those things because here is
this man this prisoner before the judge, Pilate, but he's a
king whose kingdom is not of this world. Secondly, I see a
saviour who is proclaiming truth. Look at the end of verse 37.
For this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness
unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth
heareth my voice. The accomplishment of the kingdom
was Christ's purpose in coming. That was his ambition. He set
his face as a flint to achieve these things, to achieve all
that was necessary. to establish his kingdom, and
what is his kingdom? Saved people. Behold I and the
children whom he has given me. Christ marching into heaven,
the Lord our banner with his people following him into heaven,
gloriously saved, gloriously fitted for heaven. This was his
purpose in coming. For this purpose he came. For
this purpose he was born. I know I often quote this, Galatians
4 and verse 4, easy to remember. at the right time when the fullness
of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman
born of a woman born as a man like we are with flesh and blood
under the law made under the law subject to it to live under
it to establish righteousness that he might redeem those who
are under the law and who can't keep it of themselves. This is
the reason that he came. For this cause was he born, to
redeem his people and to proclaim the truth of substitution. This
is the truth that he proclaimed, the truth of substitution. How
is a man right with God? How is a man just with God? asked Job. How can a man be just
with God? through the substitution that
is in the Lord Jesus Christ this was the truth that he came to
proclaim and he became he came to proclaim himself as that truth
he didn't say look over there at the truth I will point you
the way to he said I am the way the truth and the life no man
comes to the father to be accepted but by me he himself is that
truth he's not just the pointer to the truth oh a preacher might
be the pointer to the truth but he is himself that truth this
is why he came to bear witness to the truth this is why he spoke
so much of himself If he was an ordinary man, you would think
he was the most arrogant, self-centered person that ever lived, because
he spoke only of himself. But when he spoke of himself,
he was proclaiming the truth. For he was pointing to himself,
who is truth. He is the truth of eternal life. And he is the only, only Passover
lamb. This is what he came to proclaim.
He said, no man comes to the Father but by me. He was the
Lamb of God, John the Baptist said it, and here he is being
examined. Is he a suitable lamb to die
in the place of his people? He's being examined. Is there
any fault in him? Is he without blemish and without
spot? He's the only Passover lamb.
No man comes to the Father but by him. It's only his blood,
the blood of the true Christ of Scripture. Many people speak
of Jesus. Beware that you examine what
they say. Every spirit examine the spirits
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is of God. Don't just take that at a superficial
level. Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to be the substitute of
the people the father gave to him before the beginning of time.
to perfectly establish righteousness for those people and to die in
the place of those people, that the justice of God is satisfied
for those people, that those people might be counted righteous
and sinless in the day of judgment, that's it, that's the Jesus who
came. Not the Jesus who came to do
that for everybody, to give everybody a chance if only they will let
him, that's not the truth. You say, oh, it sounds pretty
close. It'll be all right. I'll go to a church that preaches
that rather than go nowhere. No, go nowhere. Please, go nowhere.
Don't go there. Don't go there. It's a lie. It
really is. It's a lie. It's not the truth.
It sounds like the truth. There's the occasional smell
of the truth, but it isn't the truth, not at all. It's a forgery. It's a fake. It's fool's gold
in terms of salvation. the Christ of Scripture the one
who alone whose blood will cause the angel of death to pass over
the penitent sinner is this one who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
So for whom did he do this? Oh of course I didn't mention
did I of course that 1 Corinthians 5 7 Why am I making such a connection
with Christ and the Passover? Because Paul tells us Christ,
our Passover, is sacrificed for us. He is our Passover. So for
whom did he do this? For whom did he do this? Again
and again in Scriptures we read it's for us. And the universalists
open it up and say everybody is us. But the Scriptures are
very clear. The us for whom he did this is
the Israel of God. That's what Galatians 6.16 calls
them. The Israel of God. the princes
with God who are God's princes with him the elect of God these
are the ones and how do we know they're the ones who respond
to the truth look everyone that is of the truth that's his elect
everyone that is of the truth of this gospel of substitutionary
atonement and particular redemption and sovereign grace everyone
that is of the truth that's his elect he is my voice he sovereignly
arranges it that they hear his voice that they come under the
sound of a preacher proclaiming this message that they hear his
voice and where there's just the flesh and a dead heart he
puts in a new man who has ears to hear and eyes to see that
which the natural man cannot see that they might believe and
hear and call upon him So who responds to the truth of the
gospel when they hear it? Who is it that does that? Everyone
that is of the truth. And those who are the objects
of gospel sovereign grace. These are the elect. You say
that's very limiting. I say it's an innumerable multitude.
I say it's that which doesn't keep anybody
out of heaven who thirsts and hungers and desires. Anyone who
thirsts, let him come. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be say, oh I might not be amongst the elect,
whosoever shall call. Do you have a thirst? Whosoever
thirsts, says the scripture, let him come, let him come. Jesus
said earlier in John 10, that he was the good shepherd and
he said he speaks as the good shepherd and he has some sheep.
He says to the Pharisees he says that you don't believe what I
say because you are not of my sheep worldly religion would
say you're not yet of Jesus's sheep because you haven't heard
his voice you haven't believed him he says no it's the other
way around. If you were of my sheep you'll hear my voice and
this is exactly what he says here. My sheep hear my voice
and follow me. They won't follow a hireling.
They won't follow a false prophet. They'll hear the truth and they'll
follow it because why? Because God by his Spirit comes
and teaches them things that only God's Spirit teaches. But
the natural man, the man as we are in our flesh, we hear only
nonsense. If you're Christ this morning
you can remember a time when you counted this as nonsense.
I can remember a time clearly when this was the most utter
nonsense. I remember to my utter shame persecuting a poor lad
at school who was clearly a Christian until God stopped me in my tracks. And I'm sure others have got
stories that you can say like that. But the natural man hears
only nonsense and Pilate, Pilate says, what is truth? Is there
such a thing? Is there such an absolute thing
as truth? Do you have an interest in this? Do you by your belief of the
truth, repentance of your sin, sincere desire to know and follow
Christ, do you by those things know that you are among that
multitude? for whom Christ stood as substitute
as the Passover lamb. Do you know that? Because that's
how you know, you believe the truth. My sheep hear my voice
and follow me. They hear it, they listen to
it, they do it. They're made willing in the day
of his power. The one who by nature is unwilling
is made willing in the day of the power of God. Look at him. Look at him here. This man, this
man of sorrows and undoubtedly acquainted with grief, this man
for whom the mob was baying for his cruel and utterly unjust
crucifixion is God our savior meekly submitting God with all
the power of God meekly submitting to divine justice for his people's
sin in order that he might put it away that's what he was doing
we just sung the hymn hallelujah What a saviour. And isn't that
true? If you're an object of this grace,
what can you say? Hallelujah. What a saviour. Third thing I see is a man to
be pitied. He's king of kings. He's God
our saviour. Be in no doubt. There's not God
and then another saviour. You read the middle chapters
of Isaiah 40 to 45. There's no doubt God is our saviour. And you know God will not share
that title with any other. So the one who is saviour truly
must be God. God will not share his glory
with any other. And when Christ prayed for that
glory to be restored, he must be claiming his right as God.
This is God, our saviour. But here he is, a pitiful sight.
pitiful sight. Absolutely, you know, human heartstrings
must pull very hard. He says, Pilate says in verse
5 of chapter 19, behold the man, you're coming baying to me that
this king is usurping my authority and he needs to be put to death
for political insurrection. And he says, look at the pathetic
sight, is basically what Pilate says. Behold the man, is there
any threat in him? your charges have got no basis
he's not the king that you said he was what a dreadful situation
he was in I mentioned that hymn a couple of weeks ago the ninety
and nine none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters
crossed nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through
ere he found the sheep that was lost I think it goes something
like that This really was a tortuous path that he trod to accomplish
salvation. He was handed over in the face
of Pilate trying to have him released and then refusing and
choosing Barabbas instead and that's another sermon in itself.
That's such a picture of substitute. There's the man who's most guilty,
Barabbas, just like you and me and he goes free. Why? Because
Christ dies in his place. Because he goes to the cross
in his place. I wonder if that ever had any effect on that man,
we don't know, I don't know. But there he is, he's rejected,
he's handed over to be treated as a common criminal who'd got
above his station, who needed to be taught a lesson. And so
verse 1 of chapter 19, Pilate took him and scourged him, had
him whipped so he would have been stripped to his waist and
whipped with a fierce cruel whip that would leave stripes, bleeding
stripes all over his back. There is no doubt the physical
suffering of Christ was appalling, was atrocious, was terrible to
behold. Why did he do this? You say how
unjust of Pilate knowing that this was a man in whom was no
fault whatsoever, why did he have him scourged? The only thing
I can think of is this, that perhaps Pilate thought he might
appease the screaming of the crowd and that they might say
well okay he's had a good thrashing therefore let him go. Maybe that,
maybe that's what he was doing. but he handed him over to the
soldiers to treat him as a common criminal. Do what you do, Roman
soldiers. Do what you do with criminals.
They need teaching a good lesson. You don't need to know the background
of the case. He's counted as worthy of this, so go and do
your worst to him. Go and give him a good kicking. You know,
it really is like that. Terrible, terrible treatment.
Whipped. Crown of thorns put upon his head. Vicious, vicious
thorns. Not just the mild prickles you
might find, these are vicious thorns. A kingly robe. It says here purple robe, it's
most likely that it was red in actual fact, the true colour,
what we would know as red. He was clothed in a red kingly
robe. Do you know everything has got
significance? Isn't it interesting that Isaiah in chapter one when
he talks about let us reason together, come you people, let
us reason, he says though your sins be as scarlet, bright red,
and they clothe him in a red robe, why? Because he made him
who knew no sin to be made sin for us that we his people might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Isn't there symbolism
in that? that even the red robe was a
symbol that he was loaded with the sins of his people and he
bore them in the place of his people. He was made sin for us. I don't understand what that
means. I cannot understand it. but I just believe that this
is what God says, that my sin was placed on him and he was
judged guilty of it, even though he'd never committed any sin
and was never a sinner, he was judged guilty of it and he was
punished that that sin might be blotted out, that justice
might be paid, that the account down at the bank of the justice
of God where every penny, every farthing in the ledger must balance
perfectly was perfectly balanced for the sake of his people. He
didn't go and pay everybody's debts and said therefore anybody
that fancies turning up at the bank then turn up at the bank.
No, he cleared the debts of his people, his people. For the sins
of my, for the transgressions of my people was he stricken,
says Isaiah 53. This one who was rejected of
men, this man of sorrows, this one who was still Almighty God. He was still the king of kings,
Almighty God. but he humbled himself says Paul
to the Philippians and became obedient unto death he who was
in the form of God who thought it not robbery it was no injustice
for him to be equal with God for he was God he humbled himself
and came down from that glory and was made for a little while
lower than the angels and he humbled himself unto death what
sort of death? even the death of the cross now
that doesn't strike that chord of shame and disgust in us that
it would have done in this that death of the cross was a cursed
thing for cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree this is
where he was going was to that most shameful cursed death I
imagine in that society, if you had a relative who'd been hung
on a tree, it would be a shameful thing in Israel. An absolute
cause of utter shame. You couldn't hold your head high
anywhere else. One of your relatives had been
hanged on a tree to be killed. But he's still Almighty God.
and he's going meekly like a lamb to the slaughter like a sheep
before he shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth he just
went meekly not weakly I said meekly with an M if he went weakly
then he would have just been as a man with no strength but
this was God in human flesh who submitted to the will of his
father And he drank the cup of the wrath of God every last dreg
of it. He drained it for his people.
For the transgressions of my people was he stricken to save
his people. Who are his people? Those who
hear the truth. Not the perverted version of
the truth. The truth of the gospel. They believe the gospel of Christ. They call on him to save them. And whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Job says in his tremendous suffering
Job 19.21 have pity on me oh my friends is that not an echo
it was it was the words of Job but is it not an echo like so
many of the Psalms of the words of Christ have pity on me oh
my friends who are his friends I call you no longer servants
but you are my friends said Jesus in John 15 he said I call you
my friends have pity on me oh my friends my friends if you've
got any part in the saving grace and work of Christ we must look
at this with our hearts torn apart as we see what he went
through in order to accomplish our salvation and then fourthly
and quickly I also see here a God to be feared a God to be feared
here is the only lamb that can atone for your sins and for mine
and he's accomplished all of it and he meekly submitted himself
and was a pitiful, shocking, heart-wrenching sight there.
He was sapped of all of his strength, his lifeblood was poured out
of him. Satan and all the powers of darkness And the mob were
all triumphing in that situation that they've destroyed. It's
like the picture in Revelation 12 of the church bringing forth
the child, which is Christ. And the dragon waits to devour
the child as soon as it's born, but he's plucked away up to heaven.
Just at that moment when Satan thinks he's destroyed the Christ
of God, he's there in his grasp. At that very moment, at that
very moment is Satan's destruction and is Christ's victory. there
he is in that situation sapped of all of his strength seeming
so weak the greatest injustice in all history about to be committed
and he says nothing more himself to Pilate that we read of but
there's something that the Jews said that absolutely struck terror
into the heart of Pilate look in verse 7 of chapter 19 The
Jews, he said, I find no fault in him. The Jews answered, we
have a law. And by our law, he ought to die
because he made himself the son of God. And when Pilate heard
that, he was the more afraid. I think the meaning there is
he was terrified. He was quaking. I wonder if in that moment, he
was given some insight into judgment and accountability. and to know
that he must bear that sin that he in that moment had seen that
he was consenting to the cruel unjust crucifixion of God in
human flesh. I wonder if he'd ever heard of
the Son of God. Maybe he had but here he's given some insight
and it strikes terror into him. He again tries to get Jesus released
and he says, where are you from? And Jesus wouldn't answer him
because like a sheep before his shearers he's done he answered
not a word and Pilate said, don't you know who I am? I have power. I have power to either crucify
you or let you go. Don't you think you ought to
respect me and bow before me? And Jesus answered, you could
have no power at all against me except it were given you from
above in other words it's only because I am letting you do this
in submission to the will of my father that you are able to
do it not for any other reason not for any power of your own
of course Pilate was then persuaded by fear of Caesar and not by
fear of God fear him fear him who when he is killed don't fear
those who have power to kill the body but fear him who when
he is killed has power to cast both body and soul into hell
said Jesus this shook him this shook him that here in this pitiful
man this man to be pitied was a God to be feared he's still
almighty God he's still a consuming fire it's still a fearful thing
to fall into his hands So here we see him, a king not of this
world, a saviour declaring truth, his sovereign grace absolutely
consistently. In this moment he's a man to
be pitied but don't ever forget he's the god of the universe
to be feared. How do you see him?