We read in John 19 of the crucifixion
of Christ, of Pilate's handing over Christ to be crucified and
of the soldiers taking him and crucifying him. I want to draw
your attention this morning to what you'll read in verse 19
of John 19 about the superscription, the title which was put above
the Lord Jesus by Pilate when he was crucified. Read in verse
19, and Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross, and
the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Or as a similar passage in Matthew
27 puts it, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. Here's a title, an inscription,
nailed to the cross, nailed above the Lord's head, lifted up for
all to see. It was written in three tongues,
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, that all the world may read and understand. that all may know just who this
was who was crucified under it, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. In the three major tongues of
the day, all the world could read, all the world could know
who this was. It left none with excuse. It
was paraded before all men. Just who it was who was crucified. This message goes out to the
whole world. Here is a man who was crucified. Executed. A man that you need
to take notice of. An innocent man. A man innocent
of all charges. One whom Pilate himself said
that he found no fault in him. one whom Pilate himself was ready
to release. But the Jews cried out, crucify
him, crucify him. And the Jews who should have
received this man rejected him. Yes, here is a man who was executed
that the world should take notice of. An innocent man, a man rejected. Who was this man? Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. Yes, the title which was read
of the Jews outside of the city where Christ was crucified was
written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin, three tongues. Hebrew, the language of the religious,
the language of the Jews. Greek, the language of the wise,
the philosopher, the scientist, the wisdom of this world. And
Latin, the tongue of the Romans, the language of the world power
at that time. A threefold testimony, which
went out to all men, to all the world. that here beneath this
superscription was crucified Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. Now this title, this inscription
was written, it was written by a Gentile, it was written by
Pilate. He heard what Christ had said
and he heard what others had said of him. and he took it upon
himself to write an inscription. But the religious, the Jews,
who had handed over Christ to Pilate would not have it. They
said, don't write the King of the Jews, but that he said, I
am King of the Jews. Don't write that he was the King
of the Jews, but that he claimed to be. that he claimed to be. They would
not have it as truth, but as a claim. And indeed, they crucified
him for making such a claim. That was their case against him. They said, under Pilate, who
said, I find no fault in this man, they said, but we have a
law. And by our law, he ought to die,
because he made himself the son of God. And he claimed to be
the king of the Jews. But we won't have it. We won't
have it. And they questioned the truth
of what Pilate had written. They made it into just an opinion.
A claim. What Christ said of himself.
And by such a subtle attack, they entirely discredited everything
that he said. You see, they didn't take away
the description entirely. They didn't say, take down the
superscription. But they simply sought to undermine
it. They told Pilate, write not the King of the Jews, but write
that I am the King of the Jews. They sought to undermine what
Christ said. They sought to make it out to
just be his words of himself. And this is typical of the religious.
The Jews acted typical of religion even in our day. They don't outright
attack the word but they undermine it. They don't remove it entirely
but they add to it and alter it such that they effectively
remove what it says. Much like man today does with
the word of God. Man doesn't rip away the Word
of God entirely, but he alters it and twists it and adds to
it and subtracts from it such that it no longer says what it
says. They produce their translations
with their footnotes and comments to effectively undermine that
this is the Word of God. And in so doing, they remove
its force and they destroy it. Oh, the writings of man! Oh,
the inscriptions of men! How subtle man's writing is! He doesn't completely take away
the truth, but he alters it. The Jews would leave King of
the Jews on the inscription, but they'd add the two words
to the front of it, I am the King of the Jews, and cease it
from being a statement of truth to a mere claim. and so man does
today. He doesn't take away every word
from the scriptures but he adds to it and removes from it such
that it no longer says what it says. Oh how subtle the writings
and the inscriptions of men. Yet this Gentile pilot, when
questioned by the Jews about what he had written on this superscription,
answered what I have written, I have written and despite the
opposition of man, despite the opposition of religion, God was
sovereign over all and God's purposes were being wrought out
over all and no man could do even at that time, even in the
crucifixion of God's own son, No man could alter God's eternal
purpose. No man could put a finger against
God's Son, or do anything at that time, at that hour, but
what was purposed by God. And though the Jews would have
put a different title above Christ's head, nevertheless Pilate, a
Gentile, a blind dog, as the Jews would have regarded him,
a Gentile. Pilate wrote what he wrote, and
he wrote what he wrote because God would have it written. God
would have the truth written above his son, and written for
all to see, and all to read, and for none to be left with
excuse. And Pilate said, what I have
written, I have written, And God had Pilate write the truth.
Earlier in John 18, Pilate's asked the question, what is truth? Well, here is truth. Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews, what Pilate wrote was true. But what did he write? What was
this inscription? What was this inscription written
in Hebrew and Greek and Latin for all to see and all to read? What did it actually say? What
did it mean? This inscription was nailed to
the cross. It was nailed above the cross,
put above Christ's head on the cross. Placed where all could read it.
An accusation Pilate fought and the Jews fought against Christ.
That under which he was crucified, that claim the Jews said for
which they crucified him, an accusation nailed to the cross,
that which was his condemnation, much like the handwriting of
ordinances which was against us and contrary to us, Contrary
to God's people, contrary to those for whom Christ died, much
like that handwriting of ordinances which was nailed to his cross,
which condemned them, and which was taken out of the way. Here
was another inscription nailed to the cross. But this was not
of Christ's people, this was about Christ himself. Nailed
to the cross, that which the Jews thought condemned him. that
with which they accused him, that with which they crucified
him. Yet nevertheless, that which
was true, that which was true. And that inscription is so true
that should we pass by, should we read it, should we read of
it in the scriptures, should we have been there at the time
and read of it above his head in our own tongue, whichever
tongue that may be, should we pass by and ignore it, that inscription
which the Jews fought to condemn Christ with, would but condemn
us. For that inscription is the truth
of who Christ was, the truth of who this one was who was executed
beneath its words, beneath its letters. And that inscription
we must read, and we ought to believe for it is the truth and
it is the truth of just who this was who died beneath its words for what it says is true and
is it nothing to you all ye that pass by are these words nothing
to you do you come and read and read that title Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews and having read will you just pass by and
go back to your daily routine in your daily ways and forget
all about what you read and forget all about that one who was crucified
underneath those words. Are they nothing to you? Is it
nothing to you that Jesus of Nazareth The king of the Jews
was executed upon a cross by the Roman soldiers, given up
to them by the Jews, slain a brutal death. Is it nothing to you that
the king of the Jews was slain? Is this king nothing to you? Or will you look And will you read? And will you take in this truth?
Will God be pleased to open your eyes to see, to open your ears
to hear, to open your understanding of just what Pilate had written,
just what is conveyed by this threefold testimony of Jesus
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, For if you will know the truth
of this inscription, if you will comprehend its meaning, you must
first read it. And if you are to read the inscription
nailed above Christ's head, then you must have eyes to read it,
you must have understanding to comprehend it, and you must look
not just at the inscription, but on the one who was crucified
beneath it. You must look upon the face of
the Saviour, upon the face of Christ, who's nailed to the tree
beneath the inscription, the one who was nailed with his hands
and his feet to that cross, whose head hung beneath those words,
Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. If you will understand
the meaning of these words, you must hear the Gospel. And your
eyes and your mind must be open to this Gospel. But by nature,
your understanding is darkened to this Gospel. And your eyes
are blind to this Gospel. And you no more comprehend who
was crucified and why he was crucified. then you can comprehend
or hear the meaning of the inscription. It's just words. It's hid. You're blind to it. As it says
in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, If our gospel be hid, it is
hid to them that are lost. And if it's hid to you this day,
it's hid because you are lost. And you have no comprehension
of just what happened, and why it happened, and to whom it happened. It's nothing to you. And it's
nothing to you because you are lost. And you are lost because
from the womb you went forth speaking lies. From the womb
you went astray as a sheep that went astray. From your birth
you went away in the depths of your depravity and sin. a rebel
before God, in rebellion against God, at enmity against God, despising
the truth of God and His Gospel, despising His Son, despising
the Saviour, despising that man crucified upon the tree. Yes,
you are lost. and the gospel's hid to you because
you are lost and you have no thought and no time for it, because
you're lost in sins, dead in sins, dead in trespasses and
sins. It's nothing to you. If our gospel
be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of
this world have blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. Lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. This is what we need to see. We need to have the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, him who is the image of God,
shine unto us. Has that light shone unto you?
Have you not just heard the words, but has the light shone unto
you? Has it shone into your hearts? Have you comprehended the meaning
of the words, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews? For it's
him whom we preach, and him whom you must hear and see and comprehend. You must see his light in his
gospel in your hearts. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servant for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, have shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Yes, he's shone in our hearts,
he's shone through his gospel, he's shone his light out of darkness
into our hearts, and he's shone that light in to give the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And if you're
ever to comprehend the Gospel and who Christ is, then you must
have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ shining to your hearts. Oh may God have mercy
upon you this day and may he shine such light into your hearts
out of the face of Jesus Christ. That face which hung upon the
tree, that face which had a crown of thorns pressed upon it, from
which blood ran down his face, that beaten and that bruised
face, that face which was bruised and so marred and ugly that men
saw nothing in it, no beauty in it, that in which they might
desire. that face of the sun which was
bruised and beaten upon the tree, that face of the Son of God,
above which Pilate nailed a superscription which read, Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. What do you understand of the
superscription? Who was this? Who was he? Why was he there? Why did he
die? You will only know if God shines
light into your heart by this gospel. Oh, look at the superscription. Look to the one who died under
its words. Look to that face. in which the
glory of God shines. May God open your eyes to see
who this is. For what does the inscription
say? What does it say? Hear this truth,
hear the truth contained therein, that truth which Pilate wrote,
that man who knew not truth, that man who cried out, what
is truth? Well, he wrote truth here. Hear
this truth. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews, this is whom that was crucified. This is the one who
Pilate had nailed to the tree, whom the Jews cried out, crucify
him. Crucify him away with this man. We will not have this man to
reign over us. He just claimed to be our King,
we won't have Him. Jesus of Nazareth. Who is this Jesus? Who is this
Jesus that came from Nazareth? Who is this Jesus? We'll turn
to chapter 1 in John. We read something of the coming
of this Christ into this world. This one who was the light who
came into darkness. We read of him in John and chapter
1. Verse 44 we read, Now Philip
was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. And Philip
findeth Nathanael and Seth under him. We have found him of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did write. Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him,
Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Out of Nazareth,
that little town? Philip saith unto him, Come and
see. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile. And Nathanael saith unto him,
Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and saith unto
him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith
unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King
of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree,
believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things
than these. And he saith unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Yes, this was who was crucified.
Jesus of Nazareth, of Nazareth, What good thing could come out
of Nazareth? Oh, what humble beginnings! Nazareth was a nothing. How could
the king of the Jews come from Nazareth? And yet this one, whom
Philip had seen, whom he brings to Nathanael, Philip says to
Nathanael, just come and see, come and see this man. Come and
see for yourself. Come and see that he is indeed
the one of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did prophesy. This is no ordinary man. We've
found Jesus of Nazareth. The Messiah has come. The one
who was prophesied, who should come, a prophet indeed. Who should
come in fulfilment of all the types and the figures in our
law. Who should come, the Messiah.
the Saviour, the Redeemer, the One that we've longed for, come
and see He's come. But from Nazareth? Yes, Nazareth,
come and see. And when Nathanael came to him,
not only did Nathanael see him, but he came to one who knew Nathanael,
one who, though he had never met him, knew him. Before that,
Philip called thee when thou wast under the fig tree. I saw
thee. And Nathanael knew, he knew when
he came to the Lord Jesus that this was no ordinary man, that
this was not just a man, that this one that knew him, that
knew all about him, that knew his name before he was ever introduced,
this was not just man. But he said in astonishment,
Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.' And Christ said, Under him you
shall see greater things than this. You shall see the angels
of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, upon me. You shall see heavens opened,
you shall see the glory of God and the light from heaven shining
down upon me. For yes indeed, Nathanael was
right. This Jesus of Nazareth, this man born of Mary and Joseph,
this man from nowhere, from a backwater in Israel, this man that came
from Nazareth was not just a son of man, but he was indeed the
Son of God, and he was indeed, at Nathanael's testimony, the
King of Israel. And though the Jews would crucify
him at the end and would claim, oh he just claims, he says he's
the son of God, he says he's the king of Israel, and we have
a law that says he's blasphemed, that he should be put to death.
Others came and saw, and others with their eyes opened. said
of themselves of this one, he is indeed the Son of God. He is indeed the King of Israel. Yes, he's Jesus of Nazareth. This was who was crucified. Jesus, the Son of God, God's
only Son, whom he sent into this world. who came into this world
of darkness, the Son of God, the living Son, the one who is
light, the one who came from Him in whom dwells in light inaccessible,
the light of God, the eternal God, the perfect righteous Son
of God, came into this world, Jesus of Nazareth. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. This was who
was crucified. And yet he came unto his own
and his own received him not. Yet the claim was true. This
is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Blasphemy, said
the Jews, Foolishness, says the Greek. How weak, how pitiful,
said the might of Rome, of one outcast who claimed to be the
king of a tiny nation in the Middle East. With a threefold
testimony they cast him out. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans,
They read the inscription and then with one voice in unison
they despised this, the king of the Jews. But he whom the
world despised, he whom the world in unison cast out, he whom the
world mocked and derided, is a king. He is the king of the
Jews. And he is the Son of God. And
the inscription which Pilate had above his head was true. This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews. But what man saw with his blind
understanding was that which was but outward. The Jews thought
he'd come to rule over them in this world. And the Greeks laughed
at his teaching, which they counted foolishness. And the Romans looked
upon him as an outcast from Nazareth, of a pitiful little nation, which
was under their rule at that time. But he never came to be
the king of an earthly nation. He never said or meant that he
was the king of the earthly Jews. This was their folly and their
blindness. He is the King of the Jews, but
not on this world. The Israelites were but a figure,
but a figure of the true, but a type, a type of the reality,
for he is the King of his people, the Jews. He is the King of the
spiritual Israel, the spiritual Jews. He is the King of the Jews,
but not in this world. Not an earthly nation, but a
heavenly nation. Not a nation which will be destroyed
when this world is destroyed and when God comes in flaming
justice to judge all men according to their deeds. Of this world,
when this world is burnt up in fire, when God will judge and
separate the sheep from the goats, the precious from the vile, the
righteous from the unrighteous. What are the nations of this
world but a drop in the bucket? What are the kings of this world
but those who will be judged like all other according to their
deeds? They're nothing. The kings of
this world are nothing and the nations of this world are nothing.
But there's a king and a kingdom which is above all. And this
One who man crucified and thought they'd done away with, is a King
of all kings, and is the Lord of all lords. He's above every
king and every nation. And He who the heathen cast out
and despised and rejoiced over, is Him whom the Lord God Almighty
will exalt and has exalted. for He raised Him from the dead,
and though He was crucified, He rose again, victorious over
all. For this is the King of the Jews,
the King of His people, of spiritual Israel, of spiritual Zion, a
kingdom that shall never end, a kingdom which is unlike any
other kingdom, a kingdom which is eternal. This is the King
whom they crucified. This is the King of glory that
man nailed to a tree. This is He of whom the inscription
reads, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. You see, He
didn't come for an earthly nation, and He didn't come to die for
all the nations of this world. but he came to die for a particular
people, his own, a particular people called the Jews, true
Jews, those who were off the seed of Abraham, those who were
born again from above, those who were born again by the Spirit,
those whom God opened their eyes to see, who it was who was crucified. This is those for whom he died
and none else. He died for his own. He died
their king for those who would reign with him in his kingdom.
You see, he is the king of the Jews, but not the earthly Jews
whom the world despised, and not an earthly kingdom, and not
a mere man from Nazareth, But he who is the king of kings,
a heavenly king of a heavenly kingdom, who having died, rose
to never die again. As Nathanael said of him, thou
art the son of God, thou art the king of Israel. And he is
a victorious king, a mighty king, a king who died and rose again. to establish His kingdom, an
eternal kingdom, a kingdom which shall never fail, a kingdom which
shall never perish, a kingdom which has been built on sure
and certain promises, a kingdom which you need to be a citizen
of. Is this your King? Is this your
Saviour? Is this your Jesus? Are you in
his kingdom? What do you know of this kingdom
which is built on sure and certain promises, which is built on an
everlasting covenant? As David wrote, that though it
may not be well with his house, he had an everlasting covenant
which was sure and certain. Yet God hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. For this
is all my salvation and all my desire. Although he make it not
to grow upon this earth, yet this covenant and this kingdom
is everlasting. This is the covenant which was
revealed to David of a kingdom which was everlasting and of
a king which was everlasting. Oh yes, a covenant made between
God and His Son and made between God and His people for whom that
Son died, for whom that Son was crucified, for whom that Son
was slain. What do you know of this kingdom?
What do you know of this covenant? For we've read of an inscription,
we've read of writing which man wrote and nailed to the tree
And that writing, though it was true, was written by men. But
lastly, I want to tell you something of that inscription and that
writing, which is written by the finger of God. Which is written
by God. Oh, I want to tell you of that
writing which comes from God's hand. That writing written by
God's finger. A better inscription. For that
inscription of Christ is the truth of Christ. But God also
takes that truth and he writes it upon the hearts of men. He
doesn't just have it nailed to a cross which was taken out of
sight, but he takes that truth of Christ his Son, of who he
is and what he did. And he takes that truth of that
everlasting covenant he made with his Son to redeem and ransom
his people. That covenant of which Christ
was the surety, he takes that truth and he writes that covenant. He writes that covenant upon
their hearts. Yes, God writes upon the hearts
of his people that everlasting covenant which he made known
to David of that everlasting kingdom and that everlasting
king who men slew. upon a tree, who men thought
they had crucified, who men thought they had put away, but who in
weakness died to save his people in power, and in victory rose
again to bring in an everlasting kingdom, of which they are the
citizens, of which they are the benefactors, of which they are
the recipients, of which they are the recipients of that everlasting
covenant, that everlasting covenant which God writes upon their hearts.
For he says in Hebrews 8, this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I
will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. I will be to them a God and they
shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord. For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. And their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith a new
covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth
and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Oh yes, God has a covenant
that he writes upon the hearts of his people. there he writes
upon the hearts of those who were brought to believe, of those
who were brought to see the inscription above Christ's head, of those
who were brought to see the Saviour, of those who were brought to
see the light shining from his face, of those who were brought
to know just who it was who died upon that tree, and why he died,
that he died for them, and he died for their sins. and he shed
his blood to wash their sins away, that they may no longer
be dead in trespasses and sins, but that they might be washed
in his own blood, that they might be made righteous by the blood
of the Lamb. This is the people who come to
see, this is the people who God gives faith to, to see the Saviour,
to see Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. These are those
who are born again by the Spirit, to hear and to see the Gospel,
and to see Christ in the Gospel. For ye must be born again, and
when the Gospel is preached, the Spirit will cause those whom
God has purposed to save to be born again, and to hear. Have you heard? Have you heard? Has God written these laws upon
your heart? Has he written these words in
your heart? Has he written the law of faith
in your heart? The law of love in your heart?
The law of liberty in your heart? Has he written the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus in your heart? Has he written
his everlasting covenant in your heart? Has he written the name
of Jesus of Nazareth in your heart? Has he written, this is
my king, this is your king, the king of Israel, the king of the
Jews, in your heart? For this is what God writes in
his inscription in the hearts of his people. And he has something
else to say of his people, for he not only writes in their hearts
and upon their hearts, but he's written upon his own heart. He has their names, their names. Child of God, if you're His,
He has your name written upon His own heart. For we read in
the Old Testament of Aaron, the high priest who had 12 jewels
upon his breastplates, 12 stones, and upon these stones were written
the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. the twelve tribes. He had upon his heart, on his
breastplate, the names of the Israelites, the names of the
Jews. And our King, our Saviour, our great High Priest, the Lord
Jesus, has upon his breastplate the names of his tribes, the
names of the twelve tribes of Israel, the names of his people,
the names of his people. child of God he has your name
written upon his breastplate inscribed upon his breastplate
oh yes that's his love for his own that's his love what nearness
what nearness to his heart how close his people are to his heart
do you realize how close his people are to him what love he
has for them for he's not only written upon their hearts but
he has their names written upon his own He has their names written
upon His own. Who has their names written upon
His heart? We read in verse 16 of Revelation
19, just whose heart the names of His people are written on.
He who has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. This King, this King has the
names of His people on His own heart. Do you know this King,
Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews? Have you heard Him? Have you heard His voice? Have
you heard the Spirit's voice in the Gospel, testifying of
this One who was crucified for sinners? Crucified for sinners. Have you heard His voice? Has
God written upon your heart? Have you heard the voice of Him
speaking to your heart? Have you heard the voice? come
into your heart and say, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews. Amen.