Christ The King

INTRODUCTION

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese armed forces bombed the US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. the next Day President Roosevelt delivered a radio address to the nation that described the event as a "day that will live in infamy." America was not ready for this surprise attack, and after the attack was over 2,403 people lost their lives, 1,100 other people were wounded, 21 of the Navy’s ships where destroyed or sunk, as well as 180 of the militaries airplanes around the base at Pearl Harbor.

The day Japan Declared war on America has gone down in history as one of the the most infamous days in our countries history.

This morning as we continue through the gospel of John, I would like to take you back in time to a day 2,000 years ago that will forever stand as the most infamous day in the history of all humanity.

On this day, the creation turned against their creator,

On this day, mankind raised its rebellious fist against their almighty king.

On this day, the Lion of Judah became the sacrificial Lamb.

We have come to the climax of the story of mankind.

This is the most infamous day in human history and also the day that God’s unmeasurable grace was put on full display for mankind.

At the End of Chapter 18 Pilate trying to wash his hands of Jesus Asked the Jewish people do you want me to release Jesus the king of the Jews or Barrabas a wicked thief and the people loudly responded We don’t want Jesus. We want the Thief

This morning I want us to remember what King Jesus did for us on that day.

Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 19 where we read the final hours of Jesus’s life. including his torture, His humiliation his death on the cross and His burial in another mans tomb.

There is no other chapter in all of Scripture that speaks more of how far man’s hatred for Jesus as their king will go, and there is no other passage in all of scripture that proves to mankind How much Farther God’s grace for sinful Man will reach .

The first point we want to consider today is the

JESUS The Condemned King

John 19:1-18

In the first 28 verses of this chapter we read the account of what Jesus had to endure before he went to the cross.

Paul in Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus came to earth with one purpose. To restore man’s broken relationship with God.

Do you understand what it took for THIS HEAVENLY KING to restore your broken relationship with God?

He had to endure everything you deserve because of your sins.

He humbled himself, He gave up the comforts of his heavenly throne to come to our broken sinful world,

- So that he could seek you out, and pay your debt of sin in full .

- So that he could redeem you back to the Father

- So that you could live in eternal perfection with God.

Today we are going to partake in Communion as a church. Communion is a time for us to remember the magnitude of what jesus did for us on that Cross.

I believe that 2,000 years of history has softened our look at what Jesus Truly endured so that he could redeem you back to the father.

Listen and remember what king Jesus willingly endured because of his love for you.

The Arrest

After the arrest in the middle of the night,

Trial before Sanhedrin

Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest.

It is here the first physical trauma is inflicted upon Jesus. A soldier strikes Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas.

The palace guards then blind Him with a cloth, and taunt Him to identify them as they pass by. They Hit Him in the face, and they brutally pull out His beard.

They also spit on Jesus, In the Roman world, Spitting on someone was the lowest form of disgrace you could show them. It was a symbol of total disregard and hatred towards them.

Even if this was all that had happened to Jesus the creator, It would have been more than He deserved.

But yet, He willingly endured the shame, the disgrace, and the pain because His love for you was greater than His own majesty.

BUT It didn’t stop there.

The Trial before Pilate

In the early morning, Jesus, beaten up and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night is taken across the city to stand before the ruler, Pontius Pilate.

Pilate tries to pass the responsibility to Herod, the tetrarch of Judea. But Herod sent Him back Pilate.

It was then in response to the cries of the angry mob, a mob that included many people whose lives Jesus’ miracles had likely touched, that Pilate orders a thief and murderer (Barabbas) released, and condemned Jesus the creator of all, too brutal scourging and death by crucifixion.

Even if this was all that king Jesus had to Endure. It would have been more than He deserved, But it didn’t stop there.

The Scourging of Jesus

Preparations for the scourging are carried out. Jesus is stripped of His clothing, and His hands are tied to a post above His head so that the flesh of the shoulders and the back are stretched to the limit. The Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than 40 lashes which is why Paul several times received 39 lashes in his life. But the Romans made no attempt to follow Jewish law and Jesus probably received many more strikes.

When the back of Jesus is bared and stretched tight, a Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (a cat-of-nine-tails) in his hand. It is a short whip consisting of nine heavy leather thongs, each thong laden with small lead balls, embedded with bits of glass, stone, or bone attached near the ends. This heavy whip is intended to to rip the flesh from the victims back. This heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again and again on the shoulders, back, and legs of Jesus.

At first the heavy strips of leather and glass cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper and deeper into the tissue, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial and veins bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead, bits of glass, and stone produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Eventually, the skin on the back hangs in long ribbons, and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn bleeding tissue.

The blows from the whip do not hit just the back either. When the long strands of the flagellum strike, they wrap around the victim’s body and dig into the front and sides of the body. Then the flagellum is quickly pulled back, violently ripping and tearing the flesh off the body. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.

Even if this was all that Jesus had to Endure. It would have been more than The the perfect man deserved, But it didn’t stop there.

The robe and the crown of thorns

The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, soaked with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see an opportunity to make a joke out of Him. Here is a provincial Jew claiming to be a king, but was now barely alive. So they throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. To make the travesty complete, a small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns are woven into the shape of a crown and pressed into His scalp. Since head wounds always bleed profusely, the blood is now running down His face and into His eyes.

After mocking Him and striking Him across the face some more, the soldiers take the “scepter” from His hand and strike Him on the head, which drives the thorns deeper into His scalp. After they tire of their sadistic sport, the robe is torn from His back.

The tearing of the robe from His back, just like the careless removal of a surgical bandage from a wound, causes excruciating pain as wounds reopen and more flesh is torn from His back.

King Jesus at this point was probably the most inhuman looking thing you’ve ever seen.

In fact, The prophet Isaiah wrote of the Messiah in Isaiah 52:14-15: “They shall see the Servant of God beaten and bloodied, an object of horror; so disfigured many were Horrified. His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, one would scarcely know it was a person…”

Even if this was all that king Jesus Endure. It was more than the perfect Son of God deserved, But it didn’t stop there.

The Journey to Golgotha

The soldiers then took the heavy patibulum, The cross-beam of the cross, and they tied it roughly to Jesus’ torn up shoulders. He is then ordered to march through the streets of Jerusalem to his own death. The procession leads down the Via Dolerosa, the road to Calvary. With Jesus are the two thieves who will be crucified with Him, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers. They walk slowly through the crowded streets., as many Jewish people watch in wonder. Many in the crowd jeer and mock as Jesus passes by. Others shrink back in horror at the sight of this broken man.

In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by blood loss, is too much for Jesus to bare. He frequently stumbles and falls. and when He does, the rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of His shoulders and sends splinters deep into His skin. At one point, He Falls and tries to rise back up, but his human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, looked into he near by crowd and selected a strong North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the crossbeam. Jesus follows behind, still bleeding, and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock.

SLIDE CHANGE - The Condemned King

Even if this was all that king Jesus Endured. It was more than the innocent man deserved.

END OF STORY

Understand church When it comes to Mankind we are desperately wicked.

Psalm 53:3 ESV

They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Romans 3:10–18 ESV

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

It was our own sinfulness that Condemned Jesus to die.

Jesus willingly endure the road to the cross, because his love for you is greater than your sin against him.

As we move on in our text this morning we now look at the CRUCIFIED KING

The Crucified King

John 19:18-29

Listen again As i Describe the scene,

After the journey to Golgotha is complete, the crucifixion begins.

I. Nailed to the cross

Prior to nailing Jesus to the cross, He is offered wine mixed with myrrh (Mark 15:23).According to tradition, respected women of Jerusalem provided a narcotic drink to those condemned to death in order to decrease their sensitivity to the excruciating pain . . . . Jesus refused the drink, choosing to endure with full consciousness the sufferings appointed for him by the Father.

Simon is now ordered to place the patibulum he has carried for Jesus on the ground, and Jesus is roughly thrown backward upon it with His shoulders against the wood.

The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist, places a spike in the depression, and quickly drives a heavy, square, wrought iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. He moves to the other side and repeats the action, making sure he does not pull the arms too tightly.

The patibulum is then hoisted to the top of the cross -, and the titulus which read “King of the Jews” is nailed into place above Jesus head.

The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed.

The cross is now lifted up and dropped into the hole, forcing the weight of his entire body to now rest on the nails in his hands and feet.

Death by crucifixion now begins.

As Jesus slowly sags down with the weight of His body on the nails through His wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the most sensitive nerve endings in the body – called the median nerves – The Pain travels along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain.

At this point, another phenomenon occurs in the human body. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps come the inability for Jesus to push Himself upward to gain a breath. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed, and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. He can draw air into the lungs, but it cannot easily be exhaled.

Jesus hanging on that cross, fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Doing so, however, comes at a price. To get a breath and relieve the pain in His arms and chest, He pushes Himself upward, placing His full weight on the nail through His feet. The searing agony transfers from His wrists to His feet, tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. Nevertheless, He gets a breath, and sags back down. It is undoubtedly during these periods of breathing that He builds up the strength to speak. Which are recorded in the Gospels.

When air is so precious, and each breath so painfully won, He still uses that breath to communicate with people who are near.

The first sentence, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, is “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” In my mind, this is one of the most remarkable statements in all of Scripture.

Jesus looks at the men who have beaten bruised and disgraced him in front of the crowd and He says “father forgive them because they don’t understand it yet.”

The second statement Jesus makes on the cross , to the penitent thief hanging for his own sins next to him. Jesus looks at this dying repentant man and says “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

The third statement Jesus makes from the cross, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken John (the beloved apostle), He says, “Behold, your mother,” and looking at Mary, “Woman, behold your son.” Even in the midst of his pain he was caring for his beloved. He was telling his mother its okay John is going to take care of you.

Jesus’s body is now in extremis, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues.

This realization causes Him to speak again, with one last surge of strength, He presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, looks into heaven, and cries out with a loud voice “IT IS FINISHED”

Jesus is taken down from the cross, wrapped in burial clothes, and laid in a stone tomb.

END of STORY

Jesus Came to earth to live the perfect life that no one could live so that he would be qualified to die in their place, so that he could pay the price they owe for their sins. ALL SO THAT he could redeem them back to God.

But our story is not over yet -Lets continue on…

Our third point today is that Jesus is.....

The Conquering King

John 19: 30 - 20:10

Buried

After Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea had Christ's body placed in his own tomb. The Jewish leaders didn’t want Jesus disciples to steal the body and say that he had risen, so the they ordered A large stone to seal the tomb’s entrance and placed armed soldiers to guard the sealed tomb.

One day passed and nothing happened .

two days passed and nothing happened,

But On the third day Something that the world has never seen is about to take place. While it was still dark some women including Mary Magdalien came to visit the tomb.

and A violent earthquake took place as an angel whose appearance was like lightning and whose clothes were as white as snow, descended from heaven and rolled back the stone.

The guards who were placed there to secure the entrance from intruders immediately shook in fear and fell to the ground like dead men.

The Empty Tomb

The angel announced to these women who had come to visit the tomb that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, "He is risen, just as he said." Then the angel instructed the women to inspect the tomb and see for themselves.

After they saw that Jesus was no longer in the tomb.

the Angel told them to go tell the disciples that Jesus is Risen from the grave.

STORY END

This is the Climax of all of History

King Jesus Conquered Death once for All.

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 ESV

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

King Jesus was victorious over death. He paid the price for our sin in full. which gives him the right to redeem us from the penalty of our sin.

his mission was finished His purpose was accomplished.

Bring it Home

So what does this story mean for us today?

the answer is IT MEANS EVERYTHING!!!!

Without the resurrection of Jesus we are all still lost in our sins because death still reigns

Paul speaks of the necessity of the resurrection in a striking way: 

Romans 4:25 (ESV)

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”

If there was no resurrection than there can be no justification:

Justification means to be declared right with God.

When we accept the risen Savior as our substitute payment The Bible tells us that jesus takes our debt of Sin and pays for it in full with his blood on that Cross. And this payment Justifies our account with God.

And Now we no longer have a sin debt to pay because Christ took our debt and paid it in full and in its place we now have Christ righteousness.

this means that those who accept Jesus stand before the Holy God he no longer sees their sinfulness but now sees Christ righteousness,

They have been justified

AMEN!!

Closing

The Bible tells there are two types of People when it comes to the resurrection

Those who have reject Jesus and the resurrection

& those who are redeemed by Jesus through the resurrection

If you have never believed in Jesus as the resurrected sufficient substitute payment for your sin than you are still lost in your sins. And you are Rejecting Jesus’s Grace in your life.

The Bible is so clear when it comes to this rejection of Jesus.

If you do not accept Jesus as your savior you will spend an eternity paying the debt of your sins with your life in the lake of Fire.

To accept Jesus is the simplest thing anyone could ever do

Why- Because Jesus has already done everything that is demanded for you to be saved. All you have to do is accept his free gift and Believe in Him. To believe is to call out to him in your desperation, to repent of your sinfulness and ask him to be your savior. Ask him to pay your debt of sin.

The Bible says all who believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved

What is keeping you from accepting a risen savior today?

Christians we have so much to be thankful for Because of King Jesus in our lives.

he redeemed us, He saved us, He gave u himself so that we could have eternal life. As we celebrate communion together Remember what Jesus went through All because of his love for you.

Pray!