Behold the Crowd

John 19:1-24

Hard Hearted 1-7

They were told twice “I find no fault in Him.” Yet, they would not yield or soften their hard hearts.

They scourged an innocent man 1

They put thorns on an Innocent man 2

They mocked an innocent man 3

They struck an innocent man 3b

They demanded to crucify an innocent man 6

Look at the hardness of their heart. They did all this when they knew that the verdict was not guilty. It isn’t that they thought he was guilty but he turned out to be innocent, NO! He was declared not guilty and then severely punished.

The human heart is hard.

Genesis 6:5 NKJV

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Ephesians 4:18 NKJV

having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

Romans 1:18 NKJV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Some know the truth and yet they reject the truth with a hard heart.

Self-Preserving 8-13

Pilate was more worried about what He would loose rather than what he stood to gain.

Pilate was confronted with the truth of who this man was. 19-22 makes is seem like Pilate believed who Jesus claimed to be but wasn’t prepared to give up his life to receive Jesus.

Mark 10:22 NKJV

But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Matthew 16:24–25 NKJV

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Pilate had to decided to be a friend of Caeser or and friend of God.

James 4:4 NKJV

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James teaches that we can’t “two time”, this was a phrase used when a girl had two boyfriends.

Galatians 1:10 NKJV

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

We can’t please the world if we choose Christ and we can’t please Christ if we choose the world.

Some know the truth but the fear of loosing out with friends or fun they never get saved.

Scripture teaches that loyalty to God and loyalty to the world cannot coexist. To be God’s friend, you must reject the world’s values, embrace Christ’s lordship, and choose whom you will serve.

Near-Sighted 23-24

They soldier we only interested in meeting their immediate wants and needs. They had one thing on their mind, “who is going to get to keep his clothes.”

They are like dogs fighting for scraps to survive. They are trying to get all they can and canning all they get.

They are not thinking of their soul or their eternity. They are only thinking of the here and now.

Luke 12:16–21 NKJV

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

This man was only concerned with what he had, what he could get and how to keep it. He neglected the eternal things a mans soul.

Colossians 3:1–2 NKJV

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

1 Timothy 5:6 NKJV

But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

Some folk life for immediate satisfaction and gratification. They may feel alive but they are dead people walking.

Mark 8:36–37 NKJV

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

A person can have the best and be worse off.

A person may have good luck and still be lost.

A person may get ahead and still be left behind.

A person may be rich with worldly goods and still be spiritually poor.