A Tale of Two Hearts

The Plight of Pilate

John

John 19:1–16 NIV

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

On this joyous morning where we celebrate the truth of our Risen King, I believe it is vital for us to recognize the reason for Jesus' death and consequent resurrection. Scripture makes it clear throughout the Old Testament and Jesus reinterprets it in the beginning of His ministry, Jesus came ushering in the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus, the Lord has set up His rule and reign. So make no mistake, Jesus did not come to merely fill a need that we had, Jesus came to set up a rule and reign. He came to make known that He is the King on High.

It is with this understanding that we can give proper perspective to our text. If you have not been here the last two weeks, let me get you caught up. The hour has come, as Jesus put it, for Him to fulfill the work that needed to be done to make complete the plan of the Father. We know this work to be Jesus going to cross to be the once and for all sacrifice for the sins of the world and then to raise from the dead, proclaiming eternal victory over sin and death and in turn allowing our entrance into this kingdom and to become known as children of God. In this plan, The Lord would turn upside down the perspective of the world. Jesus allowed himself to be arrested and brought before the religious authorities who could bring no charge against Him. Their only claim was that Jesus was being untruthful about being the Messiah in the face of all of the evidence that He is who He said He is. Jesus was brought before Pilate to administer a punishment of death based on the Jewish officials claims. Pilate though also found no basis for a charge against Him.

We pick up in the story with Pilate deciding what to do with Jesus. John gives us detailed insight into the mindset of Pilate as the story unfolds. At the end of the previous chapter, Pilate told the Jews to judge Jesus in accordance with their own law. Their reply was that they did not have the authority to enact the punishment that they desired, only Pilate did.

Now we pick up with our text today. Pilate has interrogated Jesus and continually finds no basis for any charge against Him, especially for the charge that Jesus was one inciting a rebellion to overthrow Caesar as the Jewish officials had conveyed. Pilate though is conflicted with how to proceed. While Pilate finds no basis for a charge against Jesus, he is conflicted by the opinion of the Jewish officials and the people who have gathered before his court. What would they think and how would they respond to Jesus being set free?

While Pilate’s position came with the authority to make a decision to crucify or free Jesus, Pilate was driven by a perceived authority that laid before Him, the opinion of the people. Pilate feared what might be the response of the people to his decision. As a result, Pilate begins this charade to appease the hearts of the people.

How often is this the same authority that we seek to satisfy? The opinion of others or the opinion of the world drives our decisions in everything from what we will wear or what we will watch to how we will raise our children or spend our time. We are driven to fulfill the and appease the authorities of the world. We have made our hearts believe that in these things we will find life. The truth is though that in everyone of these things, we find hopelessness, anxiety, uncertainty, and emptiness. These authorities can not deliver on their promise because they themselves are no authority at all.

Think about it. We place our financial hope in the authority of the stock market. For thirty plus years, we place a portion fo our hard earned dollars into a 401K or we work for our pension plan that promises to take care of our future. We will be without need and we will have more than enough when we retire because we have been faithful to appease the financial authority. Then, when the time comes to retire, we find that the security promised by our 401Ks and pensions is no longer because they were not actually in control. Our stock market plummets and with it our security. The same is true about every authority of this world.

The Freedom of Christ

John 19:17-

John 19:17–27 NIV

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Jesus came to set us free from more than just death. Jesus came to set us free from living bound to the chains of empty authorities. Jesus came to set us free to live, live life to its fullness. Jesus came that we might be set free to live life under God’s authority and that we might experience true freedom under His rule and reign.

In this passage, we see Jesus flip the script on its head. Jesus has been mocked, shamed, beaten, and bruised. The Romans had so perfected the act of death. Every step was designed to humiliate, weaken, and break the individual.

Jesus though endures the cross in perfect control. While the guards thoughts they were in control, directing and dictating every minute of Jesus’ final hours, Jesus was actually leading their every step to fulfill the prophesies and continue to put on display that He is the Messiah. is fulfilled.

Jesus is the perfect king. He came and has set up his rule and reign. He conquered our greatest adversary, sin and death. His rising was the final blow that marked deaths defeat. Now because He lives, we can face tomorrow with more than hope. We face tomorrow victorious for