Lessons from the Cross - Part 1: Make the Right Choices in Life

Lessons from the Cross

Part 1: Make the Right Choices in Life

John 19:1-16

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 30, 2018

(Revised June 9, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to John 19. Last time we took a big-picture look at the darkest day in human history: The day that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. But since the Lord's sacrificial death on the cross was God's perfect plan for salvation, we were also able to look beyond the Lord's suffering to the abundant miracles and mercy of the cross. By dying on the cross, Jesus completely fulfilled His mission on earth. The price for our sins was paid in full! Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ!

*Over the next few weeks we will take a closer look at the events in this chapter and see some crucial life lessons for today. Tonight our focus is on making the right choices in life. Let's get started by reading John 19:1-16.

MESSAGE:

*Husbands: Do you remember where you were when you decided to ask your wife to marry you? I was sitting in a McDonald’s on the north side of Atlanta. My brother Jon and his wife Marianne were there with me.

*We were in Atlanta to pick up Mary at the airport later that day. And I didn't say anything to them, but right then and there I decided to ask Mary to be my wife. That was certainly one of the best choices I have ever made in life! Praise the Lord!

*We all make choices every day, but how can we make the right choices in life? God's Word can help us, and this Scripture helps with 3 of the most important choices we can ever make.

1. FIRST: CHOOSE COMPASSION OVER CRUELTY.

*We should always choose godly compassion over ungodly cruelty. That’s what Pilate and the Roman soldiers should have done in vs. 1-3, and for context, I'll back up to John 18:36:

36. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.''

37. Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?'' Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.''

38. Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?'' And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.

39. But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?''

40. Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!'' Now Barabbas was a robber.

Chapter 19:

1. So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.

2. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.

3. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!'' And they struck Him with their hands.

*In vs. 1, they "scourged" Jesus. "Scourged" is an ugly sounding word. But no word can express the brutality of the merciless beating Jesus took from that Roman whip laced with pieces of metal and bone.

*John Phillips explained that this scourging was especially evil, because Pilate had just pronounced Jesus innocent. Then he callously handed the Lord over to this torture. But this kind of cruelty was a typical Roman choice when they questioned a man unprotected by powerful friends or Roman citizenship. (1)

*They "scourged" Jesus. Then in vs. 2-3, the soldiers began to mock Jesus: They "twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they struck Him with their hands."

*Even their praise was cruel: "Hail, King of the Jews!" It means "rejoice, be glad, fare well. Good health to you! Peace to you, King of the Jews." They mocked Jesus with their cruel praise, and they struck Him with the palms of their hands.

*Now I know that we would never be cruel like that. But there may be times when we choose a least a little cruelty over compassion. Have you said ever cruel things to your husband, wife, children, parents or friends?

*Mary and I almost never argue now, but the first few years after we got married, we locked horns more than a few times. And one of my problems was, that if I could latch on to a little bit of being right in a disagreement with my wife, I wouldn't let go of it. I would rub it in Mary's face until she couldn't take it anymore.

*Now, by God's grace, I have learned that kindness and patience are a whole lot more important than being right over some little nit-picking nothing that doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

*God wants us to choose kindness and compassion over cruelty, and we should, because our God has been so kind to us. As Paul said in Ephesians 4:

26. "Be angry, and do not sin'': do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And:

31. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

32. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

*We should choose kindness and compassion because God has been so kind to us. We also should choose compassion because people need it so badly.

*Brian Mavis reminds us in a story from his years as a missionary in Honduras. Brian and his wife Julie spent part of their time helping a ministry called "Love and Life." That ministry was both an orphanage and a hospice, because the children there were cancer patients who had been abandoned by their own families. (2)

*People need kindness and compassion, so choose compassion over cruelty.

2. AND CHOOSE THE RIGHT WAY OVER THE WRONG WAY.

*Choose God's way over the wrong way.

[1] THAT’S WHAT PILATE SHOULD HAVE DONE. BUT INSTEAD, HE CHOSE INJUSTICE OVER JUSTICE.

*Pilate knew that the Lord was innocent before he had Jesus scourged. Matthew 27:18 tells us that Pilate knew the Jewish rulers had arrested Jesus because the envied the Lord. And in John 18:38, Pilate had already gone out to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

*Pilate still knew that Jesus was innocent here in vs. 4, so he "went out again, and said to them, 'Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.'''

*Pilate also knew that Jesus was innocent in vs. 5-6 when:

5. . . Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!''

6. Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!'' Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.''

*Pilate was completely sure that Jesus was innocent. But he had Jesus scourged and crucified anyway. Pilate could have chosen the right way, but he took the easy way out, or at least he thought he did.

[2] THE ROMAN GOVERNOR CHOSE INJUSTICE OVER JUSTICE. HE ALSO CHOSE COWARDICE OVER COURAGE.

*In vs. 6-8:

6. Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw (Jesus), they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!'' Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.''

7. The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.''

8. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,

*Pilate was "the more afraid," and John Gill explained why. Part of Pilate's fear may have come from the warning his wife gave him earlier that morning. Matthew 27:19 tells us that while Pilate "was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.'''

*Pilate's fear also may have come from his conviction that Jesus was innocent, but that doesn't seem likely. William Barclay noted that the famous Jewish scholar Philo wrote that the Jews had already threatened to report Pilate to the Emperor for his misdeeds. The list of charges included "his corruption, his acts of insolence, his violent seizure of people's property, his habit of insulting people, his cruelty, his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending, gratuitous and most grievous inhumanity."

*Pilate was guilty of all that and more. But now he was afraid, and even more afraid when he heard that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. All his life, Pilate had been misled by the Roman religion of false gods, like Jupiter, Neptune, Mars and Venus.

*Now when Pilate thought on the many reports of miracles that Jesus had performed, he must have thought, "maybe this man is one of the gods come down." And Pilate was afraid. But mostly he was afraid of the riotous mob before him, and afraid of losing his position if the Jewish rulers reported him to Caesar. (3)

[3] THAT'S WHY PILATE CHOSE COWARDICE OVER COURAGE. HE ALSO CHOSE CAESAR OVER THE SAVIOR.

*In vs. 9-13, Pilate:

9. went again into the Praetorium (the Roman judgment hall), and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?'' But Jesus gave him no answer.

10. Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?''

11. Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.''

12. From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.''

13. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

[4] PILATE CHOSE CAESAR OVER THE SAVIOR. THAT'S WHY HE ALSO CHOSE THE MURDERERS OVER THE MESSIAH.

*In vs. 14-16:

14. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!''

15. But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!'' Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?'' The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!''

16. So he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.

*Pilate chose an earthly kingdom over the Heavenly Kingdom, and he will regret it forever.

*Emperor Charlemagne teaches us better. He died in 814 A.D. and was buried in the royal posture of a king sitting upon his throne. Charlemagne was buried with his sword beside him and his crown upon his head.

*A copy of the Gospels was placed on his lap. And when his tomb was opened a thousand years later, Charlemagne still wore his crown and royal garments. His cold, lifeless finger still pointed to the Scripture on his lap. And the Bible was still opened to Mark 8:36, where God's Word says: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (4)

*Even today, Governor Pilate wishes he had known that truth, before it was too late.

3. WE MUST CHOOSE THE RIGHT WAY OVER THE WRONG WAY. AND CHOOSE CHRIST OVER BEING CONDEMNED.

[1] WE MUST CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF GOD.

*Verses 6-7 tell us that:

6. . . when the chief priests and officers saw (Jesus), they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!'' Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.''

7. The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.''

*Their astounding accusation was: "Jesus, you are making yourself out to be more than just a man. You are claiming to be the Son of God! That means you are claiming to be God."

*That would be a horrible thing for Jesus to do, unless it was true. And thank God, it is true! Jesus didn't falsely make Himself out to be the Son of God. He really is the eternal, Almighty Son of God! So, the people who try to say that Jesus was just a man, or just a good man couldn't be farther from the truth.

*The great Christian author C. S. Lewis wrote about this error in MERE CHRISTIANITY and said, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus. That is: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'

*That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of thing Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.

*You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (5)

[2] WE MUST CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF GOD. AND CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE HE IS IN CONTROL.

*Verses 9-11 remind us of this great truth. Here Pilate:

9. . . went again into the (the Roman judgment hall), and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?'' But Jesus gave him no answer.

10. Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?''

11. Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.''

*Pilate thought that he was in control. But the truth is that God is in control! The cross of Jesus Christ was God's plan before time began. And the whole thing unfolded according to God's plan. Jesus had already made this truth clear back in John 10:14-18, where He said:

14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

15. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

16. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.

18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.''

*In Matthew 26:53, it was the night before this trial. Jesus and His disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus asked them, "Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" Church: That was over 70,000 angels! And Revelation 7:1 tells us that just four angels will hold back all the winds of the earth. (6)

*Jesus could have easily called for help. For that matter, He could have handled all the armies of Rome on His own. So, now in John 19:11, Jesus could speak to the governor with total authority and say, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above."

[3] WE MUST CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE HE IS IN CONTROL. AND CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE JESUS IS THE SUPREME JUDGE.

*That's why again in vs. 11, Jesus told Pilate, "The one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.'' Jesus sets the standards because He is Judge of all. As the Lord said back in John 5:22, "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son."

*Thank God that wasn't all Jesus said on that day! In John 5:22-24, Jesus said:

22. . . "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

23. that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

24. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

[4] WE MUST CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE JESUS IS THE SUPREME JUDGE. AND CHOOSE CHRIST BECAUSE HE CHOSE THE CROSS!

*Jesus had the power to lay down His life. And the Lord did lay His life down for us! Jesus laid His perfect life down to take the death penalty for our sins. He sacrificed His life on the cross so that we could live forever in Heaven with Him.

*Back on January 13, 1982, there was a terrible plane crash in Washington, D.C. Some of you will remember that crash. Air Florida Flight 90 was at the downtown National airport with 79 onboard including 5 crew members. They were headed to Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale, but there was a heavy snowstorm that afternoon.

*Flight 90 had been de-iced at National Airport, but their take-off was delayed for 45 minutes. During that time, ice re-formed on the wings. And 20 seconds after take-off, Flight 90 crashed into the 14th St. Bridge and plunged into the icy Potomac River.

*Seventy-eight people died that day, including 74 on the plane, and 4 people hit by the crashing plane. Only 4 passengers and one flight attendant were rescued from the crash and survived.

*I remember watching the news on TV, and there were two heroes in the water that day. Lenny Skutnik was on his way home from his job as a postal clerk. Lenny jumped in and saved one of the passengers.

*The other hero was one of the passengers. His name was Arland Williams, and he is the man I remember seeing on TV. The reason I remember him so well is because a U.S. Park Department helicopter had arrived on the scene. It lowered a life-ring to Arland, but he refused the rope and passed it on to the flight attendant and other injured passengers. Four times Arland passed the life-ring on to others, and the rescue team saved them.

*Then they returned to Mr. Williams, but he had slipped beneath the icy water. What a sacrifice! Arland Williams gave his life for those people. And he is a small picture of what Jesus did for us all. (7)

CONCLUSION:

*We’re talking about choices tonight. And we make a lot of choices every day. God's Word will always help us with our choices. And God surely wants us to choose compassion over cruelty, choose the right way over the wrong way, and most of all, choose Christ!

*If you have never trusted in the Lord, choose our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior. You can do that right now, as we go to God in prayer.

(1) EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Persecution" - John 19:1-3 - Source: https://www.olivetree.com

(2) SermonCentral illustration contributed by Brian Mavis, Gen. Mgr. SermonCentral. Brian and his wife Julie served for a year in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 1992-1993

(3) Sources:

-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - John 19:8

-WILLIAM BARCLAY'S DAILY STUDY BIBLE by William Barclay - "The Man Who Sentenced Jesus to Death" - Matthew 27:1-2; Matthew 27:11-26

(4) Sources

-ROBERT J. MORGAN, NELSON’S COMPLETE BOOK OF STORIES, ILLUSTRATIONS & QUOTES, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers - 2000

-"Bible Illustrator for windows" - Topic: Riches - Subtopic: Deceptive - Index: 2810 - Date: 1/1987.17 - Title: Charlemagne's Tomb

(5) Adapted from C. S. Lewis, MERE CHRISTIANITY, pp. 55-56

(7) Sources:

-Remarks on Awarding the United States Coast Guard’ Gold Lifesaving Medal to Arland Williams, June 6, 1983. www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource/speeches/1983/60683a.htm - Source: SermonCentral illustration contributed by Dr. Bruce Emmert

-"Rescue from Crash" by Kelly Moore as told to Joy Beverly - This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb, [1999?] issue of TODAY’S CHRISTIAN WOMAN.

-Air Florida Flight 90 - Wikipedia 05302018

-Arland D. Williams Jr. - Wikipedia 05302018