Behold The Man!
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Pilate found no fault in Christ; yet to please the Jews, he had the Lord scourged and humiliated to soften the hearts of the Israelites.
After the beating, he presented Christ to the Jewish people with the words, “Behold the Man!”
That is what I want to preach on for just a little while this morning...
1 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SUFFERING
1 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SUFFERING
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
Previously Pilate said of Jesus, “I find no fault in Him at all” (John 18:38), yet he commanded this severe, brutal punishment for a Man he knew was innocent. It has been suggested that Pilate wanted to help Jesus, hoping the mob would be satisfied with the scourging.
Scourging was a brutal form of punishment which sometimes led to death.
The victim was stripped of his clothes and tied to a post in a bent position. He was beaten with a whip with numerous leather strands which were about 18-24 inches in length.
These strands were embedded with metal, bones, or glass and were tipped with hooks. The most common name for these whips was "cat-of-nine-tails".
Many times the scourging was not done by one man, but by a team of men that would switch off so they could rest.
The skin on the sides of the person who was whipped was shredded, exposing muscle and bone. Severe blood loss and dehydration afflicted the one being whipped and many times they ended up dying.
Under Jewish law, a person could be lashed not more than 39 times. Under Roman law though, there was no limit on the lashings.
Scourging was used to weaken the person for crucifixion. Without scourging, a strong, condemned man might survive on the cross for several days until exposure, wild animals, insects, or birds contributed to his death. The only allowable exemptions to scourging were women, Roman senators, or Roman soldiers (except in cases of desertion).
During the scourging, the back of the person would be shredded, puffy, and swollen...
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
The scourging of the Lord Jesus Christ was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Look at verse 2:
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
Kings wear crowns, but not crowns of torture. The specific thorn-bushes of this region have long, hard, sharp thorns. This was a crown that cut, pierced, and bloodied the head of the King who wore it.
The word "platted" means "braided, woven, or twisted together." The crown may have been formed from long spikes of the date palm tree - it’s thorns are known to grow between 2 and 3 inches.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
It's ironic that thorns were a symbol of the curse of man's sin.
Thorns were evidence of the world’s guilt and judgment…The sins of the whole world were placed upon Jesus Christ!
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
They mocked Him, not only by placing a crown of thorns on His head, but also by putting a purple robe on Him.
A purple robe was a symbol of royalty. Only kings or wealthy people could afford purple cloth. The purple is a reminder that He is the King of kings.
The Bible tells us also that they smote Him…That means literally, they struck Him with their fists.
No matter what men did to Him that day, He was the King of all kings, and no matter what men might think today, He is still the King of kings, and Lord of lords! He is the first and the last, He is the great I AM!
2 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SENTENCE
2 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SENTENCE
Let's consider that Jesus made no attempt either to remove His crown by lowering His head, nor the robe by attempting to shake it from His shoulders.
Since these things pointed to the purpose which brought Him into the world, He gladly bore His burden to the end. "He who knew no sin was made sin for us."
It is significant that God gives a sevenfold witness to the perfection of His Son. Since seven is the number of completion, we should give careful consideration to the following facts:
He Was Found As Guiltless
He Was Found As Guiltless
(1) The traitor Judas said, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4).
(2) The Judge, Pontius Pilate, right here in our text, said, “I find no fault in him" (John 19:4).
(3) Herod, as reported by Pilate, said, "... nothing worthy of death is done unto him." Literally this is saying, "Nothing blameable is found in him" (Luke 23:15).
(4) Pilate's wife, after dreaming about the Lord said, "Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him" (Matthew 27:19).
(5) The dying thief said, "We receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:41).
(6) The Roman centurion glorified God and said, "This was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).
He Was Found As God
He Was Found As God
(7) The crowd standing close to the cross said, "Truly, this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).
There is no doubt that this expression points to the claim which Jesus made to be the Son of God, and on which His condemnation expressly turned. The meaning, then, clearly is that He must have been what He professed to be; in other words, that He was no impostor. There’s no in-between here!
Jesus was innocent, the only thing He was guilty of was loving you and I…In His persecution, in His trial, in His sentence, He was found as guiltless and God!
3 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SACRIFICE
3 - BEHOLD THE MAN’S SACRIFICE
There are three things I want you to notice about Jesus’ sacrifice...
It was Substitutionary
It was Substitutionary
According to the Scriptures, sin must be paid for.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
When Jesus Christ died, he suffered as a substitute in the place of and on behalf of fallen humanity. Christ's death made it possible for men and women to be declared righteous, based on their faith in Him.
Christ's death was not merely a statement against evil or an expression of love, but a payment that satisfied God's demand. Christ's death was necessary!
It was Saving
It was Saving
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ’s sacrifice was a saving sacrifice.
We would be suffering in hell if God hadn’t given us a way to be forgiven for our wrongdoings.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The crucifixion that Christ had to endure is a symbol of His love for us and reveals how enormous our sin debt was. The world sins were so strong, that Jesus had to go through such a tragic and incredible pain in order to have it forgiven.
We cannot ever thank Him enough for that gift to us.
It was Supreme
It was Supreme
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Christ, through His death, has positionally perfected and sanctified those who believe in Christ.
This salvation is “for all time;” it is eternal.
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
All who have trusted in Christ have been guaranteed eternal salvation because of the sacrifice of Christ for sins.
His sacrifice was SUPREME!
Pilate had no idea what he was saying that day when he said, “Behold the Man!”
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The humanity of the Lord was evident as He stood beaten, bruised, and bleeding!
The crowd had no sympathy for Him and all cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
We we behold the man, we witness His love and mercy for a world that so vehemently hated Him!