The King of the Jews

Kisses are icky. It’s not just young boys, who agree that kisses are gross. When you think about it, the idea someone putting their lips on your lips is repulsive.

It’s true . . . until you meet someone you love. It’s true until your mom or grandma bustles in and gives you a kiss. Then a kiss ain’t so bad, is it? As an expression of love, kisses are pretty awesome!

Jesus’ crucifixion is a bit the same. When you read through John’s description, the crucifixion is icky.

Jesus was flogged: back whipped raw ‘til he could hardly stand.

Jesus was dressed in a purple robe; soldiers mocked, slapping the “King of the Jews” in the face.

Jesus crowned w/ thorns; thorns in his scalp: heads bleed a lot!

Jesus staggered out of Jerusalem under the weight of his cross.

Lifted up on cross, clothes were divvied up among the soldiers

Although the sign above his head announces: this is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, he doesn’t look like a king!

Viewing Jesus’ crucifixion is not for weak stomachs.

Yet for John, and others who read his gospel as good news of Jesus’ victory, it is on that cross that Jesus reveals his glory. It’s icky, but Jesus’ love makes the crucifixion a beautiful thing.

Several weeks ago, we read and reflected on John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. It feels a long time since we looked at that passage, but for Jesus and his disciples, it wasn’t long ago: < 24h. Jesus washed their feet the evening before he was crucified.

Do you remember how John framed it?

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

John 13:3–4 (NIV)

All things are in Jesus’ power, yet he humbles himself to serve.

He took off his outer clothing. Dressed just in his χιτών, his undergarment, and a towel, Jesus kneels and washes his disciples’ feet. Now on Golgotha, Jesus has been lifted high on the cross. Below Jesus’ feet, soldiers cast lots to see who gets Jesus’ χιτών.

When Jesus is lifted up on the cross, he’s stripped of more than just his outer garments. W/o clothes, most of us are quick to cover up. That’s not possible when your hands are nailed to the beams of a cross. Jesus can’t hide. Being stripped of his clothing is one of the ways Jesus took human shame + guilt + punishment on himself.

As he describes the icky scene, John shows us how the soldiers gambling for Jesus’ clothing fulfill one of King David’s old, old songs. Ps 22 speaks of the shame and scorn that the Messiah will bear.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me,

a pack of villains encircles me;

they pierce my hands and my feet.

All my bones are on display;

people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them

and cast lots for my garment.

Psalm 22:15–18 (NIV)

Jesus takes that shame on himself.

He takes on the shame that God lifted from Adam & Eve.

Do you remember from Gen. 3 how God clothed Adam & Eve after they disobeyed the Lord? Prompted by the serpent, our first parents stopped trusting God. They no longer trusted that God’s instructions would lead them to eternal life and happiness. They rebelled against the notion that if you love God you will keep his commandments.

As soon as they disobeyed, they felt fear, guilt, and shame. Previously the people created in God’s image didn’t wear clothing in the Garden of Eden. Once they disobeyed:

The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:7 (NIV)

When God calls to them in the cool of the evening, they hide from the LordGod. They were “afraid because they were naked; so they hid.” Ever since that day, fear + shame is a barrier between God and his image-bearers.

Maybe you can relate. Earlier in the gospel, Jesus told his followers, “If you love me you will keep my commands.”

What commands?

Love God & Love neighbour. How are you doing w/ that?

To my shame, I don’t live up to God’s expectations. There’s stuff that I’d rather God didn’t see. Thoughts I’m ashamed of.

Have you felt that guilt and shame too?

Ever since our first parents sinned, shame has holds people back from God. I’ve talked to people who won’t step foot in a church building for fear lightning from heaven would strike them. I love their sense of God’s holiness! Yet shame is not the last word in our relationship w/ God. It wasn’t for Adam & Eve. It’s not for you either.

B/c of his great love, God had compassion on Adam & Eve. Although he announced their doom and proclaimed his curse on sin, God did not abandon his dearly loved people to wallow in shame.

Genesis records a tender scene of compassionate care as the Lord replaced their fig leaves:

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Genesis 3:21 (NIV)

Can you picture our heavenly Father kneeling before Adam & Eve and helping them slip on the garments he made? The Lord God covers their nakedness and shame.

On the cross, Jesus takes on the shame and guilt of humankind. Jesus bears the shame of all humankind when his clothing is stripped away. He picks up curse from where Adam & Eve were rescued and takes their sin and shame upon himself.

It’s an icky sight . . . until you see Jesus’ love. Earlier in the gospel, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV). Out of love for you, Jesus took the flogging and wore the soldiers’ mocking, slaps, and spit.

Worse yet, Jesus experienced hellish separation from the love of his Father. The Lord God allowed Jesus’ clothing to be stripped away, so that you no longer need to fear punishment. B/c of Jesus’ sacrifice, you do not need to feel ashamed in the presence of our Father in heaven.

Fully God and fully human, Jesus lay down his life for you. He’s the perfect sacrificial lamb: a perfectly obedient human who can handle the punishment for sin because he is also 100% God. And when he had borne the full measure of human shame and suffering, Jesus announced, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus’ love and his glory are revealed on the cross. The icky-ness of the suffering and crucifixion fades as you recognize Jesus’ love and self-sacrifice. He took all your shame and pain on himself to spare you. B/c of his great love, he lay down his life so that by faith in Jesus you may enjoy eternal life.

Pilate and the Roman soldiers might mock the Jewish leaders by dressing Jesus up in purple robes and a crown of thorns and insisting on a written notice saying, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. But the charge is accurate. Jesus fulfilled the words of Ps. 22 that his great, great + grandfather David wrote years before. The Messiah suffered great shame and the indignity of soldiers gambling for his garments because his is the King.

Afterwards, he is buried in a kingly manner. Many people comment on the costliness of Mary Magdalene’s gift when she poured ½ litre of pure nard on Jesus’ feet at a dinner a week earlier. And Mary’s gift is a lavish preparation for Jesus’ burial.

But Nicodemus comes out of the shadows when Jesus dies. When Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for permission to bury Jesus, Nicodemus not only helps wrap Jesus’ body in strips of linen, he contributes 75 lbs. of myrrh and aloes. That’s a burial fit for a king!

Spoiler alert: on Sunday morning we’ll gather to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. It has nothing to do with bunnies and eggs. It has everything to do with our Lord and Saviour rising victorious from the grave so we can live with him and live for him!

For today, it’s enough to marvel at how Jesus lay down his life and was humiliated to rescue you from sin, and guilt, and shame. As we gather at the Lord’s Supper table, remember and believe that Jesus died in your place so you can live eternally with God.