"Our Suffering Savior"

John 20:31 – “…these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Previous messages:

“Our Sovereign Savior”

“Our Submissive Savior”

“Our Substitutionary Savior”

Yet to come messages:

“Our Sole/Soul Savior”

Today’s message:

“Our Suffering Savior”

John 19:1–16 (NASB)

1 Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; 3 and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. 4 Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” 5 Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” 6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” 8 Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; 9 and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” 12 As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” 15 So 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 then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

We are having communion today...

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NASB)

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

We need to remember the...

Violent affliction He endured.

1 Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.

16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

Scourge: (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

1. To whip severely; to lash.

2. To afflict for sins or faults.

3. To afflict greatly; to harass, torment or injure.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

“The Roman scourgings were ordinarily very severe...”

Oxford Bible Dictionary (Cat-o’-Nine-Tails)

cat-o’-nine-tails \ˌka-tə-ˈnīn-ˌtālz\ nounplural cat-o’-nine-tails [from the resemblance of its scars to the scratches of a cat] 1665: a whip made of nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle. Within each knot was tied sharpe or jagged bits of bone, glass, stone or metal.

Psalm 129:1–3 (ESV)

1 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say— 2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”

Vile atrocities He experienced.

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

5 Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”

Matthew 27:30–31 (ESV)

30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Isaiah 50:6 (NASB)

6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

Verbal abuse He encountered.

3 and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.

Matthew 27:44 (NASB)

44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

Mark 15:29 (NASB)

29 Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him...

Luke 23:11 (NASB)

...after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.

Voluntary arrest He embraced.

7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” 8 Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; 9 and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

Matthew 26:52–53 (NASB)

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. 53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Lexham Theological Wordbook (λεγιών)

λεγιών (legiōn). n. fem. legion. Roman military unit comprising 5,400 legionaries.

12 x 5,400 = 64,800

2 Kings 19:35–36 (NASB)

35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.

64,800 x 185,00 = 1,198,800,000

Communion:

The Bread

...when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

The Cup

25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Memory Verse of the Week:

Discussion Questions: (John 19:1-16)

What does God want us to know about Himself?

What does God want us to know about ourselves?

What does God want us to know about the world?

Do you see any commands to obey?

Do you see any promises to claim?

Do you see any blessings to enjoy?

Do you see any principles to apply?

Do you see any lessons to learn?

Do you see any sins to avoid?

Do you see any truths to meditate on?

Do you see any Gospel messages to share?

Did anything else stick out to you?

How else do you think God wants you to respond to His word?