November 25, 2018; John 18:28-40

John 18:28-40 NLT

²⁸⁾ Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas (KI-afus) ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.

²⁹⁾ So, Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

³⁰⁾ “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

³¹⁾ “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.

³²⁾ (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.)

³³⁾ Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

³⁴⁾ Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

³⁵⁾ “AM I A Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

³⁶⁾ Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

³⁷⁾ Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

³⁸⁾ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.”

³⁹⁾ “But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰⁾ But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary)

An event in time is like a living organism.

·         Its life depends on the inter-working of all of its parts.

·         If you take any one part,

·         You steal the Life from the whole thing.

This is especially true of John's account of the death of Jesus.

John, more than any of the rest of the writers on the Gospel,

·         He views the crucifixion of Jesus as more than just history.

In the death of Jesus,

·         John sees the person

·         And purpose of Christ revealed.

So, let us take a step forward and,

·         Through John's description of Calvary,

·         Let us stand at the foot of the cross and meet this Our Christ.

The Gospel writer John tells us in 19:16b: "So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called “Place of the Skull [In Hebrew, Golgotha [gol-gatha]”

If you use your imagination,

·         You can begin to see how the rocks resembled a human skull.

·         Perhaps it was this resemblance to a skull that gave the site its name.

But for John, more than just a physical likeness was intended.

·         This place was called Golgotha

[gol-gatha] because it was a place of death,

·         A "skull" place, which is symbolic of human death and decay.

You know, today we use the symbol or the sign of the

·         Skull and crossbones as a way of labeling a warning on poisons and such.

·         Pirates use it on their flags to signal their evil intent, their lack of mercy, and to inflict fear into the hearts of others.

·         Here at Golgotha, [gol-gatha] this symbol becomes very real.

o   This was called "The place of the skull"

o   Not only because of it’s shape within the rocks,

o   But because it was a place of death.

o   Here, In this place,

§  This is where Jesus died.

In 19:16b) John tells us that Jesus is led out "bearing or carrying His own cross."

We do not find any mention within John’s writing of Jesus falling nor of someone helping him with His Cross.

See, for John, It is important for us to understand that Jesus walked the way of the cross alone.

·         That He bore the weight of the instrument of his own sacrifice by Himself, Alone.

·         Reflecting back into Genesis 22,

o   When Isaac was to be sacrificed by his father, Abraham

·         Here, Jesus will be also Sacrifice

o   But Only this time,

o   There will be no ram caught in the bushes to save him.

·         Jesus must bear the cross alone and in doing so,

o   He shows us that he will also bear the sins of all humanity, alone.

And in verse 19:19, John tells us “Pilate posted a sign on the cross which read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, so that many people could read it.”

It was placed upon the cross,

·         Not as a testimony of faith,

o   But as a sign of Pilate’s disapproval of the Jews. Pilate was poking fun at the Jews because they were so troublesome.

Next in 19:23, notice the soldiers were busy with their usual pastime, dividing the spoils.

·         However, in this case, there was very little to fight over: some garments, little better than rags, and a robe, for which the soldiers cast lots for.

·         But in doing so, the soldiers became part of the Scripture's fulfillment,

o   For in Psalm 22, the Psalmist speaks of the Messiah to come, whose hands and feet will be pierced, and whose garments are divided and robe given to the victor.

And the One spoken of was Jesus –

·         The One whom God would send to bear the burden of humanity and our sinfulness.

o   This is the One who is pierced.

o   This is the lamb sacrificed,

o   The fulfillment of promise,

o   And the gift of salvation.

And Finally, our survey of the scene at Calvary

Would be incomplete if we did not include Jesus and those who were nearby.

·         We see a group of women and a single apostle, gathered at his feet.

·         They gathered there as many families do,

o   Gathering around the bed of a dying loved one.

·         They gathered there

o   To share their pain

o   And lean on one another,

o   So their sorrow and anguish would not overcome them.

·         There they stand.

·         There in the midst of all of that anger and hatred of the crowd,

·         Among the ones who are mocking Jesus

o   And His mourners  

·         The scorns of the priests

·         Along with the soldiers throw insult after insult upon Him.

·         There, in that place of upmost shame,

o   Outside the City of Kings,

o   Jerusalem,

o   There they stand waiting,

o   And praying for it to be over.

In the midst of those at the foot of the cross is

·         Jesus’ mother, Mary.

·         Oh my - We must wonder what was going through her mind?

·         Perhaps only a parent who has lost a child to death can truly know.

·         Perhaps only those who have experienced the death of a loved one is able to describe their emotions.

·         Is Mary

o   Thinking of the angels who were singing

o   And of the shepherds who came running with excitement at his birth?

·         You know,

§  As her mind drifts off for just a moment,

§  It's not very far from here. From where it all began, just a few years ago in Bethlehem.

o   No, The distance can’t be over five miles away.

o   I could walk it in just a couple hours.

o   Oh but that night I couldn’t walk.

o   My Dear Joseph, how he helped me through it all, I will never know.

Jesus’ cries bring her back to the moment of time.

Yes, Surely, they all could walk there in less time than what my son has already suffered on this fateful Friday.

o   The journey of a lifetime,

§  Over in the span of just a few hours.

·         Perhaps she recalls the words of wise old Simeon [Sim-E-on], when they were at the Temple, when Jesus was only just a few days old.

o   In Luke 2:34, we find Simeon

[Sim-E-on] blessing Mary and Jesus and foretelling of his fate: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.”

·         Maybe it is of Jesus’ Very Own Words that she is thinking of,

o   And of His works of Wonder,

o   And of the Miracles of God,

o   And of His Kindness that he showed.

o   And yes, perhaps she remembers the times when He spoke of his own death.

What was really on her mind, we shall never know.

But, now, Jesus speaks to her

·         And even in His hour of His greatest need,

·         He thinks of her,

·         He provides for her,

·         And He assures her that she will be

o   Cared for by the disciple who stands nearby.

Events now rush to their conclusion.

John writes for us,

·         "Jesus, knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, 'I am thirsty.'"

·         He knew what was happening.

·         This was no surprise to Him.

·         He knew He was dying,

o   And He also knew the Scripture,

o   And so to fulfill the Scripture,

o   He said, "It is finished!"

It is accomplished.

It is done.

And having done that, he bowed his head and died.

·         Having done all that the Father had requested of Him,

·         He offered up His Spirit.

·         And with those words,

o   The Gospel writer John concludes his description of the events of that fateful Friday.

Note, my friends,

·         That I say description

·         And not explanation.

For no matter how skillfully,

·         John may write about the happenings that day,

·         He cannot explain the event.

·         For he cannot bring reason to this event -- because the cross is not reasonable.

In one sense, we can approach it logically

·         (As we have done in this sermon today).

·         We can describe what happened,

o   Reason from one position to another,

o   And formulate doctrines regarding it

o   As theologians have done throughout the centuries.

But no matter how hard we try,

·         We cannot fully explain the cross and of Jesus' death.

For it will always remain a mystery.

·         This is a riddle that only God can solve.

o   Think about it!

Within the story of Today, we have:

·         The cross,

o   An instrument of torture

o   That is so cruel that Rome

§  Prevented its use on any Roman citizen.

·         A mob of people condemning an innocent man,

o   And then choosing instead to release a common well-known criminal.

·         And then puts The Son of God in the hands of sinful men!

·         No, the cross is a mystery and,

o   Try as we may,

o   We cannot find 

o   Or even come up with the reason upon it.

Why –

·         That the ‘Creator’ would allow Himself to die for God's sinful creation!

·         That the Son of God should suffer so!

Centuries ago, there was a Benedictine

[ben-e-dict-En] monk, philosopher and theologian of the name Saint Anselm

[an-som],

·         He wrote to a young man who had his doubts and questions about the cross, and he said,

·         "Son, you have yet to consider the seriousness of sin."

And that is it!

Until we consider the seriousness of our sinfulness,

·         Unless we recognize in the ‘horror’ of the cross

·         Our Own failure before God,

·         Our Own shortcoming of living as God wishes for us to live,

·         We cannot

·         And we will not ever understand the cross.

For the cross confronts us with our sinfulness.

·         Here at the cross, We have:

o   The whole revolting catalog of sins being revealed.

§  Every wrong appetite,

§  Every evil desire,

§  Every wrong action

§  Or nasty thought is brought together there,

§  It is thrown upon Jesus on that monumental day.

Now I wonder: Could someone come out and say

·         That since God created Lucifer

·         And since Lucifer brought evil,

·         Could we conclude that evil is all of God’s Fault?

No, I don’t think so.

That is not the answer.

·         BUT - Wouldn’t it be easy to blame all of this on God?

o   But we cannot!

·         God did not create this world filled

o   With crime, violence, and death of which we have come to know.

·         God did not intend for people

o   And their governments to be at war with each other.

·         God did not think up schemes of greed

o   And corruption that would take

o   The savings of the poor and elderly

o   And spend it for penthouses, expensive stuff, and selfish parties.

·         God did not establish this financial system

o   Where, even in the wealthiest country of the world,

o   the poor cannot afford homes to live in.

No, this is not God's doing.

·         It is truly of our own.

·         We cannot blame God for the cross.

·         The guilt is all ours.

And yet the mystery of the Cross is just that.

The Cross is really our cross

But -  

God made it His Cross.

In God's Son, Jesus,

·         God has chosen to bear the Cross,

·         To take the punishment that is rightly ours

·         And to make it God's Own.

And therein, lies the ultimate Mystery of the Cross –

·         The mystery of God's Love for us.

For the Cross is most of all,

·         The message of God's Love,

·         Of God's Eternal Forgiveness,

·         Of God's Grace at work,

·         Pouring Himself down for you and me.

For the Cross is God’s way of calling a sinful and wandering humanity back to Himself.

·         It is God offering comfort to Peter who denied Jesus.

·         It is God offering forgiveness to Paul who persecuted Christ's followers,

·         Acceptance to Mary Magdalene

[Mag-da-lin] whose sinful life mocked God,

·         And God's Love for you and me.

In Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, there is a tomb there to an unknown Union soldier who died fighting in the Civil War.

·         When President Abraham Lincoln heard of it, he had the tomb inscribed, "Abraham Lincoln's Substitute. He died that I might live."

And likewise, we might inscribe on The Cross. "He died that we might live."

As we stand at the foot of the Cross today,

·         We see the depth of our sinfulness

·         And yet even more wonderfully,

·         We see The extent of God's Love for us.

We see the

·         Power of God's forgiveness

·         And of His wonderful Grace.

It is a promise that we,

·         Those of us who are God's children

·         The Promise that we Have in God

·         And in God alone,

To the kingdom

·         And the power

·         And the glory,

·         Forever and ever. Amen.

It is In Jesus' name we Live.

Amen.