John 19:1-16 | Sunday December 1st, 2024

Jesus has stood trial before Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and Pilate. Pilate does not want to get involved, so when he finds out Jesus is from Galilee he sent Jesus over to be tried by Herod. Jesus does not answer Herod’s questions, so he is sent back to Pilate. Pilate tells the crowd:

Luke 23:14-16 ESV

(14)  and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining Him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against Him.
(15)  Neither did Herod, for he sent Him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.
(16)  I will therefore punish and release Him.”

Two weeks ago, we saw Pilate ask “What is truth?” and leave before Jesus could answer. We are studying some of the most important truth in the Word of God. Jesus who is holy, without sin, perfectly innocent is being condemned to die. He has done nothing deserving death and yet He is willing to become sin and accept its punishment.

John 19:1-16 ESV

(1)  Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged Him. (2)  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe. (3)  They came up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Him with their hands. (4)  Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” (5)  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” (6)  When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” 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 according to that law He ought to die because He has made himself the Son of God.” (8)  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. (9)  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. (10)  So Pilate said to Him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” (11)  Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.” (12)  From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” (13)  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. (14)  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” (15)  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 over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

We struggle to understand Pilate’s actions. He declares Jesus to be innocent, so does Herod, and yet he has Jesus flogged. Pilate was walking in compromise. Each step took Him further than he anticipated. He had Jesus flogged to try and incite sympathy from the crowd and Jewish leaders. Pilate hoped that their wrath would be satisfied by having Jesus severely beaten. Luke tells us that Pilates plan after having Jesus flogged was to release Him. Pilate hoped this would be the end of it.

Romans had three types of floggings each increasing in its severity. There is a chance that this first one was the light version with the severe one coming after the guilty verdict. Flogging was brutal. Jesus would have been stripped and tied to a post. Several torturers would have used whips with bone, lead, or metal in the end until they were exhausted. Many died from flogging. During the flogging the soldiers also mocked Jesus.

John 19:2-3 ESV

(2)  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe.
(3)  They came up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Him with their hands.

Many of these soldiers would have been in the garden and knocked over by Jesus when He said “I Am.” They dress Him up as a mock King. The true king of kings and Lord of lords is being ridiculed. His crown being full of thorns is no accident.

Genesis 3:17-18 ESV

(17)  And to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
(18)  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Thornes are a direct result of the curse of sin. They are a reminder that humanity rebelled and sin is in the world. Jesus is being crowned with sin.

Isaiah 50:6-7 ESV

(6)  I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not My face from disgrace and spitting.
(7)  But the Lord GOD helps Me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Jesus did not hid from any of the mockery or pain. Matthew 27:30 even tells us the soldiers spit on Him. Jesus put His trust in God and set His face like flint. He trusted that the beatings, mockery, and ultimate separation from God would all be worth it. This is what had to happen for sin to be fully paid for. He had to accept the crown of thorns, the crown of sin before He could reign as the King of Kings.

John 19:4-5 ESV

(4)  Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”
(5)  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd, bloodied, beaten and mockingly dressed like a king. Pilate is mocking the Jewish leaders. Here is the Man you are so worried about. Here is the one you say is so dangerous. Look how weak and insignificant He is. Pilate’s declaration means more then He could ever know.

John 1:14 ESV

(14)  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This Man that Pilate presented was revealing the glory of God to us. He is full of grace and truth. The eternal Word made flesh. God who had no beginning was bleeding in a body that was breaking. This declaration also echoes what God had Zechariah prophecy.

Zechariah 6:11-13 ESV

(11)  Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
(12)  And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch: for He shall branch out from His place, and He shall build the temple of the LORD.
(13)  It is He who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on His throne. And there shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

What is surprising in this prophecy is that the High priest is being crowned and not the king. This prophecy pointed forward to Jesus. Pilate echoes this phrase “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch.” Jesus is both the high priest and king. He is the one who will give His blood as the sacrifice and also reign as king. He will be the one to rebuild the millennium temple. He will wear a crown of Gold.

John 19:6-7 ESV

(6)  When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” 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 according to that law He ought to die because He has made himself the Son of God.”

Pilate’s plane for the beating to appease the Jewish leaders had failed. They demand for Jesus to be crucified even as Pilate professes Jesus innocence.

The Jewish leaders kept changing the charges against Jesus. From accusations that He would destroy the temple (Mat 26:61), to claims that He taught against paying taxes (Luke 23:2), to finally the charge of blasphemy the leaders did not care what it took, they wanted Him dead. This last accusation scared Pilate.

John 19:8-10 ESV

(8)  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.
(9)  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
(10)  So Pilate said to Him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

Pilate was Roman and had been taught all the stories of the Roman gods interacting with humans at various times. He did not see Jesus as the supreme God almighty but was terrified that Jesus was some god like all the roman gods Pilate believed in. Jesus does not answer Pilates question. If Pilate was seeking truth then Jesus would have answered (Mat 7:8-9). In response Pilate asserts His authority. By doing so He condemns Himself, Pilate can free Jesus but is too scared of the crowd to do it.

John 19:11 ESV

(11)  Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.”

Even as justice is being perverted Jesus is practicing the truth found in Romans 13:1.

Romans 13:1 ESV

(1)  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Jesus knew the Pilate’s authority was given to him from above. Pilate was not the leader that day by mistake. He also will be held accountable for His actions, just as the one who delivered Jesus over to him. This person has the greater sin. Notice that not all sin is the same (Luke 12:42-48). Various sin have various degrees of punishment. If human courts understand that sin should have differing punishments then why wouldn’t God’s perfect court operate this way. All sin deserves death, but not all sin will be punished the same.

The person with the greater sin Jesus is referring to is either Judas, Caiaphas, or all of the Jewish leaders. Each one had a hand in delivering Jesus over to Pilate. It is amazing to see that as Jesus recognizes Pilates God given authority He shows His true authority as judge of all. Jesus has the authority to classify which sin is worse than another.

John 19:12-13 ESV

(12)  From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
(13)  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.

Pilate kept trying to release Jesus and yet he kept compromising. He had the authority just not the bravery. God even gave His wife a dream and she warned Him not to “Have nothing to do with that righteous man.” (Mat 27:19) The Jewish leaders used their most powerful weapon against Pilate, Caesar. Tiberius Caeser was very suspicious and any talk of Pilate supporting another king would lead to Pilates death. Pilate finally decides to give into their demands.

John 19:14 ESV

(14)  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

Pilate brings Jesus out to the judgment seat to declare the death sentence. He even attempts to wash his hands of his role in the judgment (Mat 27:24). Again Pilate speaks more truth than he even knew. “Behold your King!” Jesus was sentenced to death, and because of His sacrifice He deserves to be exalted and will reign as King of Kings. Pilate presented Jesus bloodied and mockingly dressed as a king. Jesus will be revealed to this earth and even to those who killed Him as a true King in His full majesty.

Revelation 1:7 ESV

(7)  Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.

Revelation 19:11-16 NKJV

(11) I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war.
(12)  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself.
(13)  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.
(14)  The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
(15)  Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
(16)  On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of lords.

This passage of scripture excites me so much! King Jesus will be revealed. He is Faithful and True. He will bring perfect justice to this world. The many crowns He wears are from all of the kings that He conquers. He trades in His crown of thorns and starts collecting crowns from the kingdoms He takes over. He is the Word of God who died and will reign! We are riding behind Him on horses! We get to watch our King conquer. He carries the title of King of Kings because He has earned it through the cross and has the power to prove it. He stood before the Jewish leaders and was presented as a King and they hated Him and wanted Him to die.

John 19:15-16 ESV

(15)  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 over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

This final denial of Jesus is so tragic. It goes beyond denying Jesus as the messiah or their king but is a full rejection that there even is a king to come. Israel rejected God’s kingship over them throughout the Old Testament. They wanted an earthly king so they could be like all the other nations. The fact is they were not like all the other nations. The one true living God wanted to lead and guide them and they refused. Here they are again as a nation turning from their King. He is their savior and willing to die for their sin and they do not want Him. Israel shows us what is in our hearts. They show the depth of our sin. They show our deep need for a savior who accomplished it all.

Hosea 3:1-5 ESV

(1)  And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
(2)  So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
(3)  And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
(4)  For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
(5)  Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to His goodness in the latter days.

Our hearts are like adulteresses. Just as Israel kept turning away from God, we do the same. Yet God still loves. There were consequences for rejecting Jesus as a nation. They were without a king and without sacrifice for many days. This is where they are as a nation today. Yet God is so faithful to His promises, He still loves them and will restore them. Israel will return and seek out God and let Jesus rule as their King from David’s throne. We have such an amazing savior who will remain faithful to us even in our weaknesses and faults.