The power of weakness
The King – Part 2
(John 19:4-5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 6, 2010)
19:4 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!”
Q: What words did Pilate speak to introduce Jesus to the crowd?
A: “Behold the man!” (John 19:5)
Pilate went out again... (4)
History is the study of the past. In it, historians may bring forward their theories about why the past has turned out the way it has. They tend to focus on powerful individuals and nations in order to explain events that have taken place. Yet to explain how people have come to power they may be forced to speak of events causing the rise and fall of people. People of power bring about events which bring about the rise of people of power. Something like that. It is all very mysterious. Why do kings and kingdoms rise and fall?
The Bible tells us that God reigns over all. “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.” Psalm 47:8 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'” Isaiah 52:7 We understand that we do not yet see the perfection of God's reign. But the movements of people and nations toward that final day is presented to us as the result of God's sovereign will, until one day we experience what we read about in Revelation 19:6, a fact that all of heaven already proclaims, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.'”
Pilate is a man of power. He serves as an official in the great Roman Empire. He presides over an event that would have perhaps looked insignificant. Of course, what happens to the seemingly powerless Man he presents to the assembled Jews and Gentiles that day is not unimportant. The entire story of humanity turns on the events of John 19 that we refer to collectively as “the cross.” In this chapter we come to the hinge of all history. Because of this one Man and this one event in His life, the story of heaven and earth is forever changed. The person that Pilate brings out to present to the crowd is the God Man, Jesus the Messiah, and He is the King of history. He is our King.
As Pilate presents Jesus to the assembly of Jews and Gentiles, he reminds them that he finds no guilt in him. He wants the crowd to know that. There is no reason for Jesus to be put to death as far as Pilate is concerned. There is no necessity for him to die as far as the Romans are concerned. For a nation to take a man's life is not a small thing, That punishment is reserved for those guilty of offenses that are determined to be worthy of the greatest penalty that men can inflict upon a man. Pilate finds nothing of guilt in Jesus. He has been beaten and humiliated. Now he presents him as a man of obvious insignificance, a man without power. But God, who is powerful, presents Jesus as the unique Man who has no guilt. God has not forgotten His own words that He spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”
So Jesus came out... (5)
“So Jesus came out,” John writes. He said earlier that Pilate was bringing Him out as a prisoner, but this is better. Jesus is presenting Himself to the world, the Jews and Gentiles who observe this critical moment of history. He does not say anything. He just presents Himself for your consideration. What do you see? A man of power? A man who makes things happen? He appears to be just the opposite. He is a vision of weakness. He is a victim of events.
But that description does not go far enough. It is impossible to ignore the cruel joke. Jesus is not merely presented as powerless. A sick man near death could have come forward as a picture of a powerless man. Jesus has a crown of thorns and a purple robe of royalty. The vision is at once ridiculous and brutal. But one more word should be used to describe it: public. This is not a private humiliation. He is publicly humiliated. “So Jesus came out.” He endured this for you.
“Behold the Man!” (5)
Pilate adds to this gruesome picture these important words: “Behold the Man!” Jesus is a Man. He had a mother. She will be a witness of the cross. Only one woman and one man did not have mothers. Eve and Adam. Adam was the first man. He came as the representative of humanity, and he represented us in sin.
Now behold the second Man, the One that Paul calls the second Adam, the Son of God. His coming was announced to Adam and Eve after sin entered the world. He was called the “Seed” or “Offspring” of the woman. God announced that a descendant of Eve would crush the power of evil.
If you are telling the history of humanity, you will be left with a pretty large, “I don't know,” if you ignore the account of the first man in the opening three chapters of the Bible. Where did we come from? “I don't know.” Do we have any duty or purpose? “I don't know.” Why is there pain and evil in the world? “I don't know.” Is this problem every going to be fixed? “I don't know.” Can I live my life with hope and joy, knowing that God is doing something good? “I don't know.” We have answers to these question because God chose to give them to us.
It is a mistake to ignore Genesis 1-3. There are so many answers given there. But if you ignore the events of this King of mercy, if you will not behold the second Man in the love of willing suffering, you will miss the key to your highest joy, and the greatest blessedness of others. If you see the first man who represented you in disobedience to the command of God, and then see the second Man who had no fault in Him, then you are on your way to a sensible view of history, and a better view of life, despite the present suffering that you face.
Jesus is the Man. He stands before God as your representative in righteousness. He stands before the Almighty as your Sin-bearer. He is the Man who was willing to endure the cross for you, despising its shame. He did this for the joy that was set before Him. He presented Himself as a man of weakness, a man who lost, a man who looked ridiculous. He did not find the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the beating of soldiers, and the exposure before his enemies to be a happy experience, but He did find something important in the midst of these because of the joy that was set before Him. On that day He willingly secured your eternal happiness. Behold the Man! Behold God! Behold your King!
Application: How can you show the power of weakness in some important relationship of love? You have a personal history. Could it be that the turning point in your story and in your relationship with someone you love might come in your willingness to lose rather than to win?
1. How do you evaluate the scene described in these two verses?
2. What is Pilate's assessment concerning Jesus' guilt?
3. Why would an innocent man be treated in this way?
4. How does Jesus' role as second Adam help us to understand His reign as King?
(John 19:4-5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 6, 2010)
19:4 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!”
Q: What words did Pilate speak to introduce Jesus to the crowd?
A: “Behold the man!” (John 19:5)
Pilate went out again... (4)
History is the study of the past. In it, historians may bring forward their theories about why the past has turned out the way it has. They tend to focus on powerful individuals and nations in order to explain events that have taken place. Yet to explain how people have come to power they may be forced to speak of events causing the rise and fall of people. People of power bring about events which bring about the rise of people of power. Something like that. It is all very mysterious. Why do kings and kingdoms rise and fall?
The Bible tells us that God reigns over all. “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.” Psalm 47:8 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'” Isaiah 52:7 We understand that we do not yet see the perfection of God's reign. But the movements of people and nations toward that final day is presented to us as the result of God's sovereign will, until one day we experience what we read about in Revelation 19:6, a fact that all of heaven already proclaims, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.'”
Pilate is a man of power. He serves as an official in the great Roman Empire. He presides over an event that would have perhaps looked insignificant. Of course, what happens to the seemingly powerless Man he presents to the assembled Jews and Gentiles that day is not unimportant. The entire story of humanity turns on the events of John 19 that we refer to collectively as “the cross.” In this chapter we come to the hinge of all history. Because of this one Man and this one event in His life, the story of heaven and earth is forever changed. The person that Pilate brings out to present to the crowd is the God Man, Jesus the Messiah, and He is the King of history. He is our King.
As Pilate presents Jesus to the assembly of Jews and Gentiles, he reminds them that he finds no guilt in him. He wants the crowd to know that. There is no reason for Jesus to be put to death as far as Pilate is concerned. There is no necessity for him to die as far as the Romans are concerned. For a nation to take a man's life is not a small thing, That punishment is reserved for those guilty of offenses that are determined to be worthy of the greatest penalty that men can inflict upon a man. Pilate finds nothing of guilt in Jesus. He has been beaten and humiliated. Now he presents him as a man of obvious insignificance, a man without power. But God, who is powerful, presents Jesus as the unique Man who has no guilt. God has not forgotten His own words that He spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”
So Jesus came out... (5)
“So Jesus came out,” John writes. He said earlier that Pilate was bringing Him out as a prisoner, but this is better. Jesus is presenting Himself to the world, the Jews and Gentiles who observe this critical moment of history. He does not say anything. He just presents Himself for your consideration. What do you see? A man of power? A man who makes things happen? He appears to be just the opposite. He is a vision of weakness. He is a victim of events.
But that description does not go far enough. It is impossible to ignore the cruel joke. Jesus is not merely presented as powerless. A sick man near death could have come forward as a picture of a powerless man. Jesus has a crown of thorns and a purple robe of royalty. The vision is at once ridiculous and brutal. But one more word should be used to describe it: public. This is not a private humiliation. He is publicly humiliated. “So Jesus came out.” He endured this for you.
“Behold the Man!” (5)
Pilate adds to this gruesome picture these important words: “Behold the Man!” Jesus is a Man. He had a mother. She will be a witness of the cross. Only one woman and one man did not have mothers. Eve and Adam. Adam was the first man. He came as the representative of humanity, and he represented us in sin.
Now behold the second Man, the One that Paul calls the second Adam, the Son of God. His coming was announced to Adam and Eve after sin entered the world. He was called the “Seed” or “Offspring” of the woman. God announced that a descendant of Eve would crush the power of evil.
If you are telling the history of humanity, you will be left with a pretty large, “I don't know,” if you ignore the account of the first man in the opening three chapters of the Bible. Where did we come from? “I don't know.” Do we have any duty or purpose? “I don't know.” Why is there pain and evil in the world? “I don't know.” Is this problem every going to be fixed? “I don't know.” Can I live my life with hope and joy, knowing that God is doing something good? “I don't know.” We have answers to these question because God chose to give them to us.
It is a mistake to ignore Genesis 1-3. There are so many answers given there. But if you ignore the events of this King of mercy, if you will not behold the second Man in the love of willing suffering, you will miss the key to your highest joy, and the greatest blessedness of others. If you see the first man who represented you in disobedience to the command of God, and then see the second Man who had no fault in Him, then you are on your way to a sensible view of history, and a better view of life, despite the present suffering that you face.
Jesus is the Man. He stands before God as your representative in righteousness. He stands before the Almighty as your Sin-bearer. He is the Man who was willing to endure the cross for you, despising its shame. He did this for the joy that was set before Him. He presented Himself as a man of weakness, a man who lost, a man who looked ridiculous. He did not find the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the beating of soldiers, and the exposure before his enemies to be a happy experience, but He did find something important in the midst of these because of the joy that was set before Him. On that day He willingly secured your eternal happiness. Behold the Man! Behold God! Behold your King!
Application: How can you show the power of weakness in some important relationship of love? You have a personal history. Could it be that the turning point in your story and in your relationship with someone you love might come in your willingness to lose rather than to win?
1. How do you evaluate the scene described in these two verses?
2. What is Pilate's assessment concerning Jesus' guilt?
3. Why would an innocent man be treated in this way?
4. How does Jesus' role as second Adam help us to understand His reign as King?
posted by Pastor Magee at 7:50 PM
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