What kind of King is Jesus?

The King – Part 7

(John 19:16-22, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 25, 2010)

19:16 … So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

So they took Jesus... (16-18)
The idea that the God of the Jews, the Messiah, the King, would be an important person, even a Savior, for people who were not Jews, the Gentiles, is not just a New Testament idea. When those who work for a group like Wycliffe Bible Translators pray and labor so hard to see the Bible translated into all the languages of the world, they are part of the fulfillment of a passage like Psalm 100 that begins with these words: “All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.” People all over the earth need to know the truth about God so that they can worship Him. They need to hear His Word spoken to them in their own language, and they need to sing to Him in the only language they know.

Jesus is not just a Savior for one ethnic group, as if He died to rescue Europeans or Americans, which would be a very strange idea for a man who grew up in the Middle East. Jesus is a Jewish Messiah, but the Jewish Messiah came to save all kinds of people. In John 19, He was taken by Jews and Romans who would soon crucify Him, but it was our sins, the sins of people from all over the world, that brought Jesus to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. He came to that place bearing His own cross, but it would be our sins that He would carry away there. He was identified with sinners on His right and His left. There the Jews and Gentiles, as representatives of all of us, crucified Jesus Christ. Can it actually have come to this point? Yes, it has. Something that started with the sin of Adam in one garden so long ago has led us to the death of the Son of Man here at Golgotha. Look at what has happened to what was once Paradise! And the second Adam and Son of God was willing to come here to redeem us and to restore the earth.

Pilate also wrote an inscription... (19-20)
Pilate has written a title, which should be a description of a crime, and has placed this on the cross. It reads, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” This is not right as far as the leaders of the Jews are concerned. It is not a crime at all, and could be confused as just a strange statement of fact. “This is the man who is known as Jesus of Nazareth.” That was His hometown. “He is the King of the Jews.” The Jews are God's chosen people. Jesus is their king.

What is Pilate doing with such a strange statement? For those who disown Jesus, who have utterly rejected Him as a false Messiah, this could easily be taken as an insult against the whole Jewish nation. Is Pilate taking a swipe at the people? “This is the kind of king you would have. Here he is, rejected, beaten, crucified, and very soon he will be dead.”

This would be bad enough if it were just a private comment tucked away in a government file. It would be unacceptable to the Jews since it is not actually saying that Jesus was guilty of anything. But this message is displayed in a place where many people see it. It is written three times for any one who would want to know who this miserable man is. Do you know the speech of the local people of Palestine? It is written for you in Aramaic. Are you a government official who communicates regularly in the language of Rome? You can read it in Latin. Are you part of the mass of people who do business throughout the known world in the language of commerce and culture? Read the words in Greek. Everyone, everywhere, high and low, in all the languages that Pilate could use, read this non-crime about a man in whom Pilate found no guilt. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. But His hands and feet are pierced with nails in fulfillment of Psalm 22. He is suffering in front of everyone, literally taking a place with the wicked in His death, just as the Jewish prophet Isaiah had said.

So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate... (21-22)
The chief priests, the religious officials of the Jews, are not pleased with Pilate's words. But he will not change them. It is as if God is now working through this man who had argued for the innocence of the disowned man that the Jews wanted the Romans to crucify. Their plan worked, but they don't like these words. Yet somehow God has spoken. His words seem to touch the whole world. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” And Pilate will not change these words.

Application: First a fact- Christians are those who receive Jesus as King. But what kind of King do have in Him? This is the question we have been trying to answer over these seven sermons.

You have the kind of King who was willing to look embarrassingly ridiculous, to be utterly disgraced, when he came to seek your best happiness. He had a crown of thorns and a purple robe and they mocked Him. You have a King who was willing to lose rather than win, to face extreme injustice, because that was what was necessary for your shalom, your peace. Your King was willing to be shown the worse disrespect, even from people He came to save. “He came to His own, and His own would not receive Him.” They were shouting for His crucifixion. Your King, the King of the Church, faced Judas, Pilate, the chief priests, and the cross as something that had come to Him from above. He was able to trust God in the very worst of times in order to achieve what grace required. He was utterly dedicated to this. When the Son of God came to love you by dying in your place, He was unwilling to be distracted in the least from His task. Pilate was distracted by the mere mention of Caesar, but nothing would distract Jesus.

Your husband, the King of the Jews, did not abandon you when loving you became difficult. He kept on loving to the point of death. Many men are willing to abandon those who disappoint them. Most think that it is part of being a man to be detached emotionally. If you disappoint them, they will just decide to ignore you. This is survival, yet it is very different from Jesus. The cross is the moment of God's greatest attachment to His church. He will not let go of her as He faces the wrath of the Almighty. He says, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.”

This is your King. This is Christian love. This is Christian faith. To many it will look like something to runaway from. To those who have received Christ as King, it is the wisdom and power of God. May the Lord help us to receive the love of a King who will not abandon us, and to imitate a love that is not quick to give up on those we are called to love.

Finally, this King is known by many former enemies and strangers. The story of His cross, and all of His Word from both testaments, should be translated into every language and proclaimed for everyone to hear. There is no other King like Jesus. The glory of His love is worthy of the praise of all people who dwell on this earth. Do not be ashamed to sing to Him and to serve Him.

1. What details does John include in his account of the crucifixion of Jesus?
2. What is the significance of the inscription chosen by Pilate?
3. Why are the chief priests concerned about the inscription Pilate chose?
4. What kind of king do we have? How does John 19 help us to follow Him?